Oneonta Buffalo Fan Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 I say it's not good. Ralph is getting old and he looks like he could kick the bucket soon. I'm not sure if he has a plan to keep the Bills in NY. I'm worried.
apuszczalowski Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Ralph may be starting to get a bit slower upstairs (as what usually happens with people his age) but he is in pretty damn good physical shape for someone who is almost 90. i could see him living well into his 90's, although not running the Bills. I think he is getting ready to starting talking sale of the team before he goes so he knows his team is in good shape. I think that is why he went to Pataki the other day, start getting interests in his team.
Talonz Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Why stress about it? Enjoy them while we have them, continue to support them, and pray they don't leave. Ultimately the Bills fate will be decided by people who have more money than all of us put together multiplied by a 1000
Peter Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It would be idiotic for the NFL to allow the Bills to move. We fill up the stadium even when the team is bad. The NFL would really be selling out if it allowed the team to move from Buffalo. I do not think that there is a team with a more passionate fan base. It really is better off just adding a team to LA and making the new ownership pay the franchise fee.
socalfan Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It would be idiotic for the NFL to allow the Bills to move. We fill up the stadium even when the team is bad. The NFL would really be selling out if it allowed the team to move from Buffalo. I do not think that there is a team with a more passionate fan base. It really is better off just adding a team to LA and making the new ownership pay the franchise fee. 652516[/snapback] Why? LA didn't support the Rams when they were there....and they didn't support the Raiders when they were there.
Peter Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Why? LA didn't support the Rams when they were there....and they didn't support the Raiders when they were there. 652522[/snapback] I agree with you. Yet, the NFL seems intent on placing a team there. My post presumes that to be the case. Given that, it would be idiotic to move the Bills to LA because of the fan support in Buffalo.
JDG Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Why? LA didn't support the Rams when they were there....and they didn't support the Raiders when they were there. 652522[/snapback] The problem was the Stadium. The Los Angeles metro area has about about five people for every man, woman, and child in the combined Buffalo-Rochester area. Even if you toss in Southern Ontario, the Los Angeles area is more than twice our size. With a decent Stadium situation, a team in the Los Angeles market would simply be a cash cow. Think of it this way - Buffalo will never be one of the "high revenue" franchises; a team in Los Angeles with a modern stadium almost certainly would be. JDG
Sisyphean Bills Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 I've got my positive hat on. Oh, let's say 0.1%.
Tcali Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 The problem was the Stadium. The Los Angeles metro area has about about five people for every man, woman, and child in the combined Buffalo-Rochester area. Even if you toss in Southern Ontario, the Los Angeles area is more than twice our size. With a decent Stadium situation, a team in the Los Angeles market would simply be a cash cow. Think of it this way - Buffalo will never be one of the "high revenue" franchises; a team in Los Angeles with a modern stadium almost certainly would be. JDG 652560[/snapback] LA is about 7 times the size of Buffalo and Rochester combined. It is twice the size even if you include southern ontario -Toronto included. But that is not the issue really--since it is hard to get an area that huge and spread out to focus on one team.It may be TOO big.
PromoTheRobot Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It would be idiotic for the NFL to allow the Bills to move. We fill up the stadium even when the team is bad. 652516[/snapback] Ummmm...I seem to recall the last time we were 3-13. Half the stdium was empty! The fan support thing is a myth! KC, Green Bay, that's where stadiums are always full. Not Buffalo. Sorry, it's the truth. PTR
Peter Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Ummmm...I seem to recall the last time we were 3-13. Half the stdium was empty! The fan support thing is a myth! KC, Green Bay, that's where stadiums are always full. Not Buffalo. Sorry, it's the truth. PTR 652597[/snapback] We were pathetic this past year. Yet, the attendance was great.
Buftex Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 I normally try to avoid these "Bills are leaving Buffalo" conversations, because, frankly, it depresses the sh-- out of me. The Bills have been "leaving Buffalo" for most of my life...I never worried about it, because I knew that if they would just win more games than they lose, everything would be fine...now, the Bills appear to be hitting rock-bottom on the field, and the owner (both a hero and a cheap bastard in one breath) is getting very old. It would be silly to think that it couldn't happen. Big business sports, and especially the NFL, are pretty cold sharks... I am putting a lot of hope that Tom Golisano appears on the Bills scene. God love Ralph, but why not gauge the interest of someone like Golisano. If he is interested in one day owning the Bills, why not let him be a minority owner, with Ralph, until he passes away. Ralph wouldn't have to stress out over money so much, the Bills could get the infusion of excitement in the front office that I think Golasano could provide, and maybe they could win a friggin' leauge championship. Didn't Art Modell have a similar arraingement in Baltimore? It worked for him.... When Golisano purchased the Sabres, I remember listening to his press conference. I was really impressed by him. He wasn't even a major hockey fan, but he realized the importance that the Sabres, and Bills played in WNY, and was keenly aware that investing in the Sabres, was a good investment for all of his other business interests in WNY. It is true, he is a businessman, and he likely wouldn't throw good money after bad, if it was apparent he was going to lose. But his entreachment in WNY would be, IMO, very good for Buffalo and the Bills future there. I have heard, off the record, that Golisano would be very interested in owning the Bills. He won't say anything publicly, out of respect for Ralph.
UConn James Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 From the sounds of it, and with the effect that he's talking to people who have no future in any of the negotiations. Whether that something is if he's going to sell or move the franchise or if he wants a big input of public monies down the road, and then whether it happens next week or 10 years from now is anyone's guess. But he's officially put everyone on notice that something's up. It's an old tactic to hint at something before you really say it, so as not to surprise anyone and be the evil owner who moved in the middle of the night ('course, he still would be to most of us). This story of him saying that it's not looking well for the NFL in Buffalo is catalogued in our heads and in the newspapers' morgues.
Mikie2times Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It depends on the window of time were dealing with. Within the next decade we have the stadium lease issue, and we need to find an owner dedicated to keeping this team in Western New York. I think those two obstacles are things we can overcome, and I expect the Bills to do just that. Past the next decade is what concerns me the most. Many people on the board will be alive 20-50 years from now (God forbid anything happens). 20-50 years is a LONG time, and being Bills fans most of us will remain Bills fans threw out our lives. I think the probability of the Bills moving at some point during that time frame is higher then them staying, and it will only increase as time passes.
Mark VI Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It's silly to worry about things you can't control. I have friends who have been telling me for 15 years that the Bills will be leaving within a year. Their logic is based on absolutely nothing outside of their own personal unhappiness and cynical attitude towards everything. Naturally, they don't buy tickets and would only go if you gave them a freebie. The Bills have a cheap out every year with the current lease and could leave anytime. And yet, here they are. Ralph will pass on in the next few years and maybe Tom Golisano or another person of wealth, with WNY loyalty, will buy the Bills try and keep the team here. If they leave, then I watch more college games on Saturday and play with the family more on Sunday. Life goes on.
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Life goes on. 652643[/snapback] I don't think people will view things in that way. The area will be just another Toledo, Tulsa or Hartford. The one thing Buffalo has over cities its size IS a team in the NFL.
SD Jarhead Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 It pains me to say this, but it looks like Ralph is really trying to prep the ground for either a move or a sale of the team. The unfortunate reality is one way or another, the team will probably not be in Buffalo too much longer. When you stop and take an honest look at the economic realities, Buffalo is a small market that is getting smaller all the time, while the NFL is an economic giant that keeps getting bigger. Plus, we all know how Ralph feels about the new CBA and it's negative impact on small market teams. Somethings gotta give. People need to wake up to this reality. I don't like it one bit, but it's like a sick relative who you know won't be around too much longer. I'm going to simply appreciate and enjoy the team while it's still here.
BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Why? LA didn't support the Rams when they were there....and they didn't support the Raiders when they were there. 652522[/snapback] Yes, but LA is a top 5 media market which has value to the TV folks in terms of revenue, which directly affects the NFL in the $ value of the TV contract. The Sirius contract too, I would assume.
stinky finger Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 We fill up the stadium even when the team is bad. 652516[/snapback] This is rather inaccurate.
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