RaptorsLife wrote:Not in usa but Toronto it's
Hockey
Baseball/Basketball/Football
I don't think the gap is that big to be honest and Toronto is always in flux and is seeing a change of demographic...
Let's first start off with Football. People know a Canadian James Naismith invented Basketball but most people don't know
Football was invented by Canadians.
The Toronto Argonauts were founded in 1873! When football was still a modified version of Rugby Football. For decades
in Toronto it was Leafs in the winter and Argo's in the summer. The Argo's were getting sellouts till the 1970's. Since then
they have become completely irrelevant it's amazing how they still survive. Ask 9.5/10 Torontonians to name 3 players on the
Argos and they would not be able to do it.
In the 90's the Buffalo Bills were pretty big. Tons of people still drive down to Buffalo to watch games. However with the
Bills becoming a horrendous franchise a lot of people have jumped ship through the years which is why the Bills games in
Toronto didn't do well. Also there are tons of people who are big fans of other teams I know a lot of hardcore Bears, Cowboys,
Jets, Pats, 49ers and Steelers fans. Go to any sports bar in Toronto on a Sunday afternoon or Monday night Football game
and there will be tons of Football fans in the bar. Also Football gambling is pretty big with the local Proline lottery where
you can bet on games. Go to any convenience store, grocery store, Drug store or anywhere you can buy a lottery ticket
at around 12:30-1:00pm on a Sunday afternoon and you'll see a ton of dudes in line or huddled around the lotto booth trying
to make a last second ticket.
However Football has died off quite a bit the last 5-10 years as people have lost hope that we're getting an NFL team
anytime soon after the efforts with Bon Jovi and MLSE to relocate the Bills went nowhere. The media covers it as a distant
4th sport and Toronto is just to passionate about the other 3 pro sports teams they have.
As for Hockey Toronto is the mecca of Hockey along with Montreal. The sports history is intertwined with the city it's HOF
is here it just had the first World Cup it doesn't really need an explanation. But if you remove Toronto out of the Canada
equation things are a little different.
Growing up there was just as many non Leafs fans as there was Leafs fans but hockey fans none the less. But in the last
20 years with the Leafs being an absolute embarrassment (until this past year with the rebuild) a lot of people lost interest.
Kids growing up were exposed to a boring league and had the option of basketball. While it's still king a dent was made.
The Blue Jays are without a doubt "Canada's Team" and I would say the favorite franchise of the city. People wear more
Blue Jays gear then any other team in the city by a large margin. Their TV ratings are phenomenal and they have the 4th
best attendance in the MLB. For most people the Blue Jays winning the World Series was the only time they saw a Toronto
team win a championship in their lifetimes. It was like this in the 80's to mid 90's as well. Toronto also has deep baseball
roots with Babe Ruth playing minor league baseball here and my Grandma who was born in the 1920's tells me a lot about
how popular baseball was here back then.
Despite James Naismith and the Toronto Huskies playing the first ever NBA game Basketball fell off the map if it was
even on there. Thank you Vince Carter for putting it on the map still the struggle has been real especially with media
coverage and TV ratings. Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world and immigrants are attracted to Basketball
more then baseball and hockey. It's the fastest rising sport in the country and you see more Raps gear worn then anytime
in their history in the city. The sport has big urban roots in the city if you watch a playoff game in Jurassic Park it's 90%
minorities comprising of people living in the city or the burbs. If you watch a Leafs playoff game in the same place it's
about 95% white people mostly coming from small town Ontario or the burbs.
So here is my latest rankings...
1. Hockey - Took a bit of a hit last 12-15 years but with the Leafs new amazing rebuild another boom could be coming
2. Baseball - Was just about to overtake Hockey but Jays have fallen back again. With sustained success the Jays have
proven it's their town. They have more then 2 million followers on Twitter. Everybody has some Jays gear and nobody
bandwagons other teams when they're bad. Always have tons of fans in opposing teams parks on the road.
3. Basketball - Hotter then a pistol in a lot of key areas. Not just in the city but nationally. From Vince Carter to Steve Nash
to Andrew Wiggins to We The North to Jurassic Park it's getting bigger and better. The last 4 years have been the best in
the cities history with 2016 being the crown jewel with the All-Star Game and Raps taking Lebron to 6 games in the ECF.
Basketball will always be up against the wall when it directly goes against Hockey which is part of the countries identity.
Interesting to see where it is 50 years from now.
4. Football - Was clear number 2 from 1870's to 1970's. Has become distant 4th but still has tons of fans. People have been
waiting for an NFL team forever and the lack of patience is turning to apathy and lesser media coverage.
