Buffalo Rising Online

Death knell of a city if that happens... If I ever have a son/daughter, I do not want to take him/her to Toronto to see a game (though it is a nice city- what BFLO Should be)

How does Green Bay stay afloat? Can't we do what they do? Have to admit, Spitzer/local politicians better be thinking of a solution to this. just my opinion/feelings...

Take the f#*%ing Jaguars.... The can't even sell out thier stadium without "blacking out" seats

Sorry - This whole thing is touching a nerve.

North Buffalo John is pissed

Anyone want to go and see the Buffalo Braves play a little B-ball tonight?

Don't they have a Football team already that they support moderately?

And you can bet that once they are gone the Sabers will raise their season ticket prices

Perhaps this area is not rich enough to support NFL football. But there's still money to be made off of SOME type of professional football in WNY. What comes next?

OK Ralph, you made a great business decision to buy the team for $25,000. You made a ton of money and now you complain because you don't make as much as other owners. YOUR TIME IS UP!! You hear me Ralph YOUR TIME IS UP!! Stop complaining and talking about how everyone owes you. You put a crap team on the field for the last 10 years and the people of Buffalo still lined your pockets EVERYSINGLE YEAR! Nobody owes you anything Ralph so if you want your legacy to stay in tact, start working on selling the team while you are still alive.

While you are at it, stop insulting the city where the Bills currently reside. We all know it could be better here and if you think it is a hopeless situation stay in Detroit for good!!

Word on the street from 1999? And even so....why lay out a cost then when he could still be alive 10 years later (almost now) for much more money? Rumours......old at that.

If the team went to Toronto say goodbye to affordable tickets. I say the region could support both the Bills and another team in Toronto. (Like the Sabres/Leafs) The small seating capacity of Rodger's along with outrageous prices they would grab would still leave a huge number of people/buisnesses left out of the Toronto/So. Ontario market willing to take in games down here.

And just beacuase a Market is big/growing does not ensure success at the gate, even if it is the NFL. Did anyone see that prime time game in Jacksonville this year. It looked 40% empty and they were a team with a good record and seemingly playoff bound. And its great seeing the whole upper level seats wrapped in a big Jaguar logo....

Then again we couldn't support the Destroyers

Buffalo Argonauts join the CFL

Then again maybe Wilson is just full of hot air.... and prunes.

I thought about this a lot, especially during the Super Bowl. Being in NYC, an area about to receive a $100 million+ stadium, the "Colosseum" of America, it really makes me mad how the NFL has changed.

Let's take a step back for a minute, and revisit what the nfl WAS.

When it was created back 100+ years ago, the purpose was to put together a game, show, entertainment, of two teams battling each other in this new sport called football. It was controlled war between two teams. The teams were supposed to provide entertainment and give fans something to do on sunday, the day before returning to work. During the Great Depression the NFL helped provide funds for the unemployed, and soon became a national sport. In the following years the NFL grew to 20 or so teams. Many were formed in manufacturing cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland & Detroit. Blue collar workers would save up part of their GM / Bethlehem Steel paycheck to shell out at games, occasionally bringing their children to allow them to enjoy the excitement. The NFL (as well as the Buffalo Bills) built their fan base person by person, brick by brick. Up until the mid 1980s, this was how the NFL wanted to be, a sport every American could enjoy and go to. With ticket prices in (inflation adjusted) $15-30 range in the 1980s, it was not a stretch to be able to go to 1 or 2 games a year, and eventually be able to afford season tickets. The Bills attendance shot up, and lead the league for 5 or so years straight. Things were great.

Fast forward to today. The NFL makes me sick. With Super Bowl commercials each costing 3 million, and salaries in the 10s of millions (soon to reach 100 million), the sport has went from an American sport classic to a money pit. If you don't see this you are blind. At first the goal of the NFL was to reach as many people as possible to enjoy the game; now it is to make as much money as possible. It is sad and disgusting to watch such a transformation happen, especially to an "American" sport, but lets face it: everything boils down to money. Money controls everything, including football. Do you actually think the game is fair? Ha.

So like many others have said, I will continue to enjoy my Bills for the next few years, until Wilson dies or a miracle happens, whichever occurs first. I can still remember going to so many games, Bills parties, Super Bowl parties, tailgating, playing the game, wanting to be Jim Kelly. Its really sad that it has to end like this, but like everything else, it all boils down to money.

thanks ralph -

I am predicting the future 10 years down the road.....

The stadium is empty and our elected State and County idiots (Chris Collins aside - too new) are trying to figure out what to do with it.

11 years down the road the Toronto team with the Super Bowl

25 years down the road... The stadium is empty and our elected State and County idiots are trying to figure out what to do with it.

Hey cant not BRO do somethng about this instead of just the reporting. You are the rich guys. Im ouuta this city when the Buffalo Bills they go. Who we gonna watch the Chinese basketball team here! You guys are always talkig about the good things going on aroun here but this is whats really going on aroun here. You talk about all the projects starting up but only a few of em get done and those are only helpig the few.

Without the Bills buffalo becomes Toledo, OH

Ralph Wilson thinks Buffalo is a town not a city.

Truthfully, I don't see how losing a football team would break a city. The Bill's do not employ very many, they do not control industry or the housing market, not very many lives revolve around the weekly game. I see maybe a few mom and pop diners around the stadium hurting and maybe the corner beer store. Think of all the people that would work a 5 day week since they have no reason for a hangover on Monday. Sure, I hope they stay, but...

Ralph Wilson [deleted]

It's pretty classless to bash the city you represent. Maybe if he actually lived here he would think better of the city.

[deleted: nasty]

Egads... without the Bills, Buffalo is... is... Rochester!

A-men, Arete.

Makes sense. This will be a good shot in the arm for Toronto

I think we can thank a few people (groups of people) for this mess: Stupid Politicians Unions Anti-Development Libs WASPS

Screwed Buffalo over the last 50 yrs...

Amen William, Living away now, one of the biggest things I miss about home is the comrodery of tailgating and being at Bills games, the joys of wins and yes, the mondays after defeats. In Philly a group of over 50 of us expats get together every Sunday to watch, it is our Buffalo connection. Say the Bills are no big deal and the city won't die, but it is one less reason for people who have left to come home, and one less reason for people to stay. Sorry, but I love the Bills, I held hands with my folks when Norwood missed that kick, and I don't really care if its too big a part of my life, in the end life is all about what makes people happy, the Bills do that, and when they're gone, so goes a big part of what makes the city tick, the soul of the city. I love the architecture, the Philharmonic is great and all the other stuff...but Buffalo is the Bills!

ChocolateShake = Reads books on fall Sundays

I have attended Bills' games since I was 4 years old with my Dad. We went to Atlanta for Super Bowl 28 and thought we had a chance to win. We stayed until the end of the Houston greatest comeback game. We were there when the Bills buried the Raiders and we suffer now through the long winters without a playoff team.

Having said all that, I can't believe I am about to say this but I don't think the bIlls leaving Buffalo will be a bad thing and here's why. With the BIlls gone, locals can stop tying their identity to a team that doesn't care about them, never wins anything and only costs more money. We can devote our Sundays to family or to getting other things accomplished. Perhaps we can focus on the problems with our hometown and come up with solutions to fix them. Most of all, we can find better ways to spend our time than on following a team that is only about the bottom line in a league that will eventually run into a loyalty problem when it hops from city to city for more cash. I look at the NBA and I see how often teams move and it's a joke. Why should you invest your money in a team when they can leave at the drop of a hat.

If the Bills leave, I won't watch the NFL anymore, MLB has been irrelevant to me since I can remember, I'm a hockey fan solely because of the Sabres and wouldn't watch a game if they moved and the NBA is a joke. All of which leads to me to my point. If the bills leave we can still build a new downtown satdium and root for a team that will never leave Buffalo and have reasonable ticket prices and we'll even be able to watch players who care about the game-I am talking about UB football. The Bills leaving would be the perfect reason to take this program to the next level and to do it downtown. The resources are there for a stadium/convention center. We could get top recruits and move to a better division and next thing you know we are in love with another team that can never leave.

Of course it could work in reverse of everyones fears. It could wind up attracting a while bunch of season ticket purchasers from the toronto/hamilton metro area which would allow the Bills to raise their prices and make them stick.

If the Bills are to stay in Buffalo then they need higher ticket prices, more suite boxes well quite a few things like a lukrative marketing deal with Canadian TV. These things could happen!

Plus lets remember that the canadian dollar being at par to the US dollar is an abnormality so the longterm view of the Bills moving to canada and then converting their currency back to US dollars could just as easily nix the deal in the future that looks tempting today.

Ralph Wilson can put anything he wants in the will about selling the Bills but I think everything is going to be done to keep them in Buffalo including a major political threats of anti-trust investigations and lawsuits as Schumer threatened with revenue sharing, there are also some major regional players like Golisano who now carries a huge amount of regional weight with the turnaround and success of the Sabres.

I dont blame any of the public anxiety in fact I say keep it coming. However, I say keep your spirits up. There are an army of locals, regionals and elected officials that need the Bills as a regional asset who arent going to pass up this fight when it comes!

Please forgive some of us for thinking there are better things to do on fall Sundays than getting pissed or puked on by obnoxious fat drunks in Orchard Park.

There's always the UB Bulls. :)

Calling Dr. Kervorkian... time to euthanize this ingrate. Did'nt Buffal just retrofit his precious gift from Erie County? To hell with the old codger, ingrate... Erie County has bent over backwards to accomodate this SOB, gave him a stadium, renovated it so he could get his luxury boxes in there. I say no more, time to take a stand. They do very little for the economy as there is hardly any businesses around the stadium! Let them go and cheer for the Sabres!

Maybe the pregnant pause was gas???? He is 191 years old

Personally, I'll be glad when the Bills are gone. I am embarrassed by the behavior of the "fans" at the games (as seen on Real Sports - HBO recently) and all of the wasted time/money people pour into it. Maybe it's the last vestige of the by-gone era of steel mills and macho pride, I don't know. Generically, the Bills are kinda thought of as losers because of the superbowl losses, so it's not like the area is going to take some sort of mortal hit.

Too many people's pride and self-esteem is too closely tied to "The Team" and whether or not "we" win or lose. For people that really enjoy the actual GAME, I'll be sorry. However, TV is a pretty cool way to watch the game. For people who need the Bills as a reason to get blind-stinking-drunk, they'll find another reason, I guess - or possibly grow up and find something else to do.

im with gman,get a non nfl team (not a farm type team like the bisons even though they do get great support) sign them to contract for 50k + a year have the local press cover them and ignore the nfl and well have home town heros to root for. have it be city owned do it like vince mcmahon (without the goffyness)didi it get cities that dont have an nfl franchise or have lost theres. id feel a lot better about rooting for a team that isint a gajillion dollar entertainment conglomerate. put some heart in the game the people of buffalo would be proud to support a real home team.

Don't think for a minute that this is it.... there are still many regulations and rules to be change/altered/broken... first and foremost is that its the NATIONAL.. football league.. not the international. I have met many canadians from Southern Ontario.. who are much more Buffalo than Toronto.. if you think about it for a second.. the Bills in Toronto would effectively price out 95% of the teams current clientelle and fan base.. Buffalo and Southern Ontario.. Good luck rebuilding you're fan base from 0..

If this happens it would be a huge loss for the common man... first Buffalo then who?? We're not the only small market in a rust belt.. this is a loss for the common man..

Its time for Wilson to gooo!!! Granted he kept the team here through the "tough times".. but by no means was it free.. all he does is complain about his pockets?? I am with GMAN

Continued: on this one... I can't subsidize the losing anymore.. new owner or new city..

I think its very shallow minded to downplay the economic affect the bills have on the area...don't base it on whats around in OP.. think of the hotels, restaurants, clubs, and stores affected by this...

Look at the attendence records for the league.... the worst are Floridian.. quite simply b/c its cultural... Miami and Jacksonville... its cultural... and then we look at the bills who are "worse off".. but sell out 8/10 homegames??? Please tell me how this makes sense league wise??

Tudor, I think the city misses that macho steelworker attitude, I wish there was less acceptance of things and more fight. Also, don't think that Buffalo fans are any different from any where in the NFL. As far as watching the game on tv, there is absolutely nothing like being at the game, if its not your scene fine, but don't disrespect others for their attendance or love of the game.

Sports fan or not, make no mistake about it...losing the Bills WILL have a major impact on the psyche of WNY, and the national impression of the Buffalo brand.

With that said....it is not exactly imminent that the Bills will leave once Ralph Wilson passes on. Keep these 3 names in mind, as they all have expressed interest in buying the Bills, and all have the cash flow to do so:

Jeremy Jacobs Tom Golisano Robert Rich Jr.

If Green Bay (MSA population: 226,778) can support their team, both with season ticket sales, and corporate sponsorship, then I see no reason why Buffalo (MSA population:1,170,111) can certainly find the corporate support. Don't buy into the hype that Milwaukee is the reason that the Packers can be financially stable. Milwaukee is 2 hours from Green Bay, and Milwaukee is only 500,000 people larger than Buffalo. If you combine Buffalo and Rochester, we actually have a market that is almost 1 million people larger than Milwaukee Green Bay, and we're also much shorter of a distance apart. I'm pretty tired of people saying that Green Bay and Buffalo are the same size. Buffalo MSA is almost a million people larger. With corporations such as XEROX, Kodak, HSBC, M&T, Delaware North, and Paychex being based here, it's hard to say that we can't be a successful NFL city. After 9 years without a playoff appearance, we still sell out our games. The major corporations are here as well, although no one wants to admit that.

So don't close the door and turn out the lights just yet. This is one game we have to win!

What a sweet deal for Darth Wilson, he usurps public funds to expand his empire, the citizens receive no equity position and now we will be left high and dry with an empty stadium. What a wonderful world...

Good god you people are depressing me.

Is the glass half full or half empty? Are the Bills 90% here or 10% outta here?

The overwhelming majority of you choose to believe the Bills are 10% outta here. Yes, the future of the Bills has some uncertainty and most of you assume the worst.

Before today I thought I lived in a winner city. You've all got me thinking I live in a whiner city.

Shake it off!

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!!!