48,434? Toronto should be thrilled

The Buffalo Bills preseason game in Toronto against Pittsburgh drew an announced crowd of 48,434 at Rogers Centre Thursday night, roughly 20,000 more fans than the Toronto Argonauts‘ last home game drew.

Reports indicate that many of those seats were discounted and as many as 15,000 might have been given away for free. And some fans were chanting “the Bills belong in Buffalo” and “Argos” as fans tailgated and then headed to the game.

But overall organizers disappointed by the turnout need to remember that this was a meaningless preseason game played primarily between two teams that featured players who will be backups at best and grocery baggers in most cases by the time the regular season starts in less than a month.

If there were really 48,434 fans on hand to watch the game – even if many were there to watch the Steelers, who played in the NFL last game in Canada nearly 50 years ago – they should be thrilled. It’s still the NFL in Canada, it’s not the main sport north of the border and it’s still drawing fans for a game that doesn’t mean squat.

The December game featuring the Bills and Miami Dolphins will be a far better measurement of fan interest in the NFL. I think it’s still questionable whether or not Toronto will ever end up being a legitimate candidate for NFL expansion or relocation. But the same could be said for Los Angeles. I think under the circumstances the city represented itself well in this first foray.