For all you Ralph haters

[Delete This Account]

Pretty amusingly hypocritical that you took such offense to the word 'clown' being disparaging, and then went on a rambling diatribe about how I live in mommy's basement eating pb&j and have no clue about the real world. Stay classy, San Diego.

 

But yes, you are a dummy apologist for a terrible franchise, run by a terrible owner. We all love the Bills, but come on. By any objective measure, Ralph Wilson has been one of, if not the biggest, failures as owner of an NFL team. He has gotten rich beyond any of our wildest imaginations, and will be doing everything in his power to protect that wealth. Good for him, I'd do the same thing. That does not change the fact that save for one flukey run (orchestrated by a man that he ran out of town afterwards, bringing the team right back to its old form), the Buffalo Bills have been the lovable losers of the NFL and the butt of countless jokes.

 

He is a penny-pinching miser, never ready to pay top dollar for top NFL coaching talent. He believes that luck is a bigger factor in the perennial failure of his teams than the caliber of the staff and players. He consistently votes with the "lunatic fringe" of NFL owners, despite being on the collective bargaining gravy train. He shipped away a good number of our home games, games that actually matter in the NFL standings, to a city that didn't even want them (for money). What other NFL team would willfully forfeit their home-field advantage for cash money?

 

Year in and year out we sit back while other teams in the NFL work tirelessly to better themselves through free agency. We've even started to ACCEPT the fact that we'll never bring in any proven NFL stars to help win games. Ralph even invented a new phrase - cash to the cap - to define a brand new concept in player salary savings.

 

But yet we deify the old codger because deep down we are all so scared that we'll lose the Bills. Deep down we know that Buffalo is a third-tier city that somehow luckboxed a NFL franchise. So we'd better not make any ripples, or else the old man will take his ball and go home.

 

Apparently we're even willing to swallow down decades of futility, rather than risk upsetting the apple cart. Just realize that it doesn't have to be that way. Somebody should be accountable for the failure, and that somebody sits at the top.

glad i amused you.

i don't see anywhere in what i've posted in this thread that would make me an apologist. please, re-read what i've written.

the dummy comment's out of line, and your logic is skewed and some of your points awkward at best.

 

let's go point by point:

-- Ralph Wilson was rich before he established the Bills, and would've been rich without them.

-- Never been willing to pay top dollar for coaching talent, sure. But he's paid big money on players. So how does that make him a miser?

-- Buddy, I don't know what lunatic fringe you're talking about, because, in retrospect, most of the owners have moved to Wilson's so-called fringe. (Hint: It's why there might not be an NFL season in 2011).

-- The deal the Bills brokered with Rogers is proving to be a huge windfall for the Bills, and a deal I think Rogers might not have signed based on their failure to meet their initial high hopes. I mean, hell, $9 million a game is a steep price. Sure, you make the claim that it's for money, money which the team can't generate out of cash-dry Western New York.

-- If Mr. Wilson invented the phrase "cash to the cap," then he should've patented it, because there's a lot more teams nowadays following that "cash to the cap" lead.

-- Third-tier city? That's a little tough, isn't it?

 

but hell, what do i know, being a dummy apologist and all, drawn into a discussion with someone who backs up his/her argument with refutable points.

 

jw

 

MINOR EDITS

[Lurker]

fail.

486 green turtlenecks in the closet, 486 green turtlenecks...

[Lurker]

Dummy.

Congrats! You're today's winner in the "why SDS added the ignore feature" contest...

[dollarcoin]

Congrats, it looks like all you cry babies are getting me banned.

 

The Bills are a crap team with crap ownership and a crap front office and crap coaches and crap players.

 

But I guess if you don't drink the kool-aid and want to call a spade a spade, you get banned.

[JohnC]

but hell, what do i know, being a dummy apologist and all, drawn into a discussion with someone who backs up his/her argument with refutable points.

 

John W, What isn't refutable is the team's historacal record. For a franchise working withn a system designed for parity it has not functioned very well. Establishing accountability isn't being unreasonable. For many people the accumulated losses isn't what has been as discouraging so much as the overall caliber of play has been. To put it mildly the entertainment value of the product on the field has been very eroded

 

The irony is that there is a glimmer of hope for an upward trajectory for this franchise with the owner being less involved with the franchise due to his age. It might take some time but a least the flame is flickering.

[Delete This Account]

John W, What isn't refutable is the team's historacal record. For a franchise working withn a system designed for parity it has not functioned very well. Establishing accountability isn't being unreasonable. For many people the accumulated losses isn't what has been as discouraging so much as the overall caliber of play has been. To put it mildly the entertainment value of the product on the field has been very eroded

 

The irony is that there is a glimmer of hope for an upward trajectory for this franchise with the owner being less involved with the franchise due to his age. It might take some time but a least the flame is flickering.

you make valid points, here, JohnC. i'm not denying that.

 

my problem is some of the yahoos, who tend to use questionable -- if not erroneous -- points to back up their claims. and that's the problem with threads or discussions involving Ralph Wilson. some people take this issue far too personally, and some wind up crowing supposed facts that just don't make sense.

 

in my opinion, it's difficult to have a reasoned discussion about Mr. Wilson because the feelings and passions are far too entrenched. the only -- and i mean only -- reason i wade in on these discussions is a bid to provide some insight and an attempt to maintain an even playing field.

 

i have no patience for those who seek a person's demise or call others dummies and clowns or write child-like posts and then somehow take offense when they're referred to as children. if the baby shoe fits, then ...

what's dumbfounding and frustrating are those who attempt to bully others here and then play the naive innocent role, blaming others for being banned -- "oh woe is me," just doesn't work, and continues to entrench the perception that he/she has no shame, has an unrealistic sense of entitlement and refuses to play nice with others. and that, in my book, is how 3-year-olds act.

 

but i guess i've gotten off point here. or maybe, JohnC, that was my point.

and i do not take any offense or issue with you or those who post with respect in making valid points that further the discussion.

 

jw

 

and Mr. WEO: to follow up on the relocation front, Tex Schram offered and urged Mr. Wilson the opportunity to relocate the Bills in the late 70s/early 80s. as explained to me, Mr. Wilson's philosophy -- and why he's voted against relocation at every opportunity -- is he's against moving a franchise without allowing the fanbase a chance to have its say. he's against movement for movement's sake.

[Lori]

Congrats, it looks like all you cry babies are getting me banned.

 

The Bills are a crap team with crap ownership and a crap front office and crap coaches and crap players.

 

But I guess if you don't drink the kool-aid and want to call a spade a spade, you get banned.

Plenty of people here, in this thread and elsewhere, take issue with Bills ownership/front office/coaches/players/etc. Difference is, they're mature enough to do so without firing grade-school insults at everyone they disagree with.

 

Two Bills Drive Terms of Service

TBD strives to attract a high quality readership. Intelligent discussion goes hand in hand with minimal moderation. Moderators are on duty to handle occasional conflicts and occasional lapses in judgment. If, over the course of time, a poster's online personality/behavior develops in a way that they become a source of continual conflict then TBD reserves the right to restrict the posting privilege of that person. It is up to individuals to conduct themselves in a manner that is socially acceptable to the community at large.

For anyone who finds that rule too difficult to follow, I'm sure there are plenty of other Bills message boards out there.

[Mr. WEO]

and Mr. WEO: to follow up on the relocation front, Tex Schram offered and urged Mr. Wilson the opportunity to relocate the Bills in the late 70s/early 80s. as explained to me, Mr. Wilson's philosophy -- and why he's voted against relocation at every opportunity -- is he's against moving a franchise without allowing the fanbase a chance to have its say. he's against movement for movement's sake.

 

Urged him to move where, exactly? Dallas, perhaps?

 

This is what I could found re: that:

 

 

"Twenty-five years ago, Tex Schramm said, 'Why don't you move out of that Buffalo and I'll come up and help you pack." USA Today

 

 

"Wilson had opportunities to move. Before the stadium in Orchard Park was built in '73, Schramm told Wilson he would come to Buffalo to help pack the moving boxes." Buff News

 

Basically Schramm telling him he should move out of Buffalo. Over 30 years ago.

 

Look, it's obvious that it has been to everyone's benefit that the Bills stayed put. But it remains that there has been no financial benefit to moving for at least 20 years, nor has there been any serious pitch for Ralph to do so, Mr. Schramm's "offer" aside.

[Delete This Account]

Urged him to move where, exactly? Dallas, perhaps?

 

This is what I could found re: that:

 

 

"Twenty-five years ago, Tex Schramm said, 'Why don't you move out of that Buffalo and I'll come up and help you pack." USA Today

 

 

"Wilson had opportunities to move. Before the stadium in Orchard Park was built in '73, Schramm told Wilson he would come to Buffalo to help pack the moving boxes." Buff News

 

Basically Schramm telling him he should move out of Buffalo. Over 30 years ago.

 

Look, it's obvious that it has been to everyone's benefit that the Bills stayed put. But it remains that there has been no financial benefit to moving for at least 20 years, nor has there been any serious pitch for Ralph to do so, Mr. Schramm's "offer" aside.

Mr. Wilson considered Tex's offer as being legitimate. I'd have to cull through my notes from last year to see where Schram wanted the team to relocate to. I recall him telling me there was one other offer to relocate the team, but he wouldn't go into detail

 

And through time, including this past decade, there were and remain larger markets in contention for franchises. And it's generally accepted that Los Angeles has been in play for some time. The Bills most certainly could have moved there several times, including tomorrow, given how the real estate mogul there is talking.

And why not Toronto? Given what the Rogers folks were willing to spend on 8 games, I'm pretty sure they were willing to spend 10 times as much on the team. In fact, one Rogers executive told me they were ready to go after a franchise. Why not the Bills?

 

If Mr. Wilson was in it for the money, then he'd sell the team before he passses and reap all the benefits rather than putting up with the criticisms and the headaches. Thing is, he doesn't mind the criticisms and the headaches because he truly enjoys being an owner and a football fan. And he also feels a strong tie to Western New York.

 

Before anyone brings up the fact that he ripped Western New York during his Toronto press conference, well, I don't know exactly what he said that was wrong. He said the economy's struggling in Buffalo and there's very little reason to believe the Bills can generate any more revenue out of the region. ...

Last I checked -- and this was this morning as I drove to work through the West Side -- I don't think much has changed. The city is struggling.

 

In one way, it's a damned if you do/don't argument you present. If he moves the team, then he's a money grubber with no loyalty to Buffalo. If he doesn't move the team, then he's a money-grubber with no loyalty to Buffalo, because he's ripping everyone off.

 

jw

[Mr. WEO]

Mr. Wilson considered Tex's offer as being legitimate. I'd have to cull through my notes from last year to see where Schram wanted the team to relocate to. I recall him telling me there was one other offer to relocate the team, but he wouldn't go into detail

 

And through time, including this past decade, there were and remain larger markets in contention for franchises. And it's generally accepted that Los Angeles has been in play for some time. The Bills most certainly could have moved there several times, including tomorrow, given how the real estate mogul there is talking.

And why not Toronto? Given what the Rogers folks were willing to spend on 8 games, I'm pretty sure they were willing to spend 10 times as much on the team. In fact, one Rogers executive told me they were ready to go after a franchise. Why not the Bills?

 

If Mr. Wilson was in it for the money, then he'd sell the team before he passses and reap all the benefits rather than putting up with the criticisms and the headaches. Thing is, he doesn't mind the criticisms and the headaches because he truly enjoys being an owner and a football fan. And he also feels a strong tie to Western New York.

 

Before anyone brings up the fact that he ripped Western New York during his Toronto press conference, well, I don't know exactly what he said that was wrong. He said the economy's struggling in Buffalo and there's very little reason to believe the Bills can generate any more revenue out of the region. ...

Last I checked -- and this was this morning as I drove to work through the West Side -- I don't think much has changed. The city is struggling.

 

In one way, it's a damned if you do/don't argument you present. If he moves the team, then he's a money grubber with no loyalty to Buffalo. If he doesn't move the team, then he's a money-grubber with no loyalty to Buffalo, because he's ripping everyone off.

 

jw

The City of Buffalo and Erie County may be struggling, but, at least financially, the Bills and their Owner are NOT struggling, but doing fabulously.

 

"he's against moving a franchise without allowing the fanbase a chance to have its say". Really? What did the fans get to say before he sold the games to Toronto? Check your notes.

 

You really think the Rogers folks would still be looking to buy the Bills or another franchise after the 1st two games they saw?

 

The Bills could move to LA tomorrow? Is that generally accepted also? There is no stadium. And the guy who claims he is going to build it has stipulated he will do so only if he is allowed to buy significant ownership in any team that wants to move into it. You think Ralph would ever go for a deal like that? Also, any city that Ralph may have moved to lately would likely have asked him to contribute something to the construction of a new stadium. You think Ralph was going to eat that, plus a huge relocation fee---when he has no stadium costs (meager rent) and clears 20-40 million a year in "struggling" Buffalo??

 

As I said, these "he could have moved/sold" arguments are weak.

[billsfreak]

Wrong. He took a $25k investment and watched its value rise to nearly a Billion dollars all while taking multimillion dollar salaries every year for being Team President (along with handome salaries for his wife and daughters. Not to mention the multi-million dollars in operating income he has made year after year in Buffalo while all the time crying poor. The Bills are one of the more profitable teams in the NFL but he craftily hides that behind the B.S. he spews about the bad economy and low ticket pricing. The man is making a killing and peole refuse to see it. I have not once seen documented proof of any other city willing to make him a more profitable offer. He could have sold the team to an owner willing to relocate to LA, but he has never had the chance to actually move the Bills there and maintain ownership, so that wouldn't do him any good. It would be like killing his golden goose.

 

The man is a shrewd businessman and I am glad that the Bills are here and have been for so long, but don't think for a second that Ralph would not have packed up the moving vans if a more lucrative opportunity existed. He has no ties to WNY and does not care about Buffalo one bit. If he did, he would have already put plans in place that would keep the team in Buffalo beyong his lifetime thus rewarding the fanbase which has given him so much. Instead, the crotchety old man spits in our faces every chance he gets.

BINGO! Your post is right on, alot of people can't see the truth around here though. Some would defend Ralphie if he came and took a crap on their dinner plate in the middle of a meal.

[billsfreak]

what was dick jauron's great crime? he seems almost universally hated here because he was a bad, losing coach. what's so different about a losing owner?

Very good point. Jauron is slammed on this board more than anyone (except maybe Ralph), and he didn't lose anymore than Mularkey, Williams, etc. and they are all but forgotten. Being a terrible owner, like Ralph, has a bigger negative impact on a team than a bad coach does. We will never know if Jauron could have been a good coach, if Ralphy would have let him have a team with some fricken talent on it. Coaches have come and gone from the Bills organization, front office personnel have come and gone, players have come and gone. There are only two things that have been here for all of or the majority of this franchises existence-Losing and Ralph, it isn't a coincidence or a tough one to figure out. Bills fans (and I am one of them) get their hopes up every season, but the reality is, until Ralph is gone, this team will never win again.

[Delete This Account]

The City of Buffalo and Erie County may be struggling, but, at least financially, the Bills and their Owner are NOT struggling, but doing fabulously.

that has plenty to do with the NFL's success, something Mr. Wilson had something to do with.

 

"he's against moving a franchise without allowing the fanbase a chance to have its say". Really? What did the fans get to say before he sold the games to Toronto? Check your notes.

Bills fans had the opportunity to have their say in the 1990s, before the lease was up. as for the Toronto deal, let's not work in a vacuum here. the deal was precipitated after Mr. Wilson expressed serious concern about the franchise's long-term stability in Buffalo. this immediately followed the approval of the new CBA and directly followed his meeting with Governor Pataki, when Mr. Wilson stressed he wasn't looking for any more public handouts.

 

You really think the Rogers folks would still be looking to buy the Bills or another franchise after the 1st two games they saw?

c'mon, really? it's questionable to make any comparisons between how a Buffalo team draws in Toronto as opposed to a based-in-Toronto full-time team would resonate with its fans. the Rogers folks, i believe, over-estimated the value of leasing a team for an eight-game series, and how it would be accepted among Torontonians.

the fact that Torontonians haven't lined up all the way to Queen Street to buy $200 tickets is, i believe, more of an indication that their lack of commitment is more due to the fact that this is a "Buffalo" team. the thought process behind if we bring it they will come was a little skewed.

no one realized how skewed.

 

The Bills could move to LA tomorrow? Is that generally accepted also? There is no stadium. And the guy who claims he is going to build it has stipulated he will do so only if he is allowed to buy significant ownership in any team that wants to move into it. You think Ralph would ever go for a deal like that?

no. and now you're arguing my point. Mr. Wilson wouldn't give up a piece of his ownership in the first place. and he wouldn't do so if it led to the team's relocation.

if Mr. Wilson went for that deal, then he could be accused of being greedy, right?

 

Also, any city that Ralph may have moved to lately would likely have asked him to contribute something to the construction of a new stadium. You think Ralph was going to eat that, plus a huge relocation fee---when he has no stadium costs (meager rent) and clears 20-40 million a year in "struggling" Buffalo??

right, sounds like an astute businessman. should he apologize for getting in on the ground floor of something that became a national phenomenon? and if the city of Buffalo's serious about building a downtown stadium for the Bills, why does Mr. Wilson continue to say he's not interested?

 

As I said, these "he could have moved/sold" arguments are weak.

is that what they were saying in Baltimore before the Colts moved to Indy? in Cleveland, perhaps? Houston? or Oakland ... well, not Oakland. or what about the concerns in Jacksonville, Minnesota in San Diego? are those teams secure in those respective markets?

again, it's a no-win argument you propose.

Mr. Wilson hasn't moved the team and should be faulted for it ... or at least that's the way i read it.

 

jw

[birdog1960]

that has plenty to do with the NFL's success, something Mr. Wilson had something to do with.

 

 

Bills fans had the opportunity to have their say in the 1990s, before the lease was up. as for the Toronto deal, let's not work in a vacuum here. the deal was precipitated after Mr. Wilson expressed serious concern about the franchise's long-term stability in Buffalo. this immediately followed the approval of the new CBA and directly followed his meeting with Governor Pataki, when Mr. Wilson stressed he wasn't looking for any more public handouts.

 

 

c'mon, really? it's questionable to make any comparisons between how a Buffalo team draws in Toronto as opposed to a based-in-Toronto full-time team would resonate with its fans. the Rogers folks, i believe, over-estimated the value of leasing a team for an eight-game series, and how it would be accepted among Torontonians.

the fact that Torontonians haven't lined up all the way to Queen Street to buy $200 tickets is, i believe, more of an indication that their lack of commitment is more due to the fact that this is a "Buffalo" team. the thought process behind if we bring it they will come was a little skewed.

no one realized how skewed.

 

 

no. and now you're arguing my point. Mr. Wilson wouldn't give up a piece of his ownership in the first place. and he wouldn't do so if it led to the team's relocation.

if Mr. Wilson went for that deal, then he could be accused of being greedy, right?

 

 

right, sounds like an astute businessman. should he apologize for getting in on the ground floor of something that became a national phenomenon? and if the city of Buffalo's serious about building a downtown stadium for the Bills, why does Mr. Wilson continue to say he's not interested?

 

 

is that what they were saying in Baltimore before the Colts moved to Indy? in Cleveland, perhaps? Houston? or Oakland ... well, not Oakland. or what about the concerns in Jacksonville, Minnesota in San Diego? are those teams secure in those respective markets?

again, it's a no-win argument you propose.

Mr. Wilson hasn't moved the team and should be faulted for it ... or at least that's the way i read it.

 

jw

i'm willing to concede that wilson's keeping the bills in buffalo is to his great credit. i just don't think it makes up for the almost 50 years of lousy product he's been selling at astronomical profit. the bills are the nfl equivalent of goldman sachs-selling products they know will fail. much should be expected from those given much (or something like that).

[yungmack]

Once, and only once, I bought a burger at Burger King. It was so nauseating I threw it away and never again ate at BK. However, in the 30 years since then, I haven't obsessed on BK and I don't post "I hate Burger King" screeds on the Web. I don't know who runs the company, could care less what its latest gimmick is, and just generally never think about it unless someone suggests we stop there for something to eat.

 

So...for those of you who find the whole Bills experience and history to be one of inferior product, who find the owner a nauseating cheapskate who could screw up a glass of water, who think the new GM and coaching staff are ancient incompetents, who apparently think the latest draft sucks, and who predict yet another lousy season...why are you still hanging around here? Toss the "burger" in the trash, walk away, forget about the Bills and get on with your lives.

[JohnC]

For anyone who finds that rule too difficult to follow, I'm sure there are plenty of other Bills message boards out there.

 

Lori,

Are you the official TBD executioner who drops the proverbial ax over the necks of the miscreants who plead for mercy? Do you wear a hood when you deliver your verdict? I take it you are not the squeamish type of person!

[JohnC]

and Mr. WEO: to follow up on the relocation front, Tex Schram offered and urged Mr. Wilson the opportunity to relocate the Bills in the late 70s/early 80s. as explained to me, Mr. Wilson's philosophy -- and why he's voted against relocation at every opportunity -- is he's against moving a franchise without allowing the fanbase a chance to have its say. he's against movement for movement's sake.

 

JW, Wouldn't it be wonderful if the owner's lifetime philosophy on relocation was reflected in his will??? Not trying to be categorized as an ungrateful cynic, I doubt it.

[Delete This Account]

JW, Wouldn't it be wonderful if the owner's lifetime philosophy on relocation was reflected in his will??? Not trying to be categorized as an ungrateful cynic, I doubt it.

i understand that concern.

and we truly won't know what's in that will or what Mr. Wilson's true plan is -- highest bidder, other deals, right to first refusal, keep it within the family, these are all guesses on my part -- until that will is opened and read. and don't read anything into my guesses, because that's all they are, but they remain possibilities, even -- i think -- the one to keep it within the family, though that one's widely regarded as a longshot.

 

jw

[akm0404]

Man, I find it seriously creepy the way he consistently refers to him as "Mr. Wilson". Oh well, I'm sure it's just some way to show how hip and respectful he is of his elders, or some such.

 

So yeah, you "refuted" my arguments as to why Ralph Wilson is a total failure as owner of the Buffalo Bills, and is a laughing stock around the league. But yet you did it without really providing any content.

 

let's go point by point:

-- Ralph Wilson was rich before he established the Bills, and would've been rich without them.

 

Complete speculation. I say he would have been a space alien if he didn't found the Buffalo Bills. The Bills certainly did make him wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most "regular folk".

 

-- Never been willing to pay top dollar for coaching talent, sure. But he's paid big money on players. So how does that make him a miser?

 

So you are agreeing that he is a miser, and has never paid top dollar for coaching talent. The suggestion that he's paid "big money" on players is really not true, though. We can list off myriad examples of former Buffalo Bills who landed large free agent contracts because the Bills wouldn't pony up "top dollar". While the Bills certainly are not the Kansas City Royals of NFL payroll, neither are they amongst the top spending teams and haven't approached the salary cap in many years. They also do not fully take advantage of every available salary cap dollar (see Cash To The Cap below) as some teams do. Does a large payroll guarantee success? No. But you simply cannot argue against the assertion that Ralph Wilson is frugal at best, and a greedy miser at worst. Collecting a monstrous annual salary while not being willing to pay top dollar for coaching talent. That just screams of a man who wants to win at all costs.

 

-- Buddy, I don't know what lunatic fringe you're talking about, because, in retrospect, most of the owners have moved to Wilson's so-called fringe. (Hint: It's why there might not be an NFL season in 2011).

 

See 6-Year Collective Bargaining Agreement signed in March 2006. Only Buffalo and Cincinnati voted against it, with Ralph Wilson providing these memorable quotes:

 

"I didn't understand it," said Buffalo's Ralph Wilson. "I'm not a dropout ... or maybe I am. I didn't understand it."

 

-- The deal the Bills brokered with Rogers is proving to be a huge windfall for the Bills, and a deal I think Rogers might not have signed based on their failure to meet their initial high hopes. I mean, hell, $9 million a game is a steep price. Sure, you make the claim that it's for money, money which the team can't generate out of cash-dry Western New York.

 

Huge windfall for the Bills, in terms of money going to line Ralph's pockets. Just above you concede that Ralph isn't willing to pay top dollar for coaching talent (read: isn't willing to put full financial resources into making the team succeed), but yet is eager to willfully accept a COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE by forfeiting home-field advantage for 12.5% of each seasons' home games. Shameful. Other owners might be misers, but at least they don't obviously sabotage the success of their team by giving away home games. This is just one step beneath selling one game a year to the highest bidder and taking a forfeit. Would that be acceptable as well?

 

-- If Mr. Wilson invented the phrase "cash to the cap," then he should've patented it, because there's a lot more teams nowadays following that "cash to the cap" lead.

 

Well, if other teams wish to follow the example of one of the historically worst performing franchises in major sports, I guess they are free. We should be proud that we coined a new miserly term!

 

-- Third-tier city? That's a little tough, isn't it?

 

You said yourself how depressing it was driving through the West Side. Buffalo is drying up and population has been declining for decades. Perhaps Third-tier is even sugarcoating it. Let us not be blind to that fact.

 

The fact of the matter is that by any objective measure of ON THE FIELD success, the Buffalo Bills have been a complete failure under Ralph Wilson's ownership. If we move that discussion to "Mr. Wilson's" business acumen, he is by any account a resounding success. We have fueled that success with our loyal patronage of the Buffalo Bills. We also bear the burden of their competitive failure. Owner gets rich, fans suffer through decades of terrible product. If this isn't the true measure of the success of an owner, I can hardly imagine what is.

 

But hey, at least he didn't move the team! Then he might be a billionaire, instead of merely a better-part-of-a-billionaire.

[JohnC]

i understand that concern.

and we truly won't know what's in that will or what Mr. Wilson's true plan is -- highest bidder, other deals, right to first refusal, keep it within the family, these are all guesses on my part -- until that will is opened and read. and don't read anything into my guesses, because that's all they are, but they remain possibilities, even -- i think -- the one to keep it within the family, though that one's widely regarded as a longshot.

 

jw

 

When Art Modell was getting older and had some cash flow problems he brought in a minority owner, Bishotti, and worked out in advance a first option to buy. When it came time for Modell to sell the team it was done in a very seamless way. When Wayne Huizanga (sic) got tired of owning a NFL franchise in Miami he brought in a minority buyer and arranged in advance a first option to buy. When he was ready to sell it was done in a very quick and efficent way. When Abe Polin the original owner of the Wizards in the NBA was getting old and had some health issues he made arrangements way in advance to give the first option to buy to Ted Leonsis, a minority owner in the Wizards. Abe Polin even worked out an arbitration mechanism just in case there were problems in completing the deal after he passed. When the owner died and after a relatively short time the sale transaction was made with little complication.

 

All the above stated deals were known to the public prior to their executions. Ralph has always run a very tight and closed operation. To put it mildly the Bills' business culture is very insular. I'm sure you understand why my cynic antennae is on heightened alert over Ralph Wilson's succession plan. The owner is the owner and can do whatever he wants with his property regardless what the public thinks. When you are nearly 92 yrs old and not willing to publicly state your succession intention that in itself makes me very queasy. Knowing the owner as I think I know him makes me even more nervous.