Jets at Bills 1995

[Ned Flanders]

10 minutes ago, MJS said:

It was completely short sighted. 

Of course it was.  But recall, TV contracts were NOTHING like they are today and owners counted on ticket sales for a large part of their revenue.

 

Even stranger, the first several Super Bowls were blacked out in the markets where the game was being played.  (SBI KC vs. GB remains the only one which didn't sell out).  Can you imagine that happening today?

Edited December 8, 2022 by Ned Flanders

[sonyab1974]

3 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

I came up with the idea myself. Just thought it would be neat

 

Oh okay well, thank you again! Don't stop!!

[RobbRiddicksTDLeap]

First year at ECC North. Wild times…

[Spiderweb]

8 hours ago, HOUSE said:

I wasn't even born yet 

Go away.. 😁

8 hours ago, DD4Bills said:

Lost Reed to a torn hammy in this game. Kelly's last year too? Isn't this the year the Bills lost to Jacksonville at home in the first round of the playoffs?

 

...and the good old days of "we'll show the score when we're good and g-d damn ready to show the score!"

Nope. Kelly retired after the 96 season.

[Buffalo716]

7 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Remember your first hair?  I do and I was like "WTF??".  I thought I was turning into a 70's porn star.

I’ve could grow a stache in 8th grade lol

[Maybe Someday]

9 hours ago, Ned Flanders said:

Simple: owners thought games on free local TV would kill attendance.  Thank the Redskins (Commanders, WFT) for getting the policy (it was never a rule) changed in 1973.  In 1972, the Skins had a great year, got all the way to the Super Bowl, but those without tickets in the DC area were shut out from watching home games.  Pressure from congress and even the Nixon White House, drove the NFL to put into effect a policy, where if a home game was sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the blackout would be lifted.  Who determined if a game was sold out?  The local team/owner of course.

 

Fast forward over 40 years and the policy was still in effect.  However, in 2015, in a under-publicized move, the NFL declared the 72 hour policy dead and that all home games could now be televised locally, regardless of ticket sales.  It was hailed as a good move for fans and teams alike because the more a team was on TV, the more people talked about them, bought t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, etc.  

 

When it got close to the wire someone almost always stepped up and bought the remaining few thousand tickets so it would be on tv. Sometimes radio a station. Ralph did it a bunch of times. 
 

 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Maybe Someday

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Pretty sure this was the year of the infamous Bruce Smith flu incident causing him to miss our 2nd playoff game, in 3 Rivers. The week prior featured a resounding last ever playoff W (against the Fins) until the era of Allen…

[Ned Flanders]

13 hours ago, Maybe Someday said:

 

When it got close to the wire someone almost always stepped up and bought the remaining few thousand tickets so it would be on tv. Sometimes radio a station. Ralph did it a bunch of times. 
 

 

Yup, I remember supermarket chain Bell's stepping up several times to buy remaining tix and yes, Ralph bought some from time to time.  Often times, the 72 hour policy was "flexible," with teams, including the Bills, giving cities until the day before a game to procure a sellout. 

 

The blackout policy was, in the end, a total farce.