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The Bills Should Move to Toronto

Setrett

By Setrett
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Setrett Probation

Setrett

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Despite the NFL’s best attempts at creating parity throughout the league, it remains mostly impotent in the arena of overall team revenue. Every team in the NFL is subject to the same salary cap for players, but profits from the sales of luxury boxes, tickets, and merchandising go by and large to teams in the biggest markets. And I haven’t even mentioned revenue from playoff appearances. Just look at the disparity in money generated in luxury box seats alone between the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills.

 

Buffalo’s biggest problem over the last decade has been a complete inability to “right the ship”. In my estimation, the biggest factors that have played into this are the personnel decisions made by the front office and the coaching regimes. With competition in the NFL at a truly intense level, it is obvious that if a team cannot secure a competitive advantage in these two categories then it will be chronically disadvantaged.

 

I fear that the Bills have fallen into a state of perpetual mediocrity. I don’t believe this is due to a lack of heart on anyone’s part. It’s a simple matter of lacking the tools to hire the best staff and coaches available in the NFL. Unless Ralph Wilson decides to open up the purse strings or western New York’s economy is suddenly revitalized, I don’t see these endemic problems (the type of problems that keep teams out of the playoffs for an embarrassing stretch of time) being overcome any time soon.

 

For that reason, I am in favor of the Bills moving to Toronto. Even when the Bills are playing well, Ralph Wilson Stadium does not always sell out, depriving the team of revenue. The problem has become so acute that the NFL has actively tried to avoid scheduling home games in the month of December in Buffalo. While the Roger’s Center is slightly smaller than The Ralph, this would be more than compensated by the higher ticket prices the organization has proven capable of charging. All luxury seats for the Bills-Dolphins match-up have been sold.

 

Being the only Canadian NFL team is likely to draw in more Canadian spectators, increasing the fan base and driving up merchandise sales. Being part of a larger market would also lead to greater national exposure, something a team that has been playing in the dark for so long sorely needs.

 

While I understand that this suggestion is likely to attract hatred amongst the Bills faithful, I have to beg the question: If you knew that moving the team two hours up the road would significantly increase its chances of returning to the Super Bowl, would the trade-off be worth it? Wouldn’t anything be better than our current status quo? Football in Buffalo is a full day event anyway, and one could imagine the 100 minute drive becoming a new ritual, not unlike the one fans in New York City already participate in to get to The Meadowlands. Furthermore, there is no reason that a Bills team based out of Toronto shouldn’t play at least a game a year in Ralph Wilson stadium, giving the team a dynamic that no other in the league could match.

 

Make no mistake. The Bills will always be a part of western New York, and regardless of where the team resides, an eventual Super Bowl victory parade will march through the streets of Buffalo. But just as we send our sons and daughters to college and our brave men and women of the armed forces abroad, sometimes we realize that we need to send those that we love away to ensure that true greatness can emerge.

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enrique14150 Probation

enrique14150

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This poster can't be from Buffalo, because if they were their heart wouldn't let them write something like that. Did they support the Braves when they moved to San Diego? Why would you support a team that would jilt you like that? You'd be the ultimate sucker. The sign on the door says the BUFFALO Bills, and it means that. If they leave, they're not our team anymore.

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SageAgainstTheMachine All Pro

SageAgainstTheMachine

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This poster can't be from Buffalo, because if they were their heart wouldn't let them write something like that. Did they support the Braves when they moved to San Diego? Why would you support a team that would jilt you like that? You'd be the ultimate sucker. The sign on the door says the BUFFALO Bills, and it means that. If they leave, they're not our team anymore.

 

I thought the Braves moved to LA and became the Clippers.

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billfan63 RFA

billfan63

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I take it you're not from Buffalo. Did Baltimore Colts fans root for the Indianapolis Colts? No. I'm sorry if this is petty, but if the Superbowl parade isn't in the city of Buffalo, I can't celebrate it.

There are fans here in Houston who still root for the Titans based on their Oiler past.

It's alot easier this year with Tennesee undefeated and the Texans sucking but since the Oilers left Houston

there is a loyal following who still consider the Titans as their team.

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Gavin in Va Beach Veteran

Gavin in Va Beach

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While I understand that this suggestion is likely to attract hatred amongst the Bills faithful, I have to beg the question: If you knew that moving the team two hours up the road would significantly increase its chances of returning to the Super Bowl, would the trade-off be worth it? Wouldn’t anything be better than our current status quo? Football in Buffalo is a full day event anyway, and one could imagine the 100 minute drive becoming a new ritual, not unlike the one fans in New York City already participate in to get to The Meadowlands. Furthermore, there is no reason that a Bills team based out of Toronto shouldn’t play at least a game a year in Ralph Wilson stadium, giving the team a dynamic that no other in the league could match.

 

Make no mistake. The Bills will always be a part of western New York, and regardless of where the team resides, an eventual Super Bowl victory parade will march through the streets of Buffalo. But just as we send our sons and daughters to college and our brave men and women of the armed forces abroad, sometimes we realize that we need to send those that we love away to ensure that true greatness can emerge.

 

1)The Toronto Bills =|= The Buffalo Bills. Personally I'd hope that if the team ever does move the name 'Bills' and the teams history stays behind in Buffalo until at some point after the city has an economic revival the team could restarted, like the Browns. If that didn't happen, I would not root for the Toronto Bills. It wouldn't even remotely be the same. And I think it's ridiculous to think a Super Bowl parade for the Toronto Bills would ever go through Buffalo. I'd expect a lot of snowballs would be thrown.

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Billsboyd Probation

Billsboyd

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To me, the Bills moving to Toronto and still expecting Buffalo fans to support them would be like your girl leaving you for your neighbor and still expecting you to come over for thanksgiving dinner because it "would mean so much to her". No thank you sir, no thank you.

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Setrett Probation

Setrett

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My “outsider” status is that obvious, huh? Well, you are right. I have been a Bills fan for as long as I’ve known what a touchdown was, but I now live in Baltimore and with the exception of the great Bills Backers down at Fletcher’s every Sunday, we remote few live in greater isolation than the current Buffalo denizens.

 

From my perspective, there is a much smaller football community for your team when you’re out of state. The greatest hope I have to cling to is that the Bills will once again rise to prominence and make all of us very happy.

 

But there is a difference between us. For me, I will support the Bills regardless of where I am and regardless of where they are. They are my team and there’s nothing that I can forsee ever changing that. My ultimate frustration is watching them build our hopes up year and year only to dash them in the final weeks of each season. While I do still believe that moving the team to Toronto would increase the chances of their becoming a more successful organization, I completely empathize with local fans. But to me, realize that driving two hours to see my team play would be a welcome blessing, not a reason to give up on the NFL entirely.

 

Perhaps the more reasonable proposal would be for the NFL to begin to include coaches and staff under the salary cap. They are just as important as the players when it comes to winning games, so why has the league, which professes to care about parity, not yet made this change? This would address the competitive disadvantage issue while still allowing the team to remain in Buffalo.

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billybob RFA

billybob

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Bills and Sabre, If the teams are willing and able to compete I'd want them to stay if not let them go - I never understood Fans of some of those baseball teams who are basically out of the race every year before the season even begins- I don't understand how it is sports if there are teams who have no chance of winning- I don't think the Bills or Sabre are at that point yet but if they get there let them go, you have better things to do with your time and money.

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marauderswr80 Veteran

marauderswr80

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If the Bills move...the team and the NFL are dead to me

 

Same here, even fantasy football would be dead to me. I could careless about football. And it would be hard to watch college football cause my team there is Syracuse, and well.......id rather be dragged outside get kicked in the nuts and call it a day.

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