An hour and a half before Toronto's first chance to claim the Buffalo Bills as their own, I couldn't believe my eyes.
Outside Rogers Centre, a mass of humanity crowded the downtown core. One area happened to be closed off to allow people to party, drink beer and munch on hot dogs, brats and other delicacies that you would normally experience at a tailgate party at any city with an NFL team.
Except in Toronto The Good, tailgating is against the law.
I've seen some diehard fans of the Toronto Argonauts get together to barbecue and drink beer before home games, but they are so far removed from the stadium that the police don't see it as an issue.
For the arrival of the National Football League, rules were relaxed to allow people to party, albeit in a designated area sponsored by a beer company. It was oh so corporate.
Maybe some day the Buffalo Bills will call Toronto their permanent home and maybe the rules will be relaxed to allow unrestricted drinking and barbecuing in public. For now and for as long as Bills' owner Ralph Wilson is standing upright, the NFL experience in Toronto is a tease.
For the downtown bars and merchandise vendors that collectively did boffo business, the NFL in Toronto is a good thing.
For football fans dressed in jerseys of the "hometown" Bills and the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, it was the chance to see their teams in a neutral venue.
The crowd cheered loudly and proudly following the singing of the Canadian anthem, which followed the U.S. version.
They cheered for the opening kickoff and as soon as Buffalo's Rian Lindell made contact with the ball, flashlights that looked like fireflies recorded the historical event.
And after that it became just a game, but with the NFL stamp.
Toronto is a Canadian Football League city, but for one night Toronto became an NFL city. It will happen a minimum of seven more times.
Who knows what the future holds -- or the health of Ralph Wilson -- but the Bills make Toronto want to shout.
