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TSN Football Insider

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Over the weekend, one of the most dramatic moments in recent Toronto pro sports took place Friday night.

The Toronto Argonauts trailed the Hamilton Tiger Cats by 13 points with less than three minutes to play, before rallying for a dramatic come-from-behind win capped by Ricky Ray throwing a 69- yard touchdown pass to win it.

You may have heard about it, but chances are you didn't see it if you live in Toronto. Even less a chance that you were there to see it live. And when you go back to work tomorrow, it won't be what everyone is talking about.

In a football city, with a real football beating heart, it would be all the buzz.

If this were Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary … even Vancouver, such an ending to a rivalry game would create ripples that would last for days if not all week.

But not here in Toronto the worst football city in North America.

Don't believe me?

Where else is there a city where the matter of a football team winning or losing isn't a matter of concern for most of the city's sports fans.

Nowhere, that's where. Except here.

Because everywhere else in the US or Canada there's a pro or college football teams that captures the souls of the local populace.

And think about it, every type of football entertainment there is has failed in Toronto.

The Argos haven't penetrated the city's mainstream sporting consciousness since the early 1980s. The university game at York University or the University of Toronto draws flies to watch teams that are usually not competitive.

They used to play the Vanier Cup in Toronto but unless a local team was involved, the crowds were embarrassingly small.

The NCAA held a college game here called the International Bowl but it turned into a money-loser.

And even the mighty NFL, the mighty NFL, flopped here when the Bills in Toronto series turned out to be a fiasco.

The most popular sport in North America, a money sport across the continent, is a consistent money loser in Toronto where there is simply no football rallying point.

Would it be different if the city ever got an NFL team? Absolutely it would.

But those prepared to count on that happening someday have to be considered dreamers.

And don't tell me that this is a great football town because everyone supports their own NFL team which adds up to a massive collective fandom. That's true, but it's also completely soulless and adds absolutely nothing to the fabric of this city because there is no rallying point, no common thread.

That's what every other city has, except ours.

Toronto is a wonderful place to live. A place with great music and theater, restaurants and nightlife and sports.

Yes our home city has an awful lot going for it.

But gawd, it sure ain't a football town.