“To be a world class city, at least a North American world class city, we need an NFL team.”
— Councillor Doug Ford, older, allegedly smarter brother of Mayor Rob Ford.
If there’s another statement that would better reveal this administration’s horrifying ignorance about what makes a city vibrant, livable, “world class”, it 
would have to be grunted by a speaker who’s covered in their own feces. Assuming the mayor agrees with his brother’s view (a fair one to make, I think, given the cover of the newspaper the story appeared in), we bear witness to yet another dimension in the realm of the mayor’s magical thinking. You can cut taxes and not cut services. If you absolutely have to have public transit, subways are always better than any alternative. Professional sports franchise equals civic health.
Look down there at Detroit. After decades of on-field futility, their Lions showed signs of life this past season. Can recovery be far behind for the city?
It seems the mayor and his brother headed off to Chicago this weekend on a fact-finding mission to take in the NFC conference championship game. 
Because, it stands to reason, that if a world class city needs an NFL franchise, having a winning franchise will make a city even more world classier. Why, winning the Super Bowl just last year, turned every Hurricane Katrina induced disaster around for the city of New Orleans.
Hopefully while in The Windy City, the mayor and his brother managed to find time to take in some other sights outside of Soldier Field that contribute to Chicago’s vitality. Just down the lake from where they would’ve seen the Packers defeat the hometown Bears, there’s the Art Institute. A little further from AIC, there’s Millennium Park with its Frank Gehry Pritzker Pavilion, built on former industrial railroad land. 
It’s all part of a renovated waterfront that reclaimed the lake. A familiar sounding problem, Mayor Ford?
Or maybe the mayor and his brother rode around for a bit on the Chicago transit system, just to see how other cities of comparable size move their people around. Not being knowledgeable enough myself to know how it matches up to ours, I’ll assume neither is the mayor. It’d be nice to think that he took the opportunity to help enlighten himself further on the pressing issue of public transit.
And while they were at it, I wonder if the mayor and his brother sought the advice of anyone who could give them a hands-on account of how the privatization of parking in Chicago has worked out. Since his budget chief has mused publicly about the necessity of the city being in the parking business, the mayor certainly needs to take some time to weigh the issue fully to see if other places benefited from such a move. 
Some due diligence done on either side of a football game.
On the other hand, maybe this whole call for an NFL team was simply a dog whistle that only the mayor’s supporters could hear. After a week of sometimes bruising public consultations over the proposed budget where it became crystal clear that the mayor wouldn’t be able to maintain his campaign promise of holding the line on taxes without cutting services, they needed a diversionary tactic. Hey! Look over here! The NFL! Remember? The mayor loves football. Just like you and me.
As cynical as that would be, it’d still beat the mayor and his brother actually believing that having an NFL team in Toronto puts us on the road to world classiness. The simple-mindedness of that is a little too much to bear on a cold Monday morning after a weekend where the Raptors lost their 7th game in a row, the Leafs further mired themselves out of playoff contention and the Blue Jays traded away their center fielder in what was little more than a salary dump. 
By professional sports franchise standards, Toronto’s sitting on the corner of Shithole & Crack Alley, smack dab in the middle of Nowhere’s Ville on a rail line that no longer stops here on its way to Classy Town.
— abracadabraly submitted by Cityslikr
We have David Miller and his cronies to thank for the mess (political) left after 7 years of being out of touch with Torontonians.
If there is a market for an NFL franchise money will surely follow. Not as much as Detroit needs but we don’t need that much before the Fords improve the efficiencies and culture at City Hall.
BTW, I suspect the Fords get out of Toronto quite a lot and there’s less need to be suspicious of their motives than if they were your average ignorant pinko elites.
Last I checked, Canada had it’s own Football League. Forget what it’s called though.
I think it was more Doug’s idea to give the exclusive to the Sun to distract from other things.
Doug is the vice chair of the budget committee and gave pie in the sky numbers about a stadium that probably won’t be built only with private money on Federal land = Downsview Park.
About the Budget process; You can’t maintain services by cutting the VRT and freezing property taxes which is why some services are on the chopping block plus you’ll be paying more for water, garbage removal and recreational programs if you use any of the mentioned…
Also, it’s frankly amazing that world-class cities like Paris, London, and Venice managed to get along without NFL franchises for so long.
I think anybody who lives in Toronto but who doesn’t know the “Canadian Football League” knows that much about Paris, London or Venice. I don’t suppose you’ve been to Chicago either?
Apologies – reads correctly now;
I think anybody who lives in Toronto but who doesn’t know the “Canadian Football League” doesn’t know that much about Paris, London or Venice. I don’t suppose you’ve been to Chicago either?
Ok… we just can’t remain silent anymore!
You dense, dim dickhead!
Are you incapable of anything but a literal interpretation of everything you read? Is the world only 6000 years-old by your take on the bible?
Of course, mcflash knows it’s called the Canadian Football League. It was a joke, moron. Just like the next post, with a little bit more facetiousness thrown in for good measure.
If you’re going to insist on clogging the comments section up, can you please try to be a little less, I don’t know, obtuse and thick. It’s really, really tiresome.
There. I got that out of my system.
We’re done speaking.
Again.
They don’t play american football there but they each have massive soccer stadiums. If you’re not a pinko elite you’re likely to enjoy sports.
I see cityslikr isn’t much at keeping his word. My, he gets upset when somebody takes a shot at his hobby. Tell him to get a real job and deal with the world the way the rest of us grown-ups do. (He thinks money grows on trees.) And, not to worry, I won’t tell the dole people about him.
BTW, The Bible is like The Oscars, both start with a capital letter. Show some respect.
Oh Peter. Bless your heart.
You are clearly one of those poor souls who becomes obsessively attached to something. In your case it’s a theory of municipal governance, which is probably perfectly clear in your head but which you are utterly unable to communicate.
So instead, you latch on to people who are conversing about politics and snipe from the sidelines with what sounds like inane claptrap to everyone but you. If anyone needs a hobby, it’s you. Either that or some medication.
Cityslikr please just block his IP address already.
Dear Paul, you obviously suffer from the ‘AFUITBS’ disease, hermaphroditism. Except, in your case you’re more like an emasculated eunuch that makes absolutely no impact whatsoever, good or bad, in this City, the World, or on me.
Do you really think cityslikr will go back on his word, like a Toronto Councillor? Will he expose his brand of socialism to be labeled like Joey Pants’s Stalinism?
Do you really think there is anything of consequence in his posts or many of the comment on this forum? Have a look at some of his and tell me he’s “conversing about politics”. Others might wish to do that but cityslikr’s comments appear more like hate venom spewed from a moronic fucktard who just hasn’t an ounce of political acumen in his contorted brain.
He’s lucky I come here or he’d have to demean and belittle some other unsuspecting visitor who also believes the internet is the greatest thing since Socialism and expects to be treated with a modicum of respect.
Give it up you libtarded poopieheaded pinko elite. Go back to spell checking for that’s about all you’re capable of contributing. Let cityslikr lie in the bed he made for himself and hope he gets a real job before the dole catches up on him.
Or, he can suck it up and let others post here without his school boy interruptions.
If Ford wanted to push for more citizens GETTING exercise, he’d have my vote. I hope the Games here do work out, creating facilities and such. But if Ford is saying what makes a great city is sitting around more, WATCHING exercise, he’s just trying to distract. And the Chicago waterfront is amazing.
If I may be allowed to weigh in here.
If anyone here is to be accused of dim-wittedness or knuckleheadedness or obtuseness or just a general, all-round sense of cluelessnes, it is those who actually take the notion of “Peter MacQuarie” being a real live, living, breathing human being.
You’ve been punked, as they say, you All Fired Up in the Big Smoke people. No one could be as dumb, backward-thinking, so self-unaware as this alleged “Peter MacQuarie” fellow and be able to turn on a computer, let alone figure out how to write a response, regardless of how rambling, illogical or so flat out stupid. Someone as mentally inept as this purported “Peter MacQuarie” would have difficulty dressing himself in the morning. Even if this so-called “Peter MacQuarie” were able to put himself together, he’d be struck down by the first bus he encountered while attempting to cross a street.
“Peter MacQuarie” isn’t real, ladies and gentlemen. He’s a figment of someone’s imagination and is laughing his ass off every time you treat him like a sentient human being.
So stop doing so.
I will agree with Paul, though. Pull the plug on this pretender. The joke isn’t funny anymore.
Thank you.
“dumb, backward-thinking, so self-unaware”
OK, Mr. Edgar Walthorpe give us an idea from whence you get these notions about me?
Or, are you just another AFUITBS sycophant? Maybe one of those guys who hangs out with the blogger boys but only interjects to show unwavering support for the likes of cityslikr?
Nice try, “Peter MacQuarie”.
Respond and get all caught up in your little game of pretend? I don’t think so.
Ban The Pretender, All Fired Up in the Big Smoke!
You’re the one who responded first Mr. Walthorpe.
Not that it matters one bit but, I notice you’re too chicken to back up your notions.
Remember too, one of the big bloggers didn’t want you to respond. Can’t you take orders? (Latte and a cookie while you’re at it.)
Seriously, “Peter MacQuarie”.
The whole mouth-breathing troll act is old. Update your schtick.
Ban The Prankster, All Fired Up in the Big Smoke!
Among the poets of the present day
There is no one on earth who can be possible for to gainsay
But that Edgar Walthorpe, poet and tragedian.
Is truely the greatest poet that was ever found above or below the meridian.