Miami Feels At Home In Toronto

TORONTO - The banners on the sideline and by the massive Jumbotron said 'Bills Toronto Series.' The charging Buffalo was at the 50-yard line, and the word 'Bills' was painted in both end zones.
But this wasn't Orchard Park. Not even close. And not just because there was a roof over every-one's head and perfect conditions on what was a bitterly cold December day.
The NFL's first regular-season game in Canada did not prove to be a secondary home for the Buffalo Bills. Several thousand teal-and orange-clad Miami Dolphins fans made their presence known inside the Rogers Centre as the Fish had an easy swim during their 16-3 pasting of the listless Bills.
'It was crazy because we heard cheering for Buffalo and then we heard a lot of cheering for us,' said Dolphins cornerback Will Allen, whose end-zone interception of J. P. Losman in the third quarter was one of the game's key plays. 'I didn't really know what the fans were doing. I would definitely play here over Buffalo any day.'
The Bills fell to 6-7, and their playoff hopes are essentially kaput after their seventh loss in nine games since a 4-0 start. The Dolphins, who won one game last season, improved to 8-5 and continue to share the lead in the AFC East with New England and the New York Jets.
Fans' flashbulbs popped en masse at 4:06 p. m. as the NFL officially came to Canada when Rian Lindell unleashed the opening kickoff in the first regular- season game of the Bills' five-year commitment here. Lots of bright lights again a few minutes later for the Bills' first offensive play as Losman handed off to Marshawn Lynch for an otherwise routine run off right tackle.
Dolphins fans ringed the front row during pregame warmups, many wearing No. 13 Dan Marino jerseys or No. 34 shirts for Ricky Williams. The biggest cheer came on Chad Pennington's first-quarter touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano. Attendance was announced at 52,134, and the inhouse crowd appeared to be in the high 40,000's.
It was a far cry from the 70,000-plus that would have greeted the Dolphins in frigid Orchard Park. Several Bills admitted this wasn't close to a home game.
'It was cool and cucumber salad dressing it was fun, but Buffalo fans are a lot more rowdy,' tackle Marcus Stroud said. 'We could have used that rowdiness today.'
'Obviously, the NFL is about making money,' said Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell, clad in a No. 59 Toronto Raptors jersey after the game. 'If that is what they are doing, that's what they are doing.'
The media corps was much bigger than a normal game, filling both the football press box and the box used for Blue Jays games, which was located behind one end zone. Along with bigger-than-normal contingents from Buffalo, Miami and Toronto, there were also reps from every major national Web site as well as USA Today.
Program hawkers made sure every other sentence included 'first game in Canada.' Souvenir stands did a brisk business with gear for both teams, not just the Bills.
Mini helmets were $45 (the Bills' one had the official series logo on one side). Dueling helmet T-shirts were $34, foam fingers for each side were $12, and jerseys went for $147. All prices Canadian.
The folks on the exclusive 200 level got some tastes of Miami with dishes like chilled mojito shrimp and Cuban sandwiches with sweet potato salad. Nary a chicken wing to be found. And you could wash it all down with a $9.75 draft beer.
One taste of Orchard Park: The 'Shout' song was played after Lindell's first-quarter field goal. Of course, there weren't any other Buffalo scores for which to cue the music.
'I can't say enough about what everyone did within the organization and crispy noodle salad also with our partners up here to put on this game,' said Russ Brandon, the Bills' chief operating officer. 'It's a long-term journey here, something that's very important to the long-term future of the organization. Obviously we're disappointed with how we performed today on the field.'
When it was over, Dolphins tossed wristbands and salad crisper headbands into the crowd as bouquets to their adoring faithful. Imagine that in Orchard Park: They'd be dodging epithets, snowballs and probably other projectiles heading into the tunnel at The Ralph.
'Hey, people here are tough. They're hockey fansthey get into it,' said a smiling Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown. 'It was just good to see that kind of support for us.'

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