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This is not news to the CFL. Wednesday’s announcement was held at the headquarters of Twitter Canada, a move that seemed entirely designed to show that the CFL was hip to things kids like. (Whether kids actually like Twitter is beside the point.)

Ambrosie, who had said that it’s important for the league to “connect with the next generation of fans” in response to a question about the ongoing off-field struggles of the Argonauts, was asked how, exactly, he would going about making those connections. He responded by noting that we were right there at Twitter HQ.

“Obviously, digital media is a big part of the Millennial culture, so how do we use social media?” he said. But social media is a way for people to interact with and experience things with which they are interested; they don’t fall in love with something because it happens to have a busy Twitter feed. Getting young people to care about the CFL is the root challenge, as it has been for several of Ambrosie’s predecessors.

The new guy certainly thinks it can be done. “Inch by inch, mile by mile, we’ll win the battle for their hearts and minds,” Ambrosie said. He noted later, almost in passing, that when he drives around his neighbourhood, “we don’t see kids throwing the football around like we did when I was a kid.” That’s fair enough, but Ambrosie certainly has enough else to do without taking on the challenge of reversing the participation rates in youth football. Maybe set out some more achievable short-term goals first.

He said he’s confident the Toronto market will rebound, and cited the commitment of the team’s owners — Bell Media and Larry Tanenbaum — to “slow, steady” growth, which is another way of saying not to panic if business at BMO Field doesn’t pick up soon. The Argos have time, as does Ambrosie.

“This game is fundamental to who we are as Canadians,” the new commissioner said. It’s clear that Ambrosie believes that. His challenge is to get enough of the rest of the country to agree with him.