NJBuffFan Posted October 14, 2011 Author Posted October 14, 2011 I don't see national writers/out of towners take pot shots at other cities like they do this one. Detroit.
FLFan Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 He only got a 1350 on the SAT?? Was he hung over or something? How did he get into Harvard with a 1350? I sense a football recruitng scandal.
Rubes Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) People I know out here think Boise is the *****. And I mean that in a good way. Edited October 14, 2011 by Rubes
BillnutinHouston Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 It is customary to take swipes at Buffalo. This guy has probably never been there.He's just going by stereotypes. I can tell you that I was visiting BFLO from San Diego last weekend at it was EPIC back there...Beautiful early fall weather, amazing Bills tailgating and game. NY does not offer the same type of football environment BFLO does...It isnt even close. It is like an alumni homecoming weekend at a big college every weekend in Orchard Park-There is no other town other than maybe Green Bay that can come close to that . Dont tell me BFLO doesnt have much going for it, because it really does. It is charming, vibrant and welcoming. My wife has fallen in love with it and she spent her entire lif in Southern California. Agreed! Over the last month or so I've taken both my kids back to Bflo and they are both on me BIG TIME to move us back!
dave mcbride Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 How did he get into Harvard with a 1350? I sense a football recruitng scandal. The author corrected it. It now reads 1580.
Geno Smith's Arm Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) October 14, 2011 Buffalo’s Harvard Man Posted by Reeves Wiedeman There is only one professional football team that plays home games in the state of New York, but Buffalo, and its Bills, are seven hours away from New York City by car. Buffalo natives are manically defensive of their town, and their team—but to downstaters, content to cheer the dual circus shows put on by the Jets and Giants in New Jersey, Buffalo might as well be Boise. The city doesn’t have much going for it. America’s post-industrial economy has not been kind—and the winters never are. It’s the second smallest city to maintain an N.F.L. franchise, after Green Bay—Buffalo’s population declined by ten per cent in the last decade—and the football franchise has offered mostly heartbreak. The Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and rather famously lost four in a row back in the nineties. Who could possibly save this hardscrabble outpost? A Harvard man, of course. “Can Ryan Fitzpatrick’s Brain Save Buffalo?” ESPN’s new Web site, Grantland, asked last month. Fitzpatrick is the team’s serviceable quarterback distinct for going to college not at an S.E.C. or Big Ten institution, but at a certain university just north of the Charles River. (No word on which dorm—forgive me, house—he lived in.) Since Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers were drafted, few articles have made much of the fact that the N.F.L.’s two best quarterbacks went to two of America’s finest public universities (Michigan and the California-Berkeley). But few reporters have written about the 2011 Bills without mentioning Fitzpatrick’s undergraduate education. “Harvard man Ryan Fitzpatrick has all the answers” —NBC Sports “Harvard’s Ryan Fitzpatrick gets passing grades” —USA Today “Smart choice was made; Harvard’s Fitzpatrick fits the bill in Buffalo” —The Boston Globe We get it: he’s a smart guy, with a 1350 on the S.A.T. and a forty-eight out of fifty on the Wonderlic football I.Q. test. (Cam Newton, this year’s No. 1 pick, scored a twenty-one.) Boastfulness is not limited to Cambridge, however, and the Boston College graduate in me feels the need to note that former Eagles linebacker Mike Mamula scored a forty-nine. The only perfect score did, admittedly, go to Pat McInally, a Harvard grad, but let the record show: he was a punter. More importantly, Fitzpatrick has been a pretty good quarterback, leading the Bills to a 4-1 start, though its unclear what role the Harvard faculty played in developing his quick release. (Malcolm Gladwell has written about the difficulty of predicting a quarterback’s success in pro football.) He has helped make the Bills not only an uplifting underdog story, but a particularly entertaining one. Their defense has been terrible—worse than all but two N.F.L. teams—but the offense has been prolific—better, again, than all but two. Only the Patriots, worst and second-best in those categories, have had more disparate levels of success on each side of the ball. On Sunday, Fitzpatrick will bring his economics degree south to MetLife Stadium to face Eli Manning (Ole Miss, marketing, 3.44 G.P.A.). The Giants are favored by three. The over/under figure on how many times the announcers mention Fitzpatrick’s undergraduate institution is considerably higher. Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2011/10/ryan-fitzpatrick-buffalo-bills.html#ixzz1amaQTCH6 What an !@#$ this writer is! I hear you. I've lived in Pittsburgh now for about 6 years, and always say the same thing about this city. Unless you're going to dozens of Broadway shows every year and eat at the best restaurants every weekend, NYC doesn't have all that more to offer than a lot of nicer, mid-sized cities. It has more quantitatively, but not necessarily qualitatively. Plus, you need both money and time to get the marginally added benefits of a city like NY. My friend is a professional musician, and NYC is perfect for him--he makes tons of money, lives in West Village penthouse, plays night gigs and broadway shows, and gets enough time to enjoy the city. Conversely, I have friends who live and work there in big law firms; they make a lot of money, work long hours, and just eat take-out and watch TV for entertainment. With the internet, the world has become more de-centralized. I live in LA, but if I could, I would leave. If you live in a city that has a decent airlines you're all set. Live cheap, travel well... Edited October 14, 2011 by Matthews' Bag
Big Turk Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Hi Thanks for the note. My sincerest apologies that the intent of my article was missed. I love Buffalo; one of my best friends is from there, and I spent a perfectly enjoyable weekend there a few years back. It was meant as a satire of those who think of your city - and mine - as out-of-the-way dumps in need of some Ivy League sophistication. If the intent was missed, it's because I probably shouldn't make attempts at satire. Anyway, thanks for reading, even if I only enraged you. Can we call it even after what your Bills did to my Chiefs in Week 1? Reeves Dude, Could you have spent less time on your blip about Fitz? You just couldn't resist blasting Buffalo with the same old crappy cut and paste ****. Cold winters declining population...blah, blah, blah, Did you use Google to write that or did you visit here and come up with these grand insights on your own? New York's winter's equally suck. The worst thing is compared to a lot of places our winters are not that cold...rarely get below zero here...we just get lots of snow because of the lake... As far as the harsh winters, we get energized by the snow and treat it like a badge of courage that half the country isn't mentally tough enough to deal with it and are a bunch of beeyatches...ya sometimes getting 2 feet of snow out of the blue sucks when little to none was forecast, but whatever... Better than dealing with 3 months of 100 degree temps and no rain for months
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Is he hyperbolizing? The city lost close to 11 percent of its population in the last decade, and close to 11 percent in the decade before that. It also has the third highest poverty rate in the US (28.8 percent). I'd say that calling Buffalo a "hardscrabble outpost" is, yes, hyperbolizing. It's friggin' WNY, not Siberia.
Big Turk Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 I'd say that calling Buffalo a "hardscrabble outpost" is, yes, hyperbolizing. It's friggin' WNY, not Siberia. Funny how all these other places with foreclosure rates closing in on 50% are such great places...so great u can't afford to even live there...yeah, no thanks...
Orlando Bills Fan Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 It is customary to take swipes at Buffalo. This guy has probably never been there.He's just going by stereotypes. I can tell you that I was visiting BFLO from San Diego last weekend at it was EPIC back there...Beautiful early fall weather, amazing Bills tailgating and game. NY does not offer the same type of football environment BFLO does...It isnt even close. It is like an alumni homecoming weekend at a big college every weekend in Orchard Park-There is no other town other than maybe Green Bay that can come close to that . Dont tell me BFLO doesnt have much going for it, because it really does. It is charming, vibrant and welcoming. My wife has fallen in love with it and she spent her entire lif in Southern California. When NYC is under water in about 50 years...All the turds from NYC will move west to BFLO! I've been to Bills games in Buffalo, Miami, and Kansas City. Buffalo does tailgating the best, but I'll have to say, if Buffalo is number one, Kansas City is 1a. At Bills games, I can't tell you how many times I've wound up eating some stranger's food, drinking some stranger's beer, and playing football in the lot with a bunch of people I've never met...and that's just standard order of procedure at a Bills game. What's even more cool about this is that I've attended several games in Buffalo where I'm hanging out with people in the lot that I've never seen before and we all share beer and brats, then I go into the game and sit next to different folks that I've never seen before, high five and chest bump and buying and accepting rounds from THOSE people, and then after the game, in the lot, hanging out with MORE people that I've never met before. I've never left a Bills game, win or lose, unhappy. There is always fun to be had.
sac bills Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 You know what guys? It's OK to be maniacally defensive about your city.
johnnychemo Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 According to this site Fitz aced the Wonderlic with a 50.
The Senator Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 According to this site Fitz aced the Wonderlic with a 50. Jesus Christ, not another Walter Cheripinsky link (You do know that site is run by a complete idiot who started it as a high school senior project, no?) For the record - Fitz finished the test in 9 minutes and scored a 48 (he skipped one question and had one incorrect response). You know what guys? It's OK to be maniacally defensive about your city. Yeah, it is - but it also helps to have a sense of humor. NYC is a magical place, yet New Yorkers hear more jabs at their city and their way of life than most Buffalonians can fathom. (If you don't believe that, tune in Letterman's opening monologue on any given night.) They don't whine about it - they do truly view rest of the world like that old New Yorker cartoon, they know it, and they laugh about it. Buffalonians have a major inferiority complex, and seem to rail against any perceived slight. I don't understand why. At least the guy began by pointing out what we always proudly boast... "There is only one professional football team that plays home games in the state of New York..." It was a nice piece about Fitz and about the Bills - one that I thought was actually fairly supportive of The BuffTown - if anything, he took more shots at how New Yorkers perceive the rest of the world than at Buffalo... "Buffalo natives are manically defensive of their town, and their team—but to downstaters, content to cheer the dual circus shows put on by the Jets and Giants in New Jersey, Buffalo might as well be Boise." Y'all need to stop being so defensive - no need for it. Buffalo rocks! .
buffalonian Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 It speaks volumes about the lack of reporting in reporting when reporters seemingly cling to the cliche that Buffalo is some post industrial wasteland. Instead of finding out what Buffalo is really like, this reporter, along with most others from outside of the area, latch on to a popular but false notion that Buffalo is a horrible place to live with nothing going for it. We all know from firsthand experience that this premis is false. I feel like every time I have intimate knowledge of a subject that I read about it in the paper, I spot serious flaws in the accuracy of the reporting. It's unfortunate given the power of the media. These people should at least have some sense of responsibility to actually learn about a place before they trash it.
The Senator Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 It speaks volumes about the lack of reporting in reporting when reporters seemingly cling to the cliche that Buffalo is some post industrial wasteland. Instead of finding out what Buffalo is really like, this reporter, along with most others from outside of the area, latch on to a popular but false notion that Buffalo is a horrible place to live with nothing going for it. We all know from firsthand experience that this premis is false. I feel like every time I have intimate knowledge of a subject that I read about it in the paper, I spot serious flaws in the accuracy of the reporting. It's unfortunate given the power of the media. These people should at least have some sense of responsibility to actually learn about a place before they trash it. I don't think he meant to 'trash' Buffalo - quite the opposite, actually. Anyway, looks like you missed the author's earlier reply to one Buffalonian's typically paranoid rebuttal... Hi Thanks for the note. My sincerest apologies that the intent of my article was missed. I love Buffalo; one of my best friends is from there, and I spent a perfectly enjoyable weekend there a few years back. It was meant as a satire of those who think of your city - and mine - as out-of-the-way dumps in need of some Ivy League sophistication. If the intent was missed, it's because I probably shouldn't make attempts at satire. Anyway, thanks for reading, even if I only enraged you. Can we call it even after what your Bills did to my Chiefs in Week 1? Reeves
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 The author corrected it. It now reads 1580. FWIW, the highest SAT score pre-2005 was 1600… 1580 put Fitz in the top 1% of the population… probably higher. Since 2005, the highest score possible is 2400. For the record - Fitz finished the test in 9 minutes and scored a 48 (he skipped one question and had one incorrect response). … it also helps to have a sense of humor. NYC is a magical place, yet New Yorkers hear more jabs at their city and their way of life than most Buffalonians can fathom. (If you don't believe that, tune in Letterman's opening monologue on any given night.) They don't whine about it - they do truly view rest of the world like that old New Yorker cartoon, they know it, and they laugh about it. Buffalonians have a major inferiority complex, and seem to rail against any perceived slight. I don't understand why. At least the guy began by pointing out what we always proudly boast... "There is only one professional football team that plays home games in the state of New York..." It was a nice piece about Fitz and about the Bills - one that I thought was actually fairly supportive of The BuffTown - if anything, he took more shots at how New Yorkers perceive the rest of the world than at Buffalo... "Buffalo natives are manically defensive of their town, and their team—but to downstaters, content to cheer the dual circus shows put on by the Jets and Giants in New Jersey, Buffalo might as well be Boise." Y'all need to stop being so defensive - no need for it. Buffalo rocks! To the bolded above regarding the Wonderlic Test, yes, his 9 minute exam time is at least as impressive as his score. Exam takers are given 12 minutes to finish the wonderlic and most people take the entire 12 minutes and many do not complete the exam. Also, as someone who lived in Buffalo for 35 years, I agree that Buffalonians are a bit too reactive to anything less than the utmost flattery. The writer did not intend to offend.
buffalonian Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) I don't think he meant to 'trash' Buffalo - quite the opposite, actually. Anyway, looks like you missed the author's earlier reply to one Buffalonian's typically paranoid rebuttal... Hi Thanks for the note. My sincerest apologies that the intent of my article was missed. I love Buffalo; one of my best friends is from there, and I spent a perfectly enjoyable weekend there a few years back. It was meant as a satire of those who think of your city - and mine - as out-of-the-way dumps in need of some Ivy League sophistication. If the intent was missed, it's because I probably shouldn't make attempts at satire. Anyway, thanks for reading, even if I only enraged you. Can we call it even after what your Bills did to my Chiefs in Week 1? Reeves You are right. I did miss that. My comments are more directed generally at journalists who continue to define Buffalo by "bad winters" and the "bad economy" when there is much more to the story. It really is about lazy journalism. Also, why do writers who are reporting or commenting on the Bills continually have to combine their articles with comments about Buffalo's "bad winters" or "bad economy". These points are cliche and irrelevant. They do it because it is easy and has been done countless times before them. They don't need to report. Instead they can regurgitate the unsubstantiated musings of uniformed "journalists" who have come before them. Put simply, it is easier. Edited October 15, 2011 by buffalonian
SF Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 I think it is safe to say that Buffalo has plenty going for it. I'd like to know what the author thinks a city needs to have a lot going for it. Larger museums? Broadway shows that he will never attend? Very expensive restaurants with lots of michelin stars that he cannot afford and will never go to? What is it exactly?
hondo in seattle Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 These dumbass writers talk about what Buffalo is like but have never set foot in the city. It's not New York but how many cities are? PTR PTR... I grew up in Cheektowaga and love Buffalo. Nonetheless, I can't argue with the portrayal in the New Yorker. Having visited most of the NFL cities and lived in a few of them, I must objectively admit Buffalo doesn't live up as a municipality in most regards. Bills fans are incomparable but Buffalo itself is not a first-rate city.
r00tabaga Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) I love the Sabres & Bills and Buffalo in general BUT I like Rochester better (no offense). Edited October 15, 2011 by r00tabaga
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