The Toronto Wolfpack held their destiny in their hands. Looking up from a 2-2 standing in the Rugby League Qualifiers, they won three in a row, including an upset of powerhouse Leeds. They were on the edge of a Super League promotion. A winner-gets-promoted affair — The Million Pound Game — against the London Broncos on home turf was exactly where they wanted to be.



“I think for most of the fans, including myself, it was like watching a train wreck,” team co-owner David Argyle told The Athletic in an exclusive interview.



That crash came slowly, at a pace that would normally seem to favor the Wolfpack. A 2-0 deficit at halftime left room for optimism, but shortly after the Wolfpack tied the game, London pulled back ahead 4-2. That would wind up the final, by far the lowest-scoring affair in team history and hardly the style of game — or the outcome — the Wolfpack were expecting.



“You knew it was...