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TORONTO — It might have been the only U.S.-style tailgate party occurring outside the Rogers Centre in Toronto yesterday afternoon before the Buffalo Bills clashed with the Miami Dolphins.
A small pickup truck was one of the few vehicles parked in the lot off Front Street, immediately north of the stadium, and it was still about five hours before the opening kickoff.
The propane barbecue was already fired up and the hot dogs — soon to be chili dogs — were being carefully tended to, while a couple of people were sipping beer from a tin cup and tossing around a football.
It was a party of three in the blistering cold. There was nobody else around.
"I'm just shocked that there isn't anybody else here," said David Jay, 25, of Mississauga, decked out in a Dolphins jersey. "This is supposed to be a big event."
Jay and his friends Lee Tomeo, 34, of Toronto and Rick Boutilier, 33, of Mississauga all consider themselves experts in the U.S. phenomenon known as tailgating.
They all attend NFL games in Buffalo an average of three times a year and are unabashed supporters of the freewheeling and often rowdy tailgate parties that take place on the parking lots that surround Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park.
What was occurring outside the Rogers Centre yesterday they didn't consider tailgating.
Sure, there was a big corporate tailgate shindig — Canadian style — happening just a block or so to the west that attracted thousands under a huge tent sponsored by Budweiser, complete with propane heaters and flat-screen television sets.
There was even one area outfitted with sofas that had another flat-screen TV with a video loop displaying a roaring fire.
When you walked outside into the freezing elements, where the beer was $6 a can, there were a couple of stages set up where the likes of the Jills, the Buffalo cheerleaders, could cavort.
Jim Kelly, the famous Buffalo quarterback who led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, was also on stage where he tried to warm up the crowd with some of his best one-liners.
"What is my favourite seafood to devour?" came one of Kelly's offerings. "Dolphins."
Nearby, on the steps of an office building, there was a display of George Foreman grills.
"They don't know how to tailgate up here in Canada," Boutilier bemoaned. "Maybe we'll set the trend."
By this time down in Buffalo, he said, the party would be in full swing.
"It's part of the culture," he said. "The parking lots would be packed and everybody would be drinking.
"And the best part is that all these guys would be playing football. I've seen guys lay themselves full out in the parking lots trying to make a catch and then having to pick the pebbles out of their legs. It's great."
There are a couple of roadblocks preventing U.S.-style tailgating parties from happening in Toronto.
One, there aren't enough parking lots around the Rogers Centre to facilitate such an event.
Two, there are stricter laws pertaining to the consumption of alcohol in public places than in the United States.
Rob Quick and his wife, Tracey, are from Barrie, Ont., and are both Bills season-ticket holders. They were attending yesterday's game and taking in the sights at the Budweiser tailgate party.
Rob said you can't compare tailgating in Toronto to what goes on in the United States.
Typically for a game in Buffalo, he'll roll into the parking lot by 9 a.m. on game day and barbecue some steaks or hamburgers or even eggs on the skillet.
"Here, it's a little more controlled — and that may not be a bad thing," he said. "There can be a lot of hassles in Buffalo in the parking lot, especially after games, a lot of fighting and that sort of thing. The garbage cans all get set on fire.
"They've also got a fan friendly phone number that I've got programmed into my cellphone so that if there's a hassle, you can call. I've never had to use it."
Leo Boucher, 53, of Ajax, Ont., who was decked out in Bills garb, said he heads down at least once a year to catch a Bills game in Buffalo.
"To me, tailgating is three-quarters of the game," he said. "The hype leading into the game … gets you going. It really makes the game more enjoyable."
Jim Callan, a 49-year-old who lives in the Toronto community of Etobicoke, said he has attended a tailgating party at Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers.
"The tailgate party there starts on Wednesday, when even the grandmothers get their face painted three days before the game," he said. "It's a different experience.
"But for Canada, this is great."
