About 10 years ago, Mike Smith set out to capture the rugged atmosphere of the patrons of his neighborhood bar, Joe Cool's. As their favorite sports teams have endured winless seasons, playoff droughts, and mass collapses over the years, he's created a map of southern Ontario with London in the center, along with Buffalo, Cleveland, I designed a T-shirt that includes a line connecting Detroit and Toronto. Above it were the words “Epicenter of Loss” and a red arrow pointing towards London.
Since then, London has transformed into a center of victory, so to speak. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, but they have made the playoffs eight consecutive seasons (almost every time they were eliminated in the first round). The Cleveland Browns last won the NFL title the year the Beatles invaded America, but the crosstown Guardians have advanced to the American League playoffs six times since 2016.
But the real upsets are traditionally two of the NFL's saddest sacks: the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. They've won their divisions this season, and with the playoffs starting this weekend, they're a strong contender for the Super Bowl, much to the delight of fans in southern Ontario, which separates the two cities.
“There's a mutual respect and empathy between Bills and Lions fans,” said Charlie Smith, who owns Joe Cool's with his father. “There are no days off in Rust Belt cities, which is why I’m happy for both teams.”
A four-hour drive past London, these cities have a lot in common, from shuttered factories to dilapidated neighborhoods and faded histories. Bills founding owner Ralph Wilson had close ties to the Ford family, who still own the Lions. Wilson had an office in Detroit, where the Bills and Lions played preseason games for many years. In 2022, the Bills played a home game in Detroit due to a snowstorm in Buffalo.
Both teams also have one thing in common: the lack of a Lombardi Trophy. The Lions are one of four teams that have never appeared in the Super Bowl. Before last season, they had won only one game in the playoffs in 65 years, and their last NFL title came in 1957, two months after the Soviet Union launched the first Sputnik satellite. The Bills won two AFL titles in the 1960s and made four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, losing each time.
After a long hiatus, both teams now feature powerful offenses and gritty defenses that captivate Canadian fans who live between Buffalo and Detroit. At Joe Cool's house, nervous hope disguised as optimism was being described.
“The Last Bucket team never sleeps,” said longtime bartender Ross Cockburn. He started rooting for the Bills when O.J. Simpson was a Bills running back. “If the Bills and Lions were in the Super Bowl, it would probably end in a tie.''
Last Sunday, the Bills played second-string and ended the regular season with a loss to the New England Patriots. However, they had already won their fifth consecutive AFC East title and were conserving their strength for the Denver Broncos, who they will face this Sunday.
The real tension started late last Sunday when the Lions played the Minnesota Vikings, a team that is 14-2 and both teams without a Super Bowl title. After a tense first half, the Lions ran away with the game, clinching the NFC North title and earning a bye into this weekend as the conference's top seed.
“I've been pinching myself this year,” Lions fan Darren Pine said. Not wanting to jinx his team, he left Joe Cool's house at halftime to go home and watch the second half at the “Fortress of Solitude.”
Canadian fans have other reasons to cheer. The Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Seattle Seahawks are all popular teams north of the border, with double-digit win totals this year, and all but the Seahawks are in the postseason. obtained the right to participate.
Their success comes as the NFL expands into international markets in search of new fans and revenue. More than a decade ago, the Bills played six regular-season games in six years in Toronto, an experiment that upset Buffalo fans. Not only did their team lose five of those games, but they also saw it as a precursor to the team's relocation.
However, the game was not well-received, as there was no ban on tailgating and it was played indoors. The Bills are building a new stadium in Orchard Park, New York to ensure their survival. However, Toronto remains part of the Bills' home market. About 10 per cent of the team's season ticket holders are Canadian, and the Bills hired new executives last year to expand the team's presence in Ontario, including finding corporate sponsors and media partners.
“Ultimately, we're doing everything we can to theoretically erase borders and make sure people in southern Ontario and Toronto feel like they can be a part of the Bills organization, or as close to it as possible.” '' said team operations manager Pete Guerri. board member.
The Lions, Seahawks, and Vikings are exploring Canada as a market. About 5% of Lions season ticket holders are Canadian, most of them from Windsor, just across the border from Detroit. The team has expanded its reach and doubled its Canadian fan email list over the past three years. Before Christmas, the Lions entertained more than 3,000 fans with a viewing party in London featuring the team's cheerleaders and mascot Roary.
London is roughly equidistant between Buffalo and Detroit, and the success of the Bills and Lions has turned it into the NFL's demilitarized zone. For years, fans in London received a television signal that allowed them to watch Browns and Lions games. But the league's digital streaming package allows them to follow the Bills, too.
The proliferation of the NFL is one of the reasons 9-year-old Reid Collins became a Bills fan. Wearing Josh Allen jerseys, he and his father, John, watched the Bills on TV at the Dawg House Pub, a 10-minute drive from Joe Cool's. “I had stopped watching the Bills after following them in the 1990s, but he got me hooked again,” John Collins said. “I'm glad he picked it up.”
Like Joe Cool's, the Dawghouse attracted a wide variety of NFL fans, with patrons wearing Chargers, Cowboys, Giants, and Packers caps and jerseys. With 14.5 million fans across the country, the NFL has more than 20 corporate sponsors, two media packages and its own online store in Canada. The Super Bowl is the most-watched program most years. Nearly 30 Canadians play in the league.
“For as long as the NFL has existed, there have been fans in Canada,” said Gavin Kemp, general manager of the league's office in Toronto.
As popular as the NFL is, hockey is still king. If Canada's national team had advanced to the final round of last week's World Junior Championships, Joe Cools would have been filled with hockey fans. Instead, only one television showed the title match between the United States and Finland.
But in the coming weeks, the NFL will be front and center with Joe Cools and across Canada. Charlie Smith's 95-year-old grandfather, Bill Haddow, who attended the Lions' title game in 1957 and has been a season ticket holder for years, can't wait.
“I'm nervous right now because it's my first time in this position,” he said.
