Endzone Animal

No, you are badly misreading this. Those of us who equate Ralph Wilson with the Buffalo Bills are very, very sincere about dumping him and ending our relationship as fans of his team by extension.

Great, great article, GG. Thank you for pinning this thread, Mods.

Why do you care that we are done with Wilson's Bills? Why are you coming into a thread where you know you aren't wanted? Do you think your opinion matters to us? Go away, "Superfan".

I live outside of Ft Lauderdale now and have the Dolphins locally. I'm definitely going to root for them in the playoffs, even thought about going to the game this Sunday. Not ready to go to their message boards, buy jerseys, or get my heart and soul into them, just too tough being from Buffalo and all. Probably will be a casual fan picking out teams that interest me from one year to the next, maybe lean more to the Dolphins as time goes by. Of course, all this is biding time for when Ralph drops dead. I'll return to the Bills provided the new ownership keeps them in Buffalo, and if not I'll probably just drift for good into being a casual Dolphin fan who roots for other teams depending on the season. This coming season my favorite team will be whoever is playing Wilson's Bills. I want them to go 0-16.

So, where does that now leave you? Will you watch football without a particular rooting interest? Stop watching altogether? Pick another team? Maybe you're like me and not quite sure what the answer is yet.

Why should you care if many of us have decided to leave Wilson's Bills? If we cared what you think about shutting up we'd have asked for your opinion. We don't, but since you only care about yourself, thanks for stopping by.

Personally, I've been a Bills fan since I was born in 1967. I attended games in the Rock Pile as a tot when the Bills were terrible, and then Rich Stadium through the Lou Saban/OJ years, the disastrous Ringo year, the O-FER the 70's against the Dolphins era, the Chuck Knox/Talkin Proud era of rebirth, the dreaded Stephenson/Bullough era of collapse, the Levy era of rebirth, playoffs and crushing Super Bowl losses, and all of the subsequent misery that has followed since. I was a fanatic, never missing a game, wearing all the Bills gear, tailgaiting, in short, I was a complete die-hard maniac. However, all that began to change the past couple years due to the way Ralph Wilson, never a particularly beloved owner to begin with, essentially mailed it in. He had enough of Buffalo, enough of the fans, enough of trying to put out a winner, and enough of even pretending to care how that affected the people who are fans of the team. Bad enough that the team was atrocious, the decision to not put a clause in his will to give matching rights to keep the team in Buffalo began my slide out of fanhood. The flirtation with Totonto and subsequent scheduling of games under the phony "regional outreach" money grab began the slide out for me, and when he badmouthed Buffalo and refused to soothe fears and rumors of future relocation, well, that became really hard for me to digest. I felt odd all year watching the team, like it was an act now, forced, dressing up in meaningless costume and watching games without any of that fire I'd had for almost 40 years of being a fan. Something didn't seem right. When the Bills went to Toronto, watching that game was like being out-of-body, like seeing your wife who you suspected of cheating having sex with another man on TV for everyone to see. I was nauseated and had to turn the channel for good at halftime. The glib comments and laughter by Ralph Wilson to the media after the Toronto abomination was like a punch in the gut. I started to wonder how I could root for this guy and his team, it felt very, very wrong to just act like everything was still OK. It wasn't, and I new it, and as it turns out it never would be again. The decision to retain Jauron was just the final confirmation of what I already new. I was done as a fan of anything associated with Ralph Wilson and came to grips with the fact that I was now moving on for good. I'm not sure where to go from here, but I do know this: I will never, ever be a fan of this team so long as Ralph Wilson is the owner. After he dies, if the team stays in Buffalo under a new owner I will open up my heart again, but until that time the balcony is closed and I'll just be in a wierd football limbo. How about you?

If you're a long time devoted Bills fan who feels your differences with Ralph Wilson are now irreconcilable, and as a result have decided the time has come to officially resign as Buffalo Bills fan, this is the thread for you. We will talk about the pain that's felt in breaking up with the owner of the team after so many years, the anger we feel, and offer suggestions on how to best move on. This thread is NOT for those fans who remain unconditionally supportive of Ralph Wilson's Bills. If you are offended by the idea that fans like us have decided to break up with Wilson's team please take your opinions elsewhere. We get that you consider yourself the "real fan", we know you will "remain loyal" no matter what Wilson does or says, so don't feel the need to use this thread to express those sentiments. We really don't want to hear it, don't care how much of a "Superfan" you are, and thank you in advance for respecting this request. For those of you deciding to end your relationship with Wilson's Bills, the thread is yours to discuss your personal history as a fan following the team, when you started to become conflicted about continuing to support them, and sharing ideas of how to move forward now that that relationship is over. It can be a strange and lost island for those of us who have now left our Bills days behind, and we all still carry a lot of intense, hard feelings of betrayal, anger, sadness, and confusion of what to do next. Hopefully, this thread will be a place for us to try and work all that out.

Ralphy-poo retaining Jauron...what a shocker. So, anymore of you want to sign up on the Ralph Must Go Express?

Did we expect anything less? Join my protest, gang. Forget Jauron, Ralph must go.

Playing when you're in the mood, unless you get a little nauseus, and when you're not in the mood just sitting in a luxury box until you get bored of the game, and then going to Chippewa to run over some white women in your SUV.

Sorry...Your wishes will be respected. Please understand no offense was intended, and based on the unanimous response I'll make note that the "Battered Wife" analogy is best left off public forums for the future.

I said this earlier today. Martz comes in as the cheap, retread coach in waiting after Jauron gets fired following next season's 7-9 record.

"Bill" refers to the bill located on the jaw of the male Buffalo, similar to a duck bill, and is used to attract females as part of the mating ritual.

...and as fans we have the right to boycott if he mistreats us and provides a horrendous product. I'd toss in the battered wife analogy again, but some people get their panties in such a wad I'll just shake my head and say "there we go again"... Please, I'm begging of you, tell me that this was sarcasm.

Good one!

Uhh, ever heard of the word "analogy"? If you are that offended than how about ending all the references to war in football, because as we know it mocks all the people who are killed by bombs, ground attacks, arial assaults, etc. Lighten up Frances, it should go without saying that I was not literally saying football fans being abused by a terrible owner is the equivalent of battering your wife. Man...frustrating.

I would rather inspire others to boycott all things Ralph Wilson. If in some microscopic way I can contribute to him losing a couple pennies, well, it's worth it to me. Also, I believe there are a lot of people lurking who agree with my sentiments, and I'd like to give them a chance to be heard even if they are afraid to type it on a forum because of the fierce backlash. "Moving on" can mean different things. To me, it means dealing with moving past Ralph Wilson, getting over the pain and conflict that comes with unilaterally disengaging from him and his product, and trying to lay a foundation for a Contract With the Fans, or a Fans Bill of Rights. I contend there is a minimum set of standards and treatment towards the fan required from the team owner if he expects to receive the support of his potential customers. The age of naiive fanhood, unconditional support of a franchise regardless of the owner's actions and words, is over. It's got to be the owner's job to please us BEFORE we fulfill our responsibility to give back to them. WE are the customer, so WE come first. HE must demonstrate the qualities of loyalty and love towards his customers before those customers can be expected to be turned into fans and make him money. The one-way street only leads to the fan getting run over by the owner's limo.

We have nothing left to prove regarding our loyalty to the Bills and the NFL. If anything, we demonstrated a pathological allegiance and all potential new owners fully get that. What it hopefully could do is force a quicker end to Wilson's poisonous ownership, which means either a new local ownership or relocation. Either way, we'll be free from Ralph's reign of terror once and for all.

It's not so easy. I'll first fight to wipe out the cancer before finding anyone new. Still, it would be wise to make plans for the future...not sure what that will be, yet.

How about realizing it's OK to love the team, and respect yourself, enough to boycott Ralph "The Disease" Wilson and his desire to kill and degrade everything you love? We shouldn't continue supporting a greedy doctor who's performing malpractice on our loved ones.

Looks like Ralph opened himself up an account at TSW.

You apparently love your girlfriend, your father, your friends, and have great pride in your home town. The problem here is you are projecting your love for all this to the Bills, aka. Ralph Wilson's web, when in reality he is not reciprocating anything and represents only himself and his family's money. He could care less about you, could care less about your family, could care less about your girlfriend and mocks your city. He's using you and your relationships for his own personal gain, and your just getting sucked into his illusion unconditionally because you equate the illusion with your loved ones. You DO have a choice, only you've taken your choice off the table. You have the mindset that there in fact IS NO CHOICE for you, because Ralph Wilson holds your cards. You CAN'T tell him to go to hell no matter what he says or does because your not being truthful to yourself. You've got to get over this dream that your friends, family and city are codependant on Ralph Wilson's product. You can do better. Insist on more, don't let "whatever he gives you" be good enough. We've all had the wonderful experiences you've had. I had season tickets all my life growing up and throughout college until I moved. I lived for tailgaiting and the fortunes of the team. However, over the past few years I've felt the relationship go from being a good and healthy outlet of bonding and fanhood, to seeing through an owner who has mailed it in, is taking advantage of my loyalties and zealotry for his own gain, and publicly crapping on me. It's now so transparent that he doesn't intend to give you a decent product and is just out to use you for your money. He's trampling your loyalties, and intends to give the green light to shipping your illusion out of town to whatever big city comes calling after his death. You have the right to expect better. Settle for garbage and you'll keep right on getting it, because that's all you've sold yourself for. Dump his slimy, putrid product that offers only losing and failure. If the team is ever going to get your money and loyalty again make them EARN IT BACK. Say it: Ralph, GET OUT!!

I understand your point, but ask yourself just how much entertainment you get from this product? It makes you constantly "B word and moan" after spending your hard earned money, and you consider the owner a disease...what is it you're getting out of this? Would you go out to an expensive restaurant over and over again even if you hated the owner, the service, and the food was always terrible and made you sick? You're trying to justify supporting the unsupportable. Preconditions have to be met. If there is no reciprocation from the one you invest your time, money, heart and soul with it would be insanity to continue the charade. Don't you see, he has manipulated you and you're going with it unconditionally rather than admit the ruse and dump him. Repeat after me: RALPH, GET OUT!!

The Bills are not independent of Ralph, much as you pretend it to be so; he is the owner and you cannot separate support and loyalty for the team from support and loyalty of its owner. It's not normal to think this way. Nobody would ever patron a company that always put out a terrible product and had a vile "disease" for an owner. You are in a state of dillusion, and maybe you want to keep it that way as long as possible, but that doesn't make it healthy. All you're doing is perpetuating your suffering, because in reality you hate buying that owner's horrendous product, and are angry as hell at the him for laughing at you all the way to the bank. Spend your money on other things, take your kids to the Falls, or to a UB game, or to an amusement park. Anything that can make you happy, but why sit in misery just to help make some nasty old disease richer when you don't have to? You deserve better. He has a hold over you, is taking advantage of you, is literally mocking you, and you keep handing him your money and pretending to be happy. You aren't, you can't be, and you need to repeat after me: RALPH, GET OUT!!