Previewing Saturday's "American Bowl" preseason game between
the Bills and Cowboys in Toronto's SkyDome, the GLOBE & MAIL's
Stephen Brunt wrote, "The appetite for the NFL in this city is
far more demonstrable than the appetite for the National
Basketball Association, and they're already here" (Toronto GLOBE
& MAIL, 8/12). After the game, Brunt referred to Toronto as "the
world-class city that worries it will never get asked to the
dance," but he added of the 9-7 "pooch" of a game: "Bet that no
one asked for their money back. No one left with their mind
changed. No one felt they'd been used. Because this was the big
time" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/13). The SUN's Julia Glover reported that
in the 55,000+ crowd, "NFL mania was everywhere ... There was a
general feeling in the SkyDome that many had abandoned the CFL
ship" (TORONTO SUN, 8/13). Columnist Jim Proudfoot took offense
at the "pretentious" title and wrote that the game was a "fraud"
as a sporting event, but he added the crowd had a "big time"
feeling. Proudfoot: "What became abundantly plain was just how
far the CFL has fallen behind, at least in the Toronto market"
(TORONTO STAR, 8/13).
