Welcome to Toronto

[mjussawalla]

Hi everyone,

Congratulations on USF for a great season. We are looking forward to seeing you play on January 2nd in the International Bowl.

I've spoken to many college football fans in Toronto and they are excited to attend this years game.  In fact, you may be surprised to know that a lot of Torontonians are looking forward to USF - we do get opportunities to see your games from time to time up here.

In alternative to driving or flying to Toronto's Peason Airport is to fly Porter Airlines (http://www.flyporter.com/). They have flights from Newark to Toronto's City Centre Airport (TCCA). So you may be able to get a flight from your airline to Newark then take Porter.  The benefit to flying to TCCA is that the landing fees are less (thus your flight ticket COULD be less) and you are literally a 5 min cab ride from Rogers Centre and many downtown hotels.

For those of you who haven't visited Toronto, you'll find there are many things to do and see. Please feel free to visit the International Bowl facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall...4522426973 - you'll find many local fans who will be willing to help you and answer questions about the city.

Also, don't worry too much about the weather, early January over the last few years hasn't been bad at all.  Furthermore, there is a huge underground network, called the PATH (a large underground mall actually) connecting most major downtown buildings.  So other than the battle of the bands and heading over to some bars, you won't need to be outside much.

I am really excited to seeing the Bulls take on the Huskies in Toronto.

Feel free to ask any questions about the city or game.

[cmhatter]

great info, thanks and welcome

[mjussawalla]

Glad I could help.

From the past 3 years, the players and fans who have attended have had a great time at the game and in the city.  I'm sure USF fans who come up here will have a great time.

Many locals look forward to seeing a great college game and many superstars who are now big in the NFL.  You can see a list of players who played in previous International Bowls who got drafted last year here: (http://www.internationalbowl.org/pdfs/International_Bowl_2009_Season_Preview.pdf)

[mjussawalla]

I have to qualify that. I was in the Upper NY area, could see Toronto across the lake. Also went to Niagara and across there. Is it an option to fly to Buffalo and rent a car from there? That is real scenic, going across at the falls, I just don't know how feasible it is to drive that far. There are cool towns in that area, like Niagara-On-The-Lake with its haunted inn from the 1700s. When I was there it served like 15 types of Genesee beer, lol.  And does Toronto have an underground area? I think Montreal has one, but didn't know if there is one there too.

Yes, you can fly to Buffalo and rent a car.

Another option is to fly to Buffalo and get a special taxi that will drive you across the boarder and into Toronto (I'm sure if you search it you'll find options). 

Driving shouldn't be a problem.  I used to drive Toronto to Buffalo every weekend and if it is off peak hours it is 70-90 min downtown to downtown.

Niagara-on-the lake is a great town, but a little off the highway.

By underground area are you referring to an underground system of tunnels?  if so then yes we do.  It is called the PATH (http://www.toronto.ca/path/) 27 km long with over 1,200 stores - largest underground shopping complex in the world.

[Brad]

Welcome mjussawalla.  We appreciate the information.  Any other data you can provide about the bowl and Toronto is appreciated.

And now my International Bowl trivia:

It's only been won by Big East teams

2007 - Cincinnati

2008 - Rutgers

2009 - UConn

The 2009 game had more than 40,000 in attendance.

Attendance has grown every year since 2007.  I'm afraid the Ungratefuls of South Florida will see that streak snapped.  Yes, we're further away than those three schools, and it costs money, yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, not having a strong alumni base (numbers, dollars and maturity) will be as evident in our International Bowl attendance as it is in other things for this YOUNG program.

[mjussawalla]

Welcome mjussawalla.  We appreciate the information.  Any other data you can provide about the bowl and Toronto is appreciated.

And now my International Bowl trivia:

It's only been won by Big East teams

2007 - Cincinnati

2008 - Rutgers

2009 - UConn

The 2009 game had more than 40,000 in attendance.

Attendance has grown every year since 2007.  I'm afraid the Ungratefuls of South Florida will see that streak snapped.  Yes, we're further away than those three schools, and it costs money, yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, not having a strong alumni base (numbers, dollars and maturity) will be as evident in our International Bowl attendance as it is in other things for this YOUNG program.

Many more locals are pre-buying tickets then in previous years.  By locals, I don't only mean from Toronto, in fact people from Western New York and from Northern Ontario regularly make the trip.  Don't forget, while people who live in Florida have easy access to College Football - this is the only chance for many people to see any live action.  I've had people come to me months ago wishing they could see George Selvie and USF live...here is their chance.

As for info on the International Bowl - there is a lot of good stuff in the season preview link above.

The combination of an indoor stadium, FieldTurf and the amount of time teams have to prepare for this game has led to some great performances:

-Connecticut’s Dahna Deleston’s100 yard TD was the longest interception return for a touchdown in

NCAA Bowl History

-Rutgers’ Ray Rice’s 2008 International Bowl performance of 280 rushing yards ranks him 4th all time (all bowl games in history)

and his 4 TDs ranks him tied for 2nd in history.

-Ball State’s Dante Love has the 4th most all-purpose yards in a bowl game with 325 yards

[Sitting_BULL]

One thing everybody has to do is go to the bottom floor of the CN Tower which is made of glass and you stand there and look straight down 100+ stories to the ground.

Definitely cool!

[mjussawalla]

One thing everybody has to do is go to the bottom floor of the CN Tower which is made of glass and you stand there and look straight down 100+ stories to the ground.

Definitely cool!

Yes, it is.  If you are planning on going up the CN Tower, you can also make reservations at the 360 restaurant (revolving restaurant at the top of the tower).  It is expensive, but when you count the ride up the tower, plus the sometimes 1h wait to get up, it is a great experience.

[CousinRicky]

One thing everybody has to do is go to the bottom floor of the CN Tower which is made of glass and you stand there and look straight down 100+ stories to the ground.

Definitely cool!

Bottom floor?  This is Toronto, not Sydney. 

[Guest nybullsfan]

One thing everybody has to do is go to the bottom floor of the CN Tower which is made of glass and you stand there and look straight down 100+ stories to the ground.

Definitely cool!

And definitely not for those (like me) who suffer from vertigo. I was scared out of my wits up there! But I survived, LOL!

.