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Argonaut fans keep the faith, sending Bon Jovi CDs up in a blaze of glory

andrew bucholtz

The group of Toronto Argonauts' fans protesting Jon Bon Jovi's bid to buy the Buffalo Bills (reportedly with an eye towards moving them to Toronto) came through on their promise of a literal CD-burning party Sunday, torching Bon Jovi albums at their tailgate party before the Argonauts' loss to the B.C. Lions. They went wild in the streets, burning for love of their team and giving Bon Jovi a taste of some bad medicine. Terry Davidson of The Toronto Sun has the full story on their blaze of glory:

New Jersey went up in flames Sunday.

That album by the rock band Bon Jovi — released in 1998 and named after the group’s home state — was one of a handful of the band’s CDs which was soaked with lighter fluid and set ablaze on a bed of charcoal late Sunday in a downtown parking lot by around 20 hard-core Argos fans.

The CD burning, which also included the torching of the popular albums Slippery When Wet, Crossroad, and Lost Highway, was in protest of the band’s vocalist, Jon Bon Jovi, being part of a Toronto-based group bidding to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills team and possibly move them to the city.

Argos superfan and protest organizer David Knott said Toronto having an NFL team would spell the end of his favourite CFL team.

Knott, 49, insisted most sports fans can still afford to see the Double Blue play in a city where high-end sporting events have become financially out of reach for many.

“If (an) NFL (team) came, the Argos would die instantly, (and) we’d lose a 141-year tradition,” said Knott, an Argos fan for almost 20 years. “We’re trying to make a point. We want Jon Bon Jovi to hear the message that we do not want (an NFL) team in Toronto.”

They definitely don't want an NFL team, dead (as the Bills have been for most of the last couple decades) or alive, and they're not alone. An Angus Reid poll last fall showed that 40 per cent of Canadians don't want a Canadian-based NFL team under any circumstances, and 81 per cent don't want one if it knocks the CFL out of business. It's hard to imagine a NFL team not hurting the CFL in some way, especially in competition for fan and corporate dollars, and even one under common ownership (as has been discussed) would still likely take away from the Argos a bit. Thus, it's understandable why Knott and his group are taking measures like this to discourage Bon Jovi and the Bills; they never want to say goodbye to their team. It's their life, and from this corner, there's nothing wrong with emphatically telling Bon Jovi to have a nice day somewhere else, especially if it keeps the Argonauts living on a prayer.