There's two ways you could take the news the Buffalo Bills have already sold out six of their seven home dates at Ralph Wilson Stadium some 2 1/2 months before the start of the NFL season.
One is to comment on the irony that the NFL team whom Toronto interests are trying to liberate from financial purgatory in Western New York is selling out that far in advance. Even the Leafs don't sell out that far in advance.
Or you could say that this is just an instance of Bills fans rallying to the flag since they know the relocation to Toronto makes complete sense from the NFL's perspective. Besides, a good portion of those tickets were probably scooped up by Canadians who either want to take advantage of the weak U.S. dollar or who can do basic math and realize there's no change of getting a seat for the regular-season game at the Rogers Centre.
(The Bills haven't sold out is their Dec. 28 finale vs. the New England Patriots. That's due to a combination of cold, the likelihood that the Bills might be playing for pride and the team's management wanting to guard against having the stadium taken over by Boston-area fans. That won't happen when Paul Godfrey gets his finger in the pie.)
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I guess Bills fans are realizing they better get it while they can because they know it's leaving....
Attendance isn't the real story, it's ticket prices. The Bills had the lowest avg ticket price in the NFL last season. The games in Toronto are gonna blow that out of the water, 3 to 4 times that amount. In fact tickets in Toronto are way more expensive than anywhere else in the NFL, not just Buffalo. AVG price is going to be in the range of $200 a pop.
To state the obvious there is a HUGE appetite in TO for the NFL. Again to state the obvious there is WAY more prosperity in Toronto than Buffalo.
If you want an example in another pro league of how attendance can be misleading, how bout those $2 Tuesday Jays tickets? De facto free, what does that say about demand?
Anyway, good for the Toronto yuppies, maybe they'll finally feel "world class". I enjoy watching NFL as much as the next yob but this is way too expensive for me.
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