Visitors Accuse Torontonians Of Being “Weather Wimps”
Posted November 23, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They’re here from out west and you might say they’re giving Toronto the cold shoulder. Thousands of tourists who support either the Saskatchewan Roughriders or the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have converged on the city for this weekend’s Grey Cup.
They’ve arrived just in time for the first real blast of winter. But don’t expect much sympathy as they hear you complain endlessly about the sudden snap. They’ve got no sympathy and some are going so far as to call you “weather wimps.”
It’s not just the frosty conditions. All of them recall the infamous day former Mayor Mel Lastman called in the army when the city was buried by three huge snowstorms in less than two weeks back in 1999.
For some, it’s just another affirmation of everything they think of when the Big Smoke comes to mind. “We’re from Saskatchewan. That’s a balmy day for us,” laughs Kevin Fenwick, dressed in a green nose. “That’s not a problem at all.”
His wife concurs. “We’re not even dressed,” Sheri Fenwick adds. “I don’t even have my big winter woollies on like we have to have normally.”
Others from the other side of the country are equally derisive. “I’m from Halifax,” Justin Manuel chimes in. “So it’s not too bad.”
And then there are the real voices of experience: the people from around Winnipeg. “We have a friend here and they called off school for his son yesterday,” one woman chides. “We in Manitoba, we don’t do that. There wasn’t even snow on the ground when they called it off.”
But CityNews meteorologist Frank Ferragine begs to differ with those from the ‘Peg. “In terms of snowfall, you know the average snowfall in Toronto, about 130 centimetres of snow. Average snowfall in Winnipeg: 111 centimetres. It’s so cold, it doesn’t snow.”
Many western visitors are also infuriated about the perceived lack of enthusiasm over the Grey Cup game itself, accusing GTA residents of having no spirit and not being true CFL fans. And they can’t resist one last observation – the big match between the Bombers and the Riders is being held indoors at Rogers Centre, where the temperature will stay in the comfortable 20C plus range.
