A man named Allen

[Bob Jones]

7 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

For the Bills in my lifetime only two are on the superstar level with #17 and that's #32 and #78. 

No 12  and 34?!

[Mr. WEO]

wow...

[Radar]

21 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

For the Bills in my lifetime only two are on the superstar level with #17 and that's #32 and #78. 

No Kelly? Lofton? Simpson? Over the years we've had superstars depending on your valuing system. Maybe Cornelius Bennett and Thomas? Hall of Famers must be superstars one thinks.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Radar

[0017]

12 minutes ago, Bob Jones said:

No 12  and 34?!

34 still is my favorite number, but 17 is getting close. 

[WhoTom]

Are Josh threads becoming too commercialized?

 

[Big Blitz]

There is only 1 player in the NFL bigger then Allen and that’s Mahomes. 
 

No one from those 90s teams can say this when they were at the peak of their powers.  
 

 

Allen is the biggest superstar in the history of this city.  
 

 

Ranked:

 

Allen 

Hasek 

Kelly 

OJ

Thurman 

Bruce 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Big Blitz

[Fleezoid]

25 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

We haven't had this caliber of a Superstar in Buffalo in a very long time...alot of Bills fans don't know how to handle it 😄

 

[947]

1 minute ago, Radar said:

No Kelly? Lofton? Simpson? Over the years we've had superstars depending on your valuing system. Maybe Cornelius Bennett just to add another.

Wow, I can't believe we almost left Ko Simpson out of the superstar conversation.😄

[Radar]

1 minute ago, Big Blitz said:

There is only 1 player in the NFL bigger then Allen and that’s Mahomes. 
 

No one from those 90s teams can say this when they were at the peak of their powers.  
 

 

Allen is the biggest superstar in the history of this city.  
 

 

Ranked:

 

Allen 

Hasek 

Kelly 

OJ

Thurman 

Bruce 

Couldn't disagree more.

[Gregg]

6 minutes ago, Radar said:

No Kelly? Lofton? Simpson? Over the years we've had superstars depending on your valuing system. Maybe Cornelius Bennett just to add another.

 

From a talent POV Bruce and OJ are above the rest. Bruce is the greatest defensive player in Bills history He is also one of the greatest in league history. Same goes for OJ for the Bills offense as well as the league. Kelly, Thomas, Reed, Lofton are all great players, but they are not considered some of the greatest at their positions. Bruce and OJ are.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Gregg

[Big Blitz]

1 minute ago, Radar said:

Couldn't disagree more.

 

Yea maybe Hasek isn’t number 2, but he’s one of my 3 favorite players ever in any sport so I’m biased.  
 

I was a teenager during the SB runs.  There was nothing like this as far as attention press hype and “appeal” as far as like reach to all fans and the media.   

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Please dont leave out Thurman Thomas in the history of Buffalo superstars. He was a league MVP. Allen is more physically gifted than all but OJ and Bruce, but has yet to even come close to the accomplishments of Thomas, Reed, Lofton, and Kelly. In time he will though. 

 

Don't forget Perreault, Mogilny, Hasek,and LaFontaine. All Buffalo superstars in their day.

[The Wiz]

21 minutes ago, 0017 said:

34 still is my favorite number, but 17 is getting close. 

How much closer?  Would you say "half way there"? 😜

[Ethan in Cleveland]

23 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

There is only 1 player in the NFL bigger then Allen and that’s Mahomes. 
 

No one from those 90s teams can say this when they were at the peak of their powers.  
 

 

Allen is the biggest superstar in the history of this city.  
 

 

Ranked:

 

Allen 

Hasek 

Kelly 

OJ

Thurman 

Bruce 

Apparently winning and individual achievements are not part of your criteria. 

[BillsPride12]

33 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

There is only 1 player in the NFL bigger then Allen and that’s Mahomes. 
 

No one from those 90s teams can say this when they were at the peak of their powers.  
 

 

Allen is the biggest superstar in the history of this city.  
 

 

Ranked:

 

Allen 

Hasek 

Kelly 

OJ

Thurman 

Bruce 

I would say it was trending that way but came to somewhat of a temporary halt with the way last season went.  Don't forget how big of a deal the Super Bowl Bills teams were in their heyday and how big Hasek was when he carried the Sabres to a Cup Finals on his back.  Allen is definitely a Superstar but I can't say he has eclipsed the stars from the Super Bowl years or Hasek or Gilbert yet and will be hard to do that until he at least reaches a Super Bowl.  It might seem like his stardom is on a different level from those guys because of the way we consume our Sports nowadays with modern technology, Twitter, places like here, YouTube videos etc. 

[Big Blitz]

Just now, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Apparently winning and individual achievements are not part of your criteria. 

 

Different categories and different ranks absolutely.  
 

I’m just basing this off essentially national star power and popularity.      
 

It’s simple - There is no other player that gets eyes on him and thus Buffalo in the NFL other then Mahomes.   I’m not sure you could say that about any 90s Bills player that is not to take anything from them.  
 

Kelly didn’t even join the Bills till 3 years after the draft.  I think without looking he was 30 in that first Super Bowl.  This is just different.  So how can you say he isn’t bigger then those guys.  
 

Not accomplishments - that’s a different list.  

Just now, BillsPride12 said:

I would say it was trending that way but came to somewhat of a temporary halt with the way last season went.  Don't forget how big of a deal the Super Bowl Bills teams were in their heyday and how big Hasek was when he carried the Sabres to a Cup Finals on his back.  Allen is definitely a Superstar but I can't say he has eclipsed the stars from the Super Bowl years or Hasek or Gilbert yet and will be hard to do that until he at least reaches a Super Bowl.  It might seem like his stardom is on a different level from those guys because of the way we consume our Sports nowadays with modern technology, Twitter, places like here, YouTube videos etc. 

 

 

Yea I can’t disagree with any of that.  

[mrags]

People arguing that Kelly and Thomas were better are just comical. They weren’t even the best at their positions at the time. Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith were both better than Thomas. And that’s not even considering Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen.
 

Kelly wasn’t as good as Marino, Elway, Moon, Young, Cunningham,  Montana. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by mrags

[Ethan in Cleveland]

18 minutes ago, mrags said:

People arguing that Kelly and Thomas were better are just comical. They weren’t even the best at their positions at the time. Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith were both better than Thomas. And that’s not even considering Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen.
 

Kelly wasn’t as good as Marino, Elway, Moon, Young, Cunningham,  Montana. 

Get no argument on Kelly.

As for Thurman, if you put him behind Dallas O-line that Smith had he would have produced even more yards. Sanders was a better runner, but Thurman was just as good a running back when you take into account receiving and pass blocking.  

[BillsPride12]

20 minutes ago, mrags said:

People arguing that Kelly and Thomas were better are just comical. They weren’t even the best at their positions at the time. Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith were both better than Thomas. And that’s not even considering Eric Dickerson, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen.
 

Kelly wasn’t as good as Marino, Elway, Moon, Young, Cunningham,  Montana. 

Once again we are not talking about who is better...I would agree Allen is better than Kelly...but we are talking about level of being a Superstar.  Jim came into the league already being praised as a star from his UM and USFL days, there was a huge parade when he rode into town in a limousine when he signed here..literally.  The 1990 Bills were 7 point favorites going into Super Bowl 25 and the talk of the league.  Hasek was the NHL MVP and carried the Sabres to a Stanley Cup finals.  The biggest difference is the way we consume Sports nowadays everything is constantly crammed down our throats 24/7....make no mistake if social media was around in the 90s there would have been Meme's galore about how Kelly and Hasek and Bruce and Thurman were gods and the Dolphins Daddy etc..

[PrimeTime101]

1 hour ago, Dopey said:

that whenever he takes batting practice, has a puzzle made out of his image, he swings a golf club, wears an outlandish suit to the Kentucky Derby(as is tradition, it seems) or sneezes, there is a new thread created. I know it's the off-season, but damn. He's got to be this guys son, no?

 

Please merge with all the other Josh threads. Please.

To the Bolded