Damien Cox - Argos v TFC

[mint83]

https://www.thestar.com/sports/tfc/2...s-are-cox.html


Sorry for my technical skills if the link doesn't work.

Again, too bad this years Argos regime has allowed these hacks to continue writing stuff like this.

[PullTogether73]

Strangely, I don't have much of a problem with what Cox wrote in this article.

As an Argonauts fan, I'm disappointed that it has come to this, but I can at least see that his point can be made if one looks at game attendance.
We might argue that TV ratings are better for Argonauts games versus TFC games, but are we able to separate Toronto viewers from national viewers? It may be that viewers from other cities watch to see their team play the Argonauts rather than Toronto fans watching to see the local team play.

[Ron]

Wow. You mean TFC gets a full house for it's first winning playoff run in it's long decade of existence? Little early to make TFC the predominant #4 team if one has any lick of unbiased opinion.

And notice how he shows the TFC TV rating when compared to the Raptors but excluded the TV rating Argo games get? Cox knowingly is fudging that since he's no noob when it comes to the CFL. He just knew actually using the Argo TV numbers would bury his argument.

Had the Argos gone 12-4 and hosting a East Final and TFC again having a losing season. BMO would be sold out for the Argos playoff game and Cox would NOT be writing any articles about the Argos being #4 and TFC being nobodies.

[gilthethrill]

I was expecting some one in the Toronto media to write something like this. Cox is a dick. What is this BMO Main Tennant crap? The Argos and KFC are co-tenants. This really sucks that the Argos picked the worst possible time to be the worst team in the CFL. Wonder if Cox will be poking his nose at the Grey Cup Festival later this month...

[Will]

Oh, he's probably right.
Always going to question the motives of a Rogers employee though.
It is this type of attitude of pitting sports teams against another in this city as why most of the members here couldn't give a damn about the rest of Toronto sports.

[doubleblue]

I never really cared too much what Cox ever said. Writing for a dying paper. But the TFC fans will love It, otherwise who cares.

[1971GreyCup]

The Moment TFC Made the Argos Irrelevant, Damien Cox, TheStar.com
1 November 2016

Part II

The contrast was just too great, too utterly convincing, to ignore.
In the same stadium where the Toronto Argonauts drew tiny crowds all season, the same BMO Field that was supposed to save the CFL in this city, Toronto FC attracted a capacity audience on Sunday night for a raucous, thrilling playoff game against New York City FC and in doing so made a statement.
This was the moment TFC clearly became No. 4 in this sports town, passing the Argos, the oldest franchise in the city.
Passion has vanquished history.
Those who follow the Reds will have a giggle at this statement, believing they left the CFL in their dust long ago, and they may be right. For years, even in the face of strong evidence that suggested the Argos were in serious decline as a sporting concern in the GTA, it was difficult to give TFC its due, largely because the team was lousy most of the time and missed the playoffs for the first eight years of its existence.
Traditional media outlets stuck stubbornly to the belief that the Argos still mattered to significant numbers of people and pro soccer couldn’t grow because it never had.
But you just can’t make that case anymore.
It’s not about which sport is better or more entertaining. This is about relevance in the city, and watching the sold-out stadium on Sunday as TFC charged to a 2-0 victory in the first game of the two-game MLS aggregate series, and listening to the non-stop chanting and singing of TFC’s supporters in the end zone, it was impossible to deny the fact this soccer club has not only engaged its core group but started to attract sports fans in general.
Pascal Siakam, one of the newest Raptors, tweeted his support and offered his playing skills. SNL comedian Leslie Jones spent all Sunday tweeting her thoughts on MLS playoff competition, including the Toronto-New York game.
TFC’s stars, notably Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, all shone brightly on Sunday night in a game that seemed part-brawl at times, giving the team personality to those, like myself, who haven’t watched much before.
It’s taken TFC nine years and lots of missteps — lest we bring up the name of Jermain Defoe — to reach this point under head coach Greg Vanney. Not only will there be lots of anticipation for next Sunday’s game at Yankee Stadium, there are lots of talking points, including the style of play and perhaps whether Spanish captain David Villa should be suspended for the second game for a rather brutal kick to the back of TFC’s Armando Cooper’s legs that was clearly seen by referee Silviu Petrescu but somehow went unpunished.
So as not to get carried away, let’s be clear; TFC remains no threat to the Big Three in this town, the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays, although the 238,000 viewers TFC attracted Sunday night wasn’t far off what the Raps attracted Friday (300,000) against Cleveland. The trend is clearly upwards, the soccer team can fairly say it dominated the front pages of Toronto sport sections on Monday and the commitment of TFC’s fans to their team matches any of the other three franchises.
The Argos, meanwhile, are limping to the end of a sad 5-12 season in which they won only two of nine home games. As mentioned, BMO Field was viewed as a panacea for much of which ailed the football franchise, but the first year out of Rogers Centre didn’t prove that to be the case at all.
The Argos drew an average of 16,380 fans, with crowds as low as 12,373. In a shrinking league in which average attendance for the nine teams is now less than 25,000 (it was 29,166 a decade ago) the Toronto squad is disappearing out of sight.
With aging quarterback Ricky Ray seemingly injured almost all of time, the team has no noteworthy stars. While once upon a time the Argos could go out and get players like Rocket Ismail, Doug Flutie and even Ricky Williams to try and goose the city into paying attention, it’s hard to imagine a single football star who could do that today. Peyton Manning out of retirement, maybe? Johnny Manziel out of whatever world he’s inhabiting these days? Bo-Levi Mitchell is probably the CFL’s top quarterback now, but if the Argos managed to get him, it would have no impact whatsoever on the team’s profile in this city.
Meanwhile, the recent controversy over price-slashing for the Nov. 27 Grey Cup game at BMO Field hasn’t helped create any better feelings about the Argos. After setting sky-high prices for the games and drawing a moderate response from the public, ticket prices were reduced, which might help fill the stadium but incensed those who had bought at the initial prices.
In a fall in which Toronto sports fans have had to dig deep already for the World Cup of Hockey and Blue Jays playoff games, it will be interesting indeed to see whether the Argos and the CFL can fill BMO Field for the Grey Cup contest.
It’s hard to see how the Argos can survive this, although being owned by TSN and Larry Tanenbaum at least offers deep pockets and commitment. It’s surely better than being owned by David Braley.
They now seem destined to finding ways to simply survive. Every other CFL team is, at worst, the second pro team in their market. In Ottawa, the RedBlacks might be No. 1. The Argos are fifth in theirs.
A decade ago, few would have imagined the day Toronto’s football team would fall so far to be eclipsed by professional soccer. But it has surely happened.

[Antwon]

Unfortunately The Argos have given Cox lots to feed his ongoing negative view of them.
To bad he doesn't have the guts to put all the TV numbers out there. Argo/CFL/Grey Cup compared to TFC/MLS/Championship. CFL outdraws consistently.
And saying 238,000 for Sundays playoff game is a trend? Really, when most regular season games don't crack 100,000. It's a playoff spike!
Just like the Raptors playoff TV numbers that didn't continue into the next regular season.


He says TFC made a lot of missteps in the past. Fair enough but the Argos have made just as many if not more.
--C&S backing out of a York U stadium and going back to the dome.
--Braley owning the team and gutting operations etc.
--New owners extending JB and SM to only have them completely crap out


I don't see a quick fix for the Argo mess, so we'll have to get used to more articles like this.

[Neely2005]

Just an FYI I was told that Rogers was giving out free tickets to the TFC playoff game, up to 4 per employee were available.

[AngeloV]

Oh, he's probably right.
Always going to question the motives of a Rogers employee though.
It is this type of attitude of pitting sports teams against another in this city as why most of the members here couldn't give a damn about the rest of Toronto sports.

No shit. I would have no problem if he wanted to write about a wonderful experience and atmosphere at the TFC game, but there was no reason to include the Argos in that write up. A huge troll job.

Funny how all these writers made fun of the CFL for having 2 teams with similar nicknames (although spelled differently with a different meaning), yet none of them make fun of how many teams are named (insert city)FC.

[Will]

No shit. I would have no problem if he wanted to write about a wonderful experience and atmosphere at the TFC game, but there was no reason to include the Argos in that write up. A huge troll job.

Funny how all these writers made fun of the CFL for having 2 teams with similar nicknames (although spelled differently with a different meaning), yet none of them make fun of how many teams are named (insert city)FC.

Agree 100% with this.

[Argo]

Agree 100% with this.

Me too.

[Treblecharger1]

What is not reported was the hundreds of tickets I saw being handed out to Bell Employees outside gate 1 on Sunday. 100% a double standard as when the Argos pad the house with tickets it is reported. I love both teams, both teams have similar problems. The Argos have a perception problem as most of their fan base does not go to the games and watches at home. TFC on the other hand gets every damn fan they have in the Stadium while no one watches at homes.

[R.J]

No shit. I would have no problem if he wanted to write about a wonderful experience and atmosphere at the TFC game, but there was no reason to include the Argos in that write up. A huge troll job.

Funny how all these writers made fun of the CFL for having 2 teams with similar nicknames (although spelled differently with a different meaning), yet none of them make fun of how many teams are named (insert city)FC.

Agree 100% with this.

Me too.

Me three.

[DoubleBlue_Red]

Maybe if Argos fans were not dicks to soccer fans there would not be as much fuel on the TFC fire. The Argos have brought this situation upon themselves.

[ArgoGabe22]

Maybe if Argos fans were not dicks to soccer fans there would not be as much fuel on the TFC fire. The Argos have brought this situation upon themselves.

How so? Because they moved to BMO? So TFC fans are allowed to act a certain way because they are forced to share a stadium? The Argos sharing BMO has not affected TFC in anyway this season. For the most part, both fan bases don't see eye to eye because of the fact the stadium has to be shared (correction: Argo fans seem to have no issue with sharing a stadium, but do have a problem with some of the attitudes shared by TFC fans) but it doesn't make sense for an Argo fan to be a "dick" to soccer fans, without reason to. And that reason would be most definitely instigated by a TFC fan first. Not that I think Argo fans need or should be going after another fan base but given the Arogs current situation, makes little sense for an Argos fan to initiate "the battle".

And I'm curious why you chose to include that word. From what I have seen, Argo fans have really done nothing malicious. I won't comment on TFC fan's behaviour.

[gilthethrill]

Boy, what I would pay to be able to read a response by 1argoholic on this!

[sportspirate]

Boy, what I would pay to be able to read a response by 1argoholic on this!

Isn't he still active on these boards?

[gilthethrill]

Isn't he still active on these boards?

I am pretty sure he got banned. Not sure for how long if that is the case.

[gilthethrill]

How so? Because they moved to BMO? So TFC fans are allowed to act a certain way because they are forced to share a stadium? The Argos sharing BMO has not affected TFC in anyway this season. For the most part, both fan bases don't see eye to eye because of the fact the stadium has to be shared (correction: Argo fans seem to have no issue with sharing a stadium, but do have a problem with some of the attitudes shared by TFC fans) but it doesn't make sense for an Argo fan to be a "dick" to soccer fans, without reason to. And that reason would be most definitely instigated by a TFC fan first. Not that I think Argo fans need or should be going after another fan base but given the Arogs current situation, makes little sense for an Argos fan to initiate "the battle".

And I'm curious why you chose to include that word. From what I have seen, Argo fans have really done nothing malicious. I won't comment on TFC fan's behaviour.

Agree totally with you Gabe.