The Underdog Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 Just read the link, it was an AWESOME post. Ralph Wilson will always be one of my heroes.
May Day 10 Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 werent the reports saying Pegula's name was being talked about at the owners meetings in March (or early April?) months before Pegula was even reported to be interested in the franchise?
Formerly Allan in MD Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 Where's the "Ralph is cheap" poster? He gave you a lot more than your annoying posts could ever give the community based on what we read here.
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 werent the reports saying Pegula's name was being talked about at the owners meetings in March (or early April?) months before Pegula was even reported to be interested in the franchise? That makes for a boring story though. They also left out the part where Ralph stopped the lease negotiations to save a burning puppy orphanage.
Chef Jim Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 I would love to have a video of Ralph explaining all of this once the team is officially and legally sold. But that **** only happens in the movies.
jester43 Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 (edited) It's hard for me to believe Ralph plotted all that out for himself in his 90s. I'd bet anything his beancounters hatched that scheme. it's also hard for me to believe that none of the owners figured out that lease meant the team would be all but impossible to move. My feeling is that they approved it only out of respect for the old man, knowing that if they didn't get the Bills into LA/Toronto., there will soon be new opportunities to get teams into those markets. It wasn't because they got fooled. I mean, really, does anyone think guys that successful in business are that naive? Anyway, my prediction is that if no one moves there by then, just say f- it and expand to Toronto and LA by the end of the decade. Edited September 12, 2014 by jester43
Kelly the Dog Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 When Ralph voted against the CBA and said he "didn't understand it" he really didn't understand it. Which made it such a great move. But he really just didn't understand it. Not some brilliant clandestine wool pull.
GG Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 When Ralph voted against the CBA and said he "didn't understand it" he really didn't understand it. Which made it such a great move. But he really just didn't understand it. Not some brilliant clandestine wool pull. That has to be one of the greatest myths of this franchise. The reason the other owners hated the deal after they fully took it in, they realized that it favored the small market teams and players got a better deal. It wasn't that Ralph was smarter than the other guys. He objected to only getting 45 minutes to read a 1,000 page document and that's why he voted against it. But that deal was actually good for the Bills.
JB from ROC Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 When the lease was signed, despite being a public document, I don't know that anyone fully contemplated the impact of the clause that the team could not be sold to someone with the intent to move during the lease term. It felt like that only became a hot topic for discussion after Ralph passed. I remember thinking that the lease basically bought us another 6-7 years, but if someone wanted the team to move, it would probably take that long to build a new stadium anyway. To me, it's not inconceivable that the league didn't really fully think that concept through in their review either.
Kelly the Dog Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 That has to be one of the greatest myths of this franchise. The reason the other owners hated the deal after they fully took it in, they realized that it favored the small market teams and players got a better deal. It wasn't that Ralph was smarter than the other guys. He objected to only getting 45 minutes to read a 1,000 page document and that's why he voted against it. But that deal was actually good for the Bills. Exactly. It's not as though he knew what was wrong with it, he read it after it had been cobbled together from a few different things they spoke about and they were in a mad rush to get the thing done and signed. And he literally didn't know what it meant. So he voted no because how can we vote on something we have no idea what it means. That was smart, of course, to not vote on something you don't know what it means. But people act like he was a genius to foresee all of the problems with it. The truth was, he was confused, so he said I am not voting yes on something I don't understand. He would never have said that phrase had he thought differently or knew what was right or wrong about it.
dpberr Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 My big takeaway from not only what was written but the sale itself is that it is a story of faith being rewarded in a world where we've largely come to expect to be disappointed. One of those rare events that actually exceeded our expectations by a mile.
Webster Guy Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 If there were no Pegula I think the Bills would be sold to the Toronto group because they would be the highest bidder by far. Luckily we will never know, but I give more credit to Terry than Ralph. Terry paid half a $billion more than the Dolphins sold for 5 years ago. If that makes Ralph a genius, I'm ok with that, but 5 years ago nobody had never heard of Pegula so he wasn't part of anybody's plan. We lucked out.
Kelly the Dog Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 If there were no Pegula I think the Bills would be sold to the Toronto group because they would be the highest bidder by far. Luckily we will never know, but I give more credit to Terry than Ralph. Terry paid half a $billion more than the Dolphins sold for 5 years ago. If that makes Ralph a genius, I'm ok with that, but 5 years ago nobody had never heard of Pegula so he wasn't part of anybody's plan. We lucked out. And the Dolphins price included their stadium. The team had zero chance of ever going to Toronto, they didn't end up budding any more than Trump or Golisano would have anyway. Although there is no reason to rehash that argument now.
May Day 10 Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 If there were no Pegula I think the Bills would be sold to the Toronto group because they would be the highest bidder by far. Luckily we will never know, but I give more credit to Terry than Ralph. Terry paid half a $billion more than the Dolphins sold for 5 years ago. If that makes Ralph a genius, I'm ok with that, but 5 years ago nobody had never heard of Pegula so he wasn't part of anybody's plan. We lucked out. I agree. I believe a heck of a lot of this result is due to timing and the presence and interest of Pegula However, the out of town bidders from LA, that Chicago family, and probably others were turned away and Toronto kind of restricted itself for a reason, and I think Ralph's family/trust had an assist in that and probably direct instruction, legal or otherwise from Mr Wilson. Without Pegula though, this could have been a lot more hairy... but in that case, we could have possibly seen Jacobs/his kid get more serious along with Golisano, Gundlach, etc. Bottom line is, Mr Wilson created this team here. Agreed to a deal that locked them into WNY which was the difference when he passed and the team was sold. And it looks like the team will be here as far as you can see. The Wilsons made a killing, but could have sold everyone out for a lot more. Mr Wilson as a 93 year old man could have said "year to year lease or pound sand" and I'm not sure the County could have really made him do otherwise.
Mr. WEO Posted September 12, 2014 Posted September 12, 2014 When the lease was signed, despite being a public document, I don't know that anyone fully contemplated the impact of the clause that the team could not be sold to someone with the intent to move during the lease term. It felt like that only became a hot topic for discussion after Ralph passed. I remember thinking that the lease basically bought us another 6-7 years, but if someone wanted the team to move, it would probably take that long to build a new stadium anyway. To me, it's not inconceivable that the league didn't really fully think that concept through in their review either. If you could explain this in one paragraph, I'm pretty sure every owner and the Commissioner figured it out as soon as they read it...
bbb Posted September 13, 2014 Posted September 13, 2014 The lease is a public document. The terms of the trust are private. The terms of that may come out over time (and they may not). Tim Graham referenced the other day that if that does come out people will understand RW's commitment to WNY. Damn, yeah - I meant the trust, not the lease! Mark Gaughan had an article similar to what you're saying about Graham, and I thought it was going to get specific but it never did. I'd love to know what Ralph's instructions were!
Garion Posted September 13, 2014 Posted September 13, 2014 Great article really puts Wilson's legacy in perspective. Absolutely worth reading and sharing.
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