They came all the way from Edmonton dressed in green and white.

No, they weren't displaced Saskatchewan Roughriders' fans, disillusioned following the Green and White's heartbreaking loss in last Sunday's Grey Cup.

Justin Adam, 17, and his brother Jordan, 18, are New York Jets' fans, and for the chance to see the other Green and White team playing the Buffalo Bills in a regular-season game at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Thursday, they literally paid the price, shelling out $600 apiece for a ticket, airplane fare and a hotel room.

"I've always wanted to go to Toronto," Justin said. "It's an opportunity to go, so I took it."

As for his green and white makeup, which stood out among the crowd waiting to the stadium, Justin said: "I want people to look at me and see what team I'm cheering for. And I want to get on TV."

The Roughriders fans strolled the streets of Calgary dressed in all kinds of Green and White garb to show their Rider Pride. Who ever knew the Jets had such diehard fans, especially from the Canadian west, which is predominantly Canadian Football League country?

"This is Canada," Justin said. "If we can get an NFL team here, that would be great, too."

Behind the Adam brothers stood Tyler Peters, a transplanted Newfoundlander living in Toronto for three years, and his girlfriend, Melissa Penny.

"I've made her obsessed with football in the last three years," he said. "She loves it. She doesn't have any choice."

Ah, yes, true romance, it comes in many shapes and forms.

It's been said Toronto has a love affair with the NFL, although it seems to have cooled since a pre-season game and a regular-season game last year kicked off the first of eight Bills' games to be played at Rogers Centre between 2008-2012.

The late Ted Rogers bought the package from Bills' owner Ralph Wilson for $78 million. It seemed like a good idea at the time - kind of like buying the SkyDome for a $30 pittance.

When Rogers and Wilson - the two good old boys - announced their partnership and the cost to buy tickets, it drew lukewarm response. Getting financially gouged for a pre-season game between the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers drew some attention, but the litmus test came for the regular-season game against Miami. Bills' fans didn't like the fact a game against Miami had been shuffled off from Buffalo to Toronto. And they didn't care too much for the ticket prices, either.

Two and a half hours before Thursday night's game, a scalper sold a $185 ticket to an individual for $85. The scalper actually said there was a market for tickets this year compared to last year when ducats could be had for free.

But the atmosphere outside the stadium lacked energy and inside it felt flat as flat as Argo game in the warmups. Corey Mace, a Canadian backup defensive lineman from Port Moody, B.C., led the Bills out from the inflated tunnel shaped like a Bills helmet, a nice gesture by interim head coach Perry Fewell. Only when wide receiver Terrell Owens, announced last as part of the Bills' starting offence, strutted out on to the field did the crowd make some noise.

The Bills made them want to shout.

But the reality is, the Bills' novelty has started to show signs of slowing down. Maybe it's the price of tickets - notwithstanding they've been lowered since last year - or that the Bills and Jets are struggling, or a midweek game doesn't have the appeal as a Sunday tilt. Whatever the reason or reasons, the NFL and the Bills aren't the talk of Toronto anymore.

Then again, tell that to the Adam brothers from Edmonton or the couple whose love affair is centred on football.