SirAndrew

When I first glanced at this post, I thought they finally settled on a name of “Federal Law Enforcement” for a moment.

I couldn’t agree more. I don’t want to get into economic politics, because people get too feisty about that, but I’m willing to state the reality. Many metro areas, including Buffalo, have entire suburbs where you need that type of income to afford most homes. You have some middle income people like cops, nurses, and school teachers, but when you belong to that group it seems like everyone else makes significantly more or way less these days. The NFL wants to target that new house in Lancaster crowd. They know the other side of the income spectrum has no disposable income. It’s becoming more of an all or nothing economy. The only issue with the 100K new house crowd is that many are cash poor with mortgages and college debt.

Agree, and I’d assume the teammate vs coach dynamic is different. It’s much easier for a twenty something to just become one of the guys. I’d assume among players there’s almost a suspicion of their coaches level of sincerity. It’s like the boss/worker dynamic. The head coach needs to earn the trust of his team to be a real leader. Everyone makes mistakes, I’m not going to condemn Gruden, but I do see how it could complicate being a leader. It’s really going to depend on how good his current relationship is with that team. The final outcome will ultimately tell us nothing more than how good of a coach Gruden is or isn’t.

Yep, healthcare and education employ substantially more people than anything else in WNY. I’m not claiming that WNY is rich. I’m just saying the blue collar thing is almost folklore at this point. I know some people who live in working class Buffalo city neighborhoods, but most people live in the burbs. Many of those areas would be considered quite fancy by rural and city folk.

You’re correct, Buffalo doesn’t have the wealth of many big cities, but I encourage anyone who’s curious to look at a list of the top employers in WNY. WNY isn’t just a city of blue collar workers anymore. Buffalo has one of the poorest inner cities in the country. Those stats drag down the rest of the area. People from the East Side already aren’t attending games for the most part, because they can’t afford it. There’s plenty of well paid folks in the suburbs. I’m not claiming Buffalo can support anything too high end, but the city of workers with ripped jeans and hard hats is a bit of a myth at this point.

At what point did I say anyone owes me anything? I encourage you to re read my previous posts on this topic. I’m saying that a downtown location would make sense from the prospective of large business owners. I never said anything about what the team should do for the sake of the fans. I’m very confused by how you made that assumption. Did my statement “the rich get richer” upset you? Regardless of political affiliations, it’s simply a truth that decisions follow the money. That’s the world, it’s never a statement on the fan getting a raw deal. That’s a different discussion.

What in the world does that have to do with my belief that the politically connected have input into where a stadium goes?

I agree with you, but any money spent on drinking downtown is more than they’re making with the stadium in OP. Business people care about that extra penny, and I believe some of them could be a factor in the state’s plans.

That’s fair, I just disagree the Bills WANT OP. They only want it because it’s cost effective. Yes, the rich do get richer. Especially if the state is contributing a large sum. Those are the people who have a say in political decisions. The guy who owns a private lot in OP doesn’t have much say.

I don’t necessarily disagree, but that’s why I said downtown provides cash for some political connected people. You can say it doesn’t help the local economy all you want, but it certainly puts money in the pockets of bar owners and those who own private lots etc. Many of those downtown businesses are owned by corporations who have some political clout. It’s not about the mom and pop shops you mention, it’s about the big time businessmen of WNY.

If the state pitches in enough money to make a downtown location the same cost as OP, do you think the team really cares that it’s not in OP? Is there one reason other than cost why the team cares if they stay in OP?

People always say this, and it may be true. However, I think it misses a key point. There are many political connected people who own businesses and land downtown. It’s fair to argue that a downtown stadium doesn’t revitalize a city, but the owners of bars and parking lots/garages will certainly see an increase in revenues. Revenue from Sunday gameday would change hands, going to political connected people who have the power to push for a downtown site. Think of the private parking lots in OP, most of those people are local landowners and small businesses. The parking lots in the city are often owned by some relatively important people. Those people play a huge role in where a stadium goes when they want public funding.

I try my best not to judge others as well, I know what I want out of life, others can have what that want. My greatest issue is with hypocrisy. I see too many people who use their marriage as a show of morality. I can’t believe how many claim to be god fearing family people, but basically have open marriages. Suddenly when their lifestyle becomes public knowledge, you get these lame apologies, and the husband/wife saying their partner made a “mistake” that they forgive. There’s nothing to “forgive” when it’s just the way your relationship works. Americans have this weird paradox, especially public figures, where you’re expected to show a conservative public face, but people behave much more liberally when no one is looking.

I understand why people feel that way, personally I don’t understand getting married in 2021 if you want to be “free”. There was a time you needed to be married in order to be considered a fully functional adult, that’s no longer the norm. Why enter into a traditional institution when you’re not being forced, yet you want to be contemporary ? With that said, I agree with your sentiment. Everyone seems certain that Urban’s wife must be furious, and wants a divorce. I’m amazed that so many people are that naive. I’ve known plenty of couples where both parties do what they want. It blows my mind that people aren’t aware of this trend.

Yeah, she’s probably just mad that people are mocking the entire situation. I will say it’s funny how few people understand that some couples have “arrangements” in their marriage, and who knows what this couple is all about. Urban has made a lot of money over the years, it’s possible anything goes, but it’s more about the publicity that makes them uneasy.

The modern NFL fan wants to see the best game, unless they’re a fan of a team playing in the same time slot. I don’t understand why networks and the league continue to think teams like the Cowboys and Giants are a such a big draw. I know they always put up big numbers because they still have plenty of fans, but the average fan in middle America wants the best matchup.

Focusing solely on your detractors is a classic rap move. Maybe Slim Beasley just stays in character all the time.

I wouldn’t call anyone an a-hole for booing Losman, Holcomb, or Hobert though. That’s called wisdom.

I agree with you, but fans have booed players for off field stuff since the beginning of time. I’m not saying they should in this case, but to go after the entire fan base is what people have an issue with. Cole is one of my favorite players, but he’s become more unlikeable to me. He’s coming across as a wannabe Vanilla Ice with cool ink who’s trying to be hard, but he’s actually mentally soft.

The majority might side against him, but the Bills would be on cable news networks non stop framed as a cancel culture story. I think the Bills would prefer to handle Beasley in house.

That’s true, but then the Bills become front page news, talk radio, and social media sensations for all the wrong reasons. I’m not convinced the NFLPA wouldn’t step in, because Beasley could claim he’s being targeted for his beliefs. That’s why I see this as being such a bad spot for the team. Beasley has the upper hand imo.

That’s where the team is in a pickle. If you silence Bease, he becomes a martyr and hero to millions, while doing nothing to free the team of distractions, because it would create more of them. I’m not weighting in politically. I’ve got plenty of friends who feel the same as Beasley, but I don’t like that he’s using his upper hand to act like a fool.

There’s a good chance he’ll naturally be washed up soon anyway, even without this drama. Small slot guys don’t typically last forever.

Once a Cowboy, always a Cowboy I guess.

It’s mostly in his head. Both him and Mongo love the Twitter victim role. That’s the bigger issue than personal choice at this point.