Are Bills games really that family unfriendly?

[wardigital]

I went to games in the 90s when I was a kid. During some good years and bad. I don't remember things ever being as bad as they are now. There was drunkenness and rowdyness, and the Dolphins game was always particularly awful, but for the most part people were respectful, especially if/when they noticed kids in their section.

 

I think the difference now seems to be that people notice kids in their section and still don't tone it down. I've never seen so many combative football fans.

 

I wouldn't take a kid to a game right now. Maybe when the team is winning, things will tone down a bit, but right now I think it's way too much. It's too much for a casual adult, let alone a child.

[K Gun Special]

Honestly if people are being that inappropriate report them to security or quit whining. Its a sporting event not daycare. If i have a few and shout an F bomb thats my prerogative and if theres kids nearby then i expect to be called on it or have security remedy the situation. But when i was a kid there were people yelling F bombs and falling over drunk, and i happen to grow up without issues. Something to be said for not living in a shelter

 

But ive been to other NFL and even NHL arenas that are just as bad and worse.

[wardigital]

I think in the very near future you will see tailgiting times mandated by The NFL. I honestly think they will push to have a 3 hour time limit between hours between when the lots open and game time.

 

Many people dont like going to games because of the Drunks and the idiots. They also have to battle with the vastly improved TV coverage of teh games. The NFL is pusing very hard to get the stadiums to be more family friendly, and I applaud them for doing so.

 

I enjoy tailgaiting as much as the next person does, but I dont understand why you have to get blackout drunk as to where you cant walk, cant find your way to the stadium, or get rejected at the gate.

 

Agree with this completely. I've said this before, and I know it can't be a full comparison, but I think part of the hindering experience for people is that many of the idiots/drunks simply can't leave other people alone. We have gone to hockey games and never been talked to by anyone the entire game, which is a different experience, but sometimes a good one. Sometimes we simply want to enjoy the game. I think that, the fact that it has been harder to enjoy Bills games in recent years plays a large part in what has happened, but it isn't all of it. The team is responsible for letting it get to where it has gotten, and so are the fans. I'm glad they're cracking down.

 

Honestly if people are being that inappropriate report them to security or quit whining. Its a sporting event not daycare. If i have a few and shout an F bomb thats my prerogative and if theres kids nearby then i expect to be called on it or have security remedy the situation. But when i was a kid there were people yelling F bombs and falling over drunk, and i happen to grow up without issues. Something to be said for not living in a shelter

 

But ive been to other NFL and even NHL arenas that are just as bad and worse.

 

And what if the security doesn't do anything? What difference does it make if its at a daycare, a sporting event, a restaurant or the park? Unless there is an age limitation on people entering the facility, I think there is some expectation that people will observe common decency and act appropriately.

 

It's not your prerogative. At least it shouldn't be. Adults who are in the company of other adults who can't keep themselves from cursing like a sailor without a reminder, or, "being called out" are essentially overgrown children.

 

This *is* an issue for you. This how is children learn than violent or aggressive behavior is appropriate so long as no one corrects you. You're an adult, you shouldn't need a compass on how to act like one.

[K Gun Special]

Agree with this completely. I've said this before, and I know it can't be a full comparison, but I think part of the hindering experience for people is that many of the idiots/drunks simply can't leave other people alone. We have gone to hockey games and never been talked to by anyone the entire game, which is a different experience, but sometimes a good one. Sometimes we simply want to enjoy the game. I think that, the fact that it has been harder to enjoy Bills games in recent years plays a large part in what has happened, but it isn't all of it. The team is responsible for letting it get to where it has gotten, and so are the fans. I'm glad they're cracking down.

 

Watch fans start to not buy tickets when that happens. Many fans go just for the tailgating experience. Lets be honest the games blow. The rowdiness and passion by Bills fans shown on sunday is in part fueled by tailgating.

 

I show up early, set up, drink a lot of beer, have a great time and dont bother anyone. I get drunk. The minute they start to crack down on that, me and my 6 club seats are gone.

[wardigital]

Watch fans start to not buy tickets when that happens. Many fans go just for the tailgating experience. Lets be honest the games blow. The rowdiness and passion by Bills fans shown on sunday is in part fueled by tailgating.

 

I show up early, set up, drink a lot of beer, have a great time and dont bother anyone. I get drunk. The minute they start to crack down on that, me and my 6 club seats are gone.

 

Then don't buy tickets. I would rather it be that way. There are plenty of sports and stadiums in this country that enforce no-drinking rules that fill the stands every single game. Many college teams, who are never particularly good, do it on a weekly basis. Tons of professional teams do.

 

And it's not a very good point. I promise you that families outnumber drunk individuals who are dropping money to drink in a parking lot and behave inappropriately "because the real game is before" or *boring* or whatever. It's football on Sunday, not misbehave at a sporting event on Sunday.

 

No issues? That's rich.

 

Furthermore, it's an empty threat. Just like the smoking drinkers who alleged that they would leave bars in a mass exodus when the no-smoking laws came into play. That lasted about two whole weeks.

 

Look: If you love football, you'll be there. For football. And if you don't... if you love something else, if you're there for something else. Then you won't be there, and good riddance.

Edited September 17, 2010 by wardigital

[CountDorkula]

Watch fans start to not buy tickets when that happens. Many fans go just for the tailgating experience. Lets be honest the games blow. The rowdiness and passion by Bills fans shown on sunday is in part fueled by tailgating.

 

I show up early, set up, drink a lot of beer, have a great time and dont bother anyone. I get drunk. The minute they start to crack down on that, me and my 6 club seats are gone.

 

Maybe for you the passion is fueld by alcohol. Not for me and many others. I love to tailgate, set up at 8am turn the grill on a crack a beer. I will maybe have 3-4 beers while out in the lots. Then i will happily go in and enjoy the game, NOT DRUNK. and i can guarantee you that i am just as passionate as any drunk idiot, but with a lot more class and respect.

 

Give up your club seats, you think the Bills honestly give a damn if you give them up? They will be filled by someone else.

[K Gun Special]

Maybe for you the passion is fueld by alcohol. Not for me and many others. I love to tailgate, set up at 8am turn the grill on a crack a beer. I will maybe have 3-4 beers while out in the lots. Then i will happily go in and enjoy the game, NOT DRUNK. and i can guarantee you that i am just as passionate as any drunk idiot, but with a lot more class and respect.

 

Give up your club seats, you think the Bills honestly give a damn if you give them up? They will be filled by someone else.

 

 

I go to many games if not most, sober. So spare the righteousness. Yea the bills club seats will be replaced so quickly....the ones they have the hardest time selling aside from boxes. Good call there.

Its your right to go sober, drunk or whatnot.

 

But don't pretend that if they severely crack down on tailgating that families with little kids are suddenly going to replace those seats.

[Benjamin Barker]

Is it a big deal for you if your kids see someone staggering around drunk or hear someone swearing?

 

If so, don't take them to a Bills game.

 

But they are probably already used to seeing that at home, so what's the big deal?

[KD in CA]

But when i was a kid there were people yelling F bombs and falling over drunk, and i happen to grow up without issues.

Other than becoming one of the F bomb yelling drunks.

 

 

 

 

People like to drink a few beers and get loud. If you (or your kids) come to the stadium wearing the jersey of the opponent, you absolutely should expect to get razzed about it. Oh no, someone told little Jimmy that the Dolphins suck. I suppose he'll be committed to a life of crime now.

Anyone who thinks it's ok to harrass and curse at a little kid because of the shirt he choose to wear has some serious problems.

[K Gun Special]

Is it a big deal for you if your kids see someone staggering around drunk or hear someone swearing?

 

If so, don't take them to a Bills game.

 

But they are probably already used to seeing that at home, so what's the big deal?

 

Exactly.

 

The NFL isnt marketed toward families.

 

No one should tolerate people yelling at kids however. But bringing one to an 80,000 person stadium for and NFL game and expecting them to live in a bubble is unrealistic.

[wardigital]

Is it a big deal for you if your kids see someone staggering around drunk or hear someone swearing?

 

If so, don't take them to a Bills game.

 

But they are probably already used to seeing that at home, so what's the big deal?

 

What about the multiple fights, vomiting, beer throwing and other asinine behavior that goes on? If we don't want to see that (even adults), then should we stay home too?

 

It Ralph Wilson Stadium basically just a lawless hell zone where the lowest common denominator can piss on each other for their own amusement? \

 

There is nothing about a football game or stadium that precludes people from acting like civilized human beings, and I refuse to accept that "if I just don't like it, that's too bad."

 

Exactly.

 

The NFL isnt marketed toward families.

 

No one should tolerate people yelling at kids however. But bringing one to an 80,000 person stadium for and NFL game and expecting them to live in a bubble is unrealistic.

 

The NFL is marketed to anyone who has money, including families.

 

Do you honestly believe that the Bills or NFL executives are sitting in their offices going, "Boy, I really wish that family of 5 would buy 5 tickets and come to the game, but I'd rather have the 3 drunk individuals buy 3 tickets and come to the game, because I hate money and I love freedom."

 

Now if you want to tell me that the only people in Buffalo who have the sort of money to go consistently are those who have terrible drinking and behavioral problems. Maybe you've got a point. But that's a sad reflection on the city and the citizens, and its nothing to be proud of.

Edited September 17, 2010 by wardigital

[CodeMonkey]

But don't pretend that if they severely crack down on tailgating that families with little kids are suddenly going to replace those seats.

That's exactly the thing that I don't understand. Can the NFL seriously think the downturn in attendance pretty much across the league is due to families not going due to the drunken !@#$ factor at games?

 

My wife purchased our tickets this year to the kids day game. So when it came time for the desperate Bills ticket office to cold call people trying to sell some, she was the one they called. They asked about seasons and when she said no they asked why. One of the reasons she mentioned was the family unfriendliness of the game, along with the cost, the weather (and being a outdoor stadium), and the Bills sucking major ass for a decade. Maybe the NFL has been compiling information for a few years and the a-hole factor is a recurring theme, and the easiest (IE least expensive) one for them to fix. That's all I can come up with. But if they really think this will pack the stadiums again, they are delusional and truly out of touch with their fan base.

Edited September 17, 2010 by CodeMonkey

[akm0404]

Anyone who thinks it's ok to harrass and curse at a little kid because of the shirt he choose to wear has some serious problems.

 

No, they don't. Get off your high horse, clown. My God, how PC do we really want this country to become? Part of being a sports fan is the give and take razzing that fans of each time do with one another. Telling little Jimmy that the Dolphins suck is neither harassing him or cursing at him. Keep your kids in the bubble and never let them into the real world - safe and sound!

[mead107]

I went to games in the 90s when I was a kid. During some good years and bad. I don't remember things ever being as bad as they are now. There was drunkenness and rowdyness, and the Dolphins game was always particularly awful, but for the most part people were respectful, especially if/when they noticed kids in their section.

 

I think the difference now seems to be that people notice kids in their section and still don't tone it down. I've never seen so many combative football fans.

 

I wouldn't take a kid to a game right now. Maybe when the team is winning, things will tone down a bit, but right now I think it's way too much. It's too much for a casual adult, let alone a child.

As I have said before I see no difference now than the 90's.Still lots of drunk people. I would say that in the 135 section that I sit in it seems less nuts than before. could be that the people around me are older just like i am.

[DrDawkinstein]

I don't think the NFL is primarily concerned with fans "drinking a little and swearing", as much as they are the people who are so drunk that they are passing out at their seats, throwing up at their seats/in the aisles, pissing at their seats/on those in front of them, starting fights with fellow fans, etc.

 

I started going to games in 1985, when I was 6. I've seen some craaaazy stuff in my day. Normally drunken, stupid people having a good time was always fine. If not entertaining, they were good "dont act that way" lessons that I could see for myself.

 

But the crowds at Bills games lately are not "happy drunk" themed. They are "I"M DRUNK AND A PISSED OFF BILLS FAN AND MY TICKET GIVES ME THE RIGHT TO DO ANYTHING I WANT SO EFF YOU BUDDY!" themed. Every drunk ahole thinks they are the "real fans" and super important to the Gameday Experience, when in actuality, they are ruining it for everyone around them.

 

Have a couple drinks, if a couple curse words come out when cheering, so be it. But dont be like a large number of people at Bills games and make an ass out of yourself while ruining it for everyone else in your section. No one thinks youre cool for throwing up on that poor couple in front of you (dude at the opener VS the Seahawks 2 years ago).

 

To me it's not even about making the games "family friendly", its about getting them back t a level where most people can enjoy the game the whole way through without having to deal with some drunk, obnoxious punk.

Edited September 17, 2010 by DrDankenstein

[akm0404]

It Ralph Wilson Stadium basically just a lawless hell zone where the lowest common denominator can piss on each other for their own amusement?

 

LOL, way to just make stuff up. Seriously? A "lawless hell zone"? People pissing on each other? Come on, man. I'm guessing you've either never actually been to a game, or have some sort of memory disorder.

[wardigital]

No, they don't. Get off your high horse, clown. My God, how PC do we really want this country to become? Part of being a sports fan is the give and take razzing that fans of each time do with one another. Telling little Jimmy that the Dolphins suck is neither harassing him or cursing at him. Keep your kids in the bubble and never let them into the real world - safe and sound!

 

Yes, they do. And this country will be as "PC" as it has to be until gorillas stop consuming their own young.

 

I have absolutely no tolerance for fascist machismo.

 

LOL, way to just make stuff up. Seriously? A "lawless hell zone"? People pissing on each other? Come on, man. I'm guessing you've either never actually been to a game, or have some sort of memory disorder.

 

Do you know what hyperbole is?

[akm0404]

Facist machismo! HAHAHA. It's getting hilarious in here.

[DrDawkinstein]

LOL, way to just make stuff up. Seriously? A "lawless hell zone"? People pissing on each other? Come on, man. I'm guessing you've either never actually been to a game, or have some sort of memory disorder.

 

Ive seen people piss on others right at their seats. It happens. Way more than youd expect or want it to.

[KD in CA]

No, they don't. Get off your high horse, clown. My God, how PC do we really want this country to become? Part of being a sports fan is the give and take razzing that fans of each time do with one another. Telling little Jimmy that the Dolphins suck is neither harassing him or cursing at him. Keep your kids in the bubble and never let them into the real world - safe and sound!

And what did I type? "Anyone who thinks it's ok to harass and curse at a little kid....." If you don't think that is ok, than I guess it doesn't apply to you, huh?

 

Several people here have told stories of kids who were harassed or cursed at and you appear to be defending such actions. So I guess you need to either learn to read or stop being a scumbag.