Published: April 20, 2008 12:59 am            

EDITORIAL: League puts bow on Bills, Dolphins matchup

Boy, does the National Football League want to move the Buffalo Bills to Toronto or what? It couldn’t be more obvious.

It’s bad enough we’re losing a regular season Buffalo Bills game a year to Maple Leaf country. But the Miami game? Why not make it a Monday night game on national television, too, while they’re at it.

This is hard to take for a couple reasons.

First, Buffalo now loses a home divisional game. If the Bills are halfway decent this year, division games are going to be huge, considering you can almost write off any chance of a “W” against New England.

Secondly, who doesn’t like to see the Dolphins try to battle it out in the cold and snow of Ralph Wilson Stadium in December? There’s no way the dome’s going to be open at the Rogers Centre for this one — not with fans forking over a big chunk of change for tickets.

So who benefits? The NFL, because it can market one of its classic rivalries to a new market. Sure, the intensity and bitter hatred won’t be the same as it would in the stands at One Bill’s Drive, but if the game is like any other between the two, it’s sure to be a battle on the field.

If the Toronto football fans are anything like the Toronto hockey fans, they’ll go just to impress a business client or “be seen.” It won’t be about the football.

How Toronto treats it is one thing, but the fact that Buffalo ownership or management hasn’t petitioned the league to revise the plan is despicable. Brass said this week it had no control over the league’s decision, but you can’t tell us they didn’t know this was going to happen, even if the league made the choice.

If Ralph Wilson Jr. had any idea of the importance and significance of the Buffalo/Miami rivalry, he’d fight for the fans that love it so much and work the league over. Instead he’s marketing his asset to the potential suitors north of the border.

        

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