How to organize the new stadium “Wall of Fame”

[cba fan]

12 hours ago, muppy said:

 

If the Bills decide to make a circle of fame they need to make sure there is room for all the new  legends names  upcoming not just with names from our historys past. Im torn about taking OJ's name down. So much of history is being cancelled I say his name stays. But if they decide to not include him Im not gonna lose sleep either

 

Having a bills mafia representation at the new venue in an even bigger scale would be really cool I think.  Wouldn't a Bills museum be awesome?  @sven233 Include the Bills mafia legends. Represent our super fans like Pancho Villa and the Chefs. Elvis with his guitar and make an exhibit for the fans to celebrate the history of the Buffalo Bills and their fans. 

replace OJ with "The Electric Company"  ??

[17islongenough]

Would be cool if they had an actual hall of fame in the new stadium. I don't know much about some of the names

[maddenboy]

15 hours ago, muppy said:

 

If the Bills decide to make a circle of fame they need to make sure there is room for all the new  legends names  upcoming not just with names from our historys past. Im torn about taking OJ's name down. So much of history is being cancelled I say his name stays. But if they decide to not include him Im not gonna lose sleep either

 

Having a bills mafia representation at the new venue in an even bigger scale would be really cool I think.  Wouldn't a Bills museum be awesome?  @sven233 Include the Bills mafia legends. Represent our super fans like Pancho Villa and the Chefs. Elvis with his guitar and make an exhibit for the fans to celebrate the history of the Buffalo Bills and their fans. 

if they do something like this, they should announce at the beginning that it will change every 5 years.  or some such.

 

to give incentive for 'real' fans to earn their way in.  And to forestall the pitchforks when its time to remove somebody or a theme.

[Gugny]

15 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I’ll have you know @Gugny broke into my car at the opener. Probably looking for spare change or a pair of sunglasses he could pawn. I realize it’s not OJ level criminal activity (though close to when he stole cookies in prison), but I think we need a thorough vetting before we name our first TBD inductee. 

 

On a positive note, partially redeeming him, he was very generous with his food offerings. If I recall correctly, it was a fine chili and “special brownies”.  I gave him a fine Yelp review! 

 

After further consideration, “let ‘em have it”.  Despite his fascination with baseball. My son summed it up well when he turned down All-Stars one year ending his baseball career: “half the people are standing around, and the other half are sitting”.  Clearly I’m torn, but I’m also easy. It’s a good thing I was never a teenage girl. 

 

Let's get this story straight.  I happened upon a vehicle with an elderly man who seemed to be distressed in the driver's seat.  I opened the door to help, and the elderly man (Augie) suddenly came to life, then insisted on trying to kiss me on the lips in order to unnecessarily resuscitate him.  

 

The chili was okay, but my better half's brownies (not special ... but wait till next year) were a hit!

 

I'm sorry that you and @GunnerBillcan't understand and/or appreciate the greatest sport on earth (baseball).  But I love you both.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Gugny

[Mr. WEO]

On 6/27/2022 at 10:00 PM, BringBackFergy said:

Been thinking about this for awhile. Saw some people make comments about what the new stadium “Wall of Fame” should look like. You guys have any ideas? Here’s my thoughts:

 

1) The names should be in Times New Roman font. Keep it uniform. But the name and player number should be digital. See #3 below. 
 

2) The player should have made a “substantial impact” on the history of the Bills: e.g. Joe Cribbs, Brian Moorman, Kyle Orton, et al. 
 

3) The new stadium should have two digital horizontal screens around the stadium. Living players/personnel on top and deceased Wall of Famers 4-6 feet below active Wall of Famers.  Then it recognizes living and the dead. 
 

4) To pay for each of the Wall of Famers, family and friends can “sponsor” their spot on the wall. For instance, Fred Jackson’s or OJ Simpson’s spot on the wall can be sponsored by various companies. We could pay the stadium off quicker that way. 
 

I’m planning on forwarding this to the stadium developers, so keep your responses serious. Any other thoughts?

 

Deceased players "6 feet" under the rest?  Nice!

 

Wustoff, Ford and Isotoner could finance the OJ one.

 

And who is "we"?  Any naming revenue/etc goes to the Bills.

[hondo in seattle]

On 6/28/2022 at 6:45 AM, machine gun kelly said:

I’ve listened to the guys who ran the HOF and they would constantly say when this topic comes up, the Hall is for what they do on the field, not off the field.  I see the Wall as the same so for me OJ Is one of the best Bills ever.  Yes, there’s no argument he’s a horrible human being post career.

 

But on the field, he was one of the best RB’s to ever play the game.  People should be on the Wall who were great players.  

 

I agree that OJ was an amazing talent.   In fact, I rate him higher than most other fans.  I think he was one of the top 2 or 3 football players ever.

 

But if I was a member of the Goldman or Brown family, it would kill me to see him enshrined on the Wall of Fame.  

 

And I wouldn't take my kids to a stadium where murderers were honored.  

 

[Saxum]

I'd like to see a long NFL mural with players in gear of time and plaques / busts or statues along mural for players. 

Early part of mural background would show The Rockpile and later part of mural background would show The Ralph

Plaques would used for specific events (i.e. breaking records) and busts / statues for Hall of Fame players or contributors.

This would allow it to evolve with time and fans could walk along it taking pictures with themselves and paintings of players and statues.

 

[BillsNutHawaii]

Good subject, thanks for soliciting feedback.  A few thoughts:

 

- Will this / should this effort include only the modern day Buffalo Bills?  What about the All-American Football Conference, (AAFC) Buffalo Bills?  What about the Buffalo All Americans from the earliest days of the NFL?  

 

- What should be considered when determining someone's nomination for the Wall of Fame?  A great Buffalo Bill?  Then what is a great Buffalo Bill?  That should be defined.  Should greatness be defined by on field productivity?  Should it be defined by bringing great credit to the NFL, the Buffalo Bills and the city of Buffalo / Western New York?  What about charitable contributions?  A Fan favorite?  A distinguished military veteran, (Bob Kalsu)?  My point being, I think metrics need to be established, then assign a scoring system with a scoring sheet or something similar.  The process for inclusion should not be arbitrary.  

             

                A few examples:

If we are basing inclusion to the Wall of Fame on productivity, then I don't see a way OJ cannot be included.  If all the aforementioned metrics are included, maybe not?  (How many times have we heard, "Former Buffalo Bills running back OJ Simpson has been charged with - fill in the blank."  That's not exactly bringing great credit to the NFL, our team, and the surrounding area.

 

If we are basing inclusion to the Wall of Fame based on all the aforementioned criteria, then I cannot see a way men like Fred Jackson, Ben Williams, Marlin Briscoe, Mark Kelso and so many others cannot be included + all the coaches / administrators who contributed so much.

 

Thoughts?  Am I on to something? Or are there gaps in my assessment? 

[Augie]

20 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

Let's get this story straight.  I happened upon a vehicle with an elderly man who seemed to be distressed in the driver's seat.  I opened the door to help, and the elderly man (Augie) suddenly came to life, then insisted on trying to kiss me on the lips in order to unnecessarily resuscitate him.  

 

The chili was okay, but my better half's brownies (not special ... but wait till next year) were a hit!

 

I'm sorry that you and @GunnerBillcan't understand and/or appreciate the greatest sport on earth (baseball).  But I love you both.

 

 

I want to thank you for describing me as “elderly”.  There are so many words that could make that feel worse…….and probably be far more accurate! 

 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Augie

[bleve]

I like that when Ralph passed, they changed the color of his name to gold. Maybe they can change Kalsu's name to Red White and Blue. And as for OJ, maybe they can change his name to prison-suit-orange colors.

 

[El Guapo]

OJ needs to come down in the new stadium. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by El Guapo

[Beerball]

On 6/27/2022 at 10:00 PM, BringBackFergy said:

 

3) The new stadium should have two digital horizontal screens around the stadium. Living players/personnel on top and deceased Wall of Famers 4-6 feet below active Wall of Famers.  Then it recognizes living and the dead.

Have you thought about a digitalized eternal flame on the lower ring?

[BringBackFergy]

1 hour ago, Beerball said:

Have you thought about a digitalized eternal flame on the lower ring?

That’s actually not a bad idea. Then we could remove the names of the deceased “Famers” and just keep one digital

candle flickering for eternity. At some point the deceased Famers will outnumber the living Famers by a bunch. A candle is a nice substitute. 
 

Another idea: We can bring back a deceased Famer to “lead the charge” on certain games via a hologram of their playing days. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:45 AM, machine gun kelly said:

I’ve listened to the guys who ran the HOF and they would constantly say when this topic comes up, the Hall is for what they do on the field, not off the field.  I see the Wall as the same so for me OJ Is one of the best Bills ever.  Yes, there’s no argument he’s a horrible human being post career.

 

But on the field, he was one of the best RB’s to ever play the game.  People should be on the Wall who were great players.  

How about a compromise? Just put up "2003 Yards" Honor the achievement and black ball the murderer.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

As for a new Wall, maybe they vote again. Guys like Kalsu, Ferguson, Hansen, Ritcher and a few others are memorable parts of Bills history but are they really worthy of Wall of Fame? And then vote in a number of guys that should have been in a long time ago like Byrd, Reuben Brown, Schobel, and hell even Moorman.  

[Greg S]

8 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

As for a new Wall, maybe they vote again. Guys like Kalsu, Ferguson, Hansen, Ritcher and a few others are memorable parts of Bills history but are they really worthy of Wall of Fame? And then vote in a number of guys that should have been in a long time ago like Byrd, Reuben Brown, Schobel, and hell even Moorman.  

 

Another player I remember was Joe Cribbs. He was outstanding in 80 and 81. He was the "Thurman Thomas" of those early 80's teams. If I remember correctly he had the contract dispute and then went to the USFL. Injuries also cut his career short. I can't see him in the Bills Wall of Fame. Didn't play for them long enough.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

10 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

Another player I remember was Joe Cribbs. He was outstanding in 80 and 81. He was the "Thurman Thomas" of those early 80's teams. If I remember correctly he had the contract dispute and then went to the USFL. Injuries also cut his career short. I can't see him in the Bills Wall of Fame. Didn't play for them long enough.

Agree. Cribbs was a great story for a few years. He isn't on the wall now though.

 

[ColoradoBills]

7 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

How about a compromise? Just put up "2003 Yards" Honor the achievement and black ball the murderer.

 

Nice, or maybe use Det. Nordberg?

 

 

[Augie]

On 6/28/2022 at 7:58 PM, 17islongenough said:

Would be cool if they had an actual hall of fame in the new stadium. I don't know much about some of the names

 

The Atlanta Braves new(ish) stadium has a section of the concourse with a little museum built into it. The concourse is just a little wider with a ramp and you can just bypass it if your not interested, or you can just use it as a wider path if you don’t want to stop and look. I’m not a Braves historian by any means, but something like that in a new Bills stadium is something I would definitely seek out at least once. 

[Buffalo716]

I think OJ should be on it because he gives out king sized candy bars at Halloween 

 

I think that proves he didn’t do it…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😏