Hating Ralph Wilson is like hating your mother or father

[Kelly the Dog]

The "I'm done" people are not only pathetic, but liars. The "I hope he dies" people are worse.

 

Ralph Wilson is old, and (very) misguided, and stubborn, and that's it. He loves the Bills at least as much and likely more than you do. Without him, Buffalo simply does not have a team. It's almost inarguable. If he really was only about money, he could have sold or moved the team for WAY more of it. He probably could tomorrow if he wanted to.

 

The fact is, he's like your parent. He brought you into this world as a Bills fan. He was responsible for that. He kept the roof over your head for about 50 years. He, almost alone, was responsible for that. And whatever else he does, he deserves that respect. Even your love and admiration, like you would for a parent.

 

Unless, of course, your parent did something criminal to you, and deserves your hatred. Which Ralph didn't and has never come close to.

 

All he did was be misguided, erratic, contradictory, and make a long storied string of bad personnel decisions while running his business. That's it.

 

I hate the Jauron move. I didn't like it from day one, although I gave him a few benefits of the doubt. The problem IS at the top, meaning Ralph. It's unconscionable that he will pay Derrick Dockery 7 million a year but won't pay a good coach, who is twice as important to his team and success, half that.

 

But that's just Ralph being dumb. He isn't even all that cheap, he's just erratic, misguided and stubborn. And he's been that way since day one.

 

But he's your football dad and mom. You're going to have huge disagreements over the years with him. He's messed with the family business and he's kept it from becoming a major success like the neighbor's business down the street by some unbelievably boneheaded managerial moves, that's for sure. But he's kept it moving, he's kept it in town, and he's responsible for pretty much the most important things in your (football) life: The team, the town, the colors, the dream.

 

He may be the most misguided owner in the entire league. And he's getting older and more ornery and making even less sense than he did before.

 

In fact, as I said before, the smartest thing he has said in several years is "I don't understand it" about the CBA.

 

But he's still your dad. And you don't want him to move. And he's kept the family and family business intact, despite his repeated, ill-advised, misguided blunders.

 

He's owed your respect not your hatred.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

He's owed your respect not your hatred.

 

He isn't owed sh--.

 

He's made millions by putting a terrible team out there year in and year out.

[WinBeforeYouLeave]

Eloquent, well stated. It's not about being cheap, I agree. Money has been spent. I think it's about a lack of intensity and focus. Calling for the death of anyone is sick, and it embarrasses me to read stuff like that.

[BuffaloRebound]

I'm sorry. Anyone who has made the amount of money Ralph has on this team and feels no sympathy to field a winner for the loyal fans is an !@#$ in my book.

[Rico]

He isn't owed sh--.

 

He's made millions by putting a terrible team out there year in and year out.

Amen. !@#$ Ralph.

[Bill from NYC]

And you Sir, are one great poster.

[Hazed and Amuzed]

The "I'm done" people are not only pathetic, but liars. The "I hope he dies" people are worse.

 

Ralph Wilson is old, and (very) misguided, and stubborn, and that's it. He loves the Bills at least as much and likely more than you do. Without him, Buffalo simply does not have a team. It's almost inarguable. If he really was only about money, he could have sold or moved the team for WAY more of it. He probably could tomorrow if he wanted to.

 

The fact is, he's like your parent. He brought you into this world as a Bills fan. He was responsible for that. He kept the roof over your head for about 50 years. He, almost alone, was responsible for that. And whatever else he does, he deserves that respect. Even your love and admiration, like you would for a parent.

 

Unless, of course, your parent did something criminal to you, and deserves your hatred. Which Ralph didn't and has never come close to.

 

All he did was be misguided, erratic, contradictory, and make a long storied string of bad personnel decisions while running his business. That's it.

 

I hate the Jauron move. I didn't like it from day one, although I gave him a few benefits of the doubt. The problem IS at the top, meaning Ralph. It's unconscionable that he will pay Derrick Dockery 7 million a year but won't pay a good coach, who is twice as important to his team and success, half that.

 

But that's just Ralph being dumb. He isn't even all that cheap, he's just erratic, misguided and stubborn. And he's been that way since day one.

 

But he's your football dad and mom. You're going to have huge disagreements over the years with him. He's messed with the family business and he's kept it from becoming a major success like the neighbor's business down the street by some unbelievably boneheaded managerial moves, that's for sure. But he's kept it moving, he's kept it in town, and he's responsible for pretty much the most important things in your (football) life: The team, the town, the colors, the dream.

 

He may be the most misguided owner in the entire league. And he's getting older and more ornery and making even less sense than he did before.

 

In fact, as I said before, the smartest thing he has said in several years is "I don't understand it" about the CBA.

 

But he's still your dad. And you don't want him to move. And he's kept the family and family business intact, despite his repeated, ill-advised, misguided blunders.

 

He's owed your respect not your hatred.

 

 

I respect your posts Kelly , I always have but I think we may disagree here. It should be more of a symbiotic relationship. Ralph has made a lot of money due to the loyalty of the fans and the fans should be thankful to him for keeping the team around. If Ralph is our daddy then we're financially supporting our daddy and that should be taken into consideration. However, it's gotten to the point where it seems like he cares less about the team then we do, that should be unacceptable to you, me and the rest of Bills fans. Daddy is taking advantage at this point.

 

I do agree that those that are "Done" will be back and the ones that wish Ralph dead are out of line...

[Kelly the Dog]

I respect your posts Kelly , I always have but I think we may disagree here. It should be more of a symbiotic relationship. Ralph has made a lot of money due to the loyalty of the fans and the fans should be thankful to him for keeping the team around. If Ralph is our daddy then we're financially supporting our daddy and that should be taken into consideration. However, it's gotten to the point where it seems like he cares less about the team then we do, that should be unacceptable to you, me and the rest of Bills fans. Daddy is taking advantage at this point.

 

I do agree that those that are "Done" will be back and the ones that wish Ralph dead are out of line...

There is no way he cares less about the team than you do. Not a chance. He's just old and stubborn and often makes dumb decisions, and that's it. He cares about winning, he just doesn't know how to do it.

 

Like his coach.

[Brandon]

Yeah right.

 

And on the other end, Ralph Wilson thinks of you in terms of dollar signs. You're not his son, daughter, cousin, niece, nephew, or his friend. He wouldn't give you the time of day. You're a paying customer of the product he puts on the field, one of thousands. That's it.

 

That's not to say that the fans have any right to say some of the more awful things that they have, but you're giving Ralph way too much credit. In the end, this is merely a 50 year business relationship that he's had with the fans of this team. He gladly takes the fans' money and in exchange, we expect an attempt to put a quality product on the field. If he seems content with losing, its not surprising that the fans would be irate, giving how much money they've given him over the years for little or no return.

[Hazed and Amuzed]

There is no way he cares less about the team than you do. Not a chance. He's just old and stubborn and often makes dumb decisions, and that's it. He cares about winning, he just doesn't know how to do it.

 

Like his coach.

 

 

The word seems was in italics for a reason, I think he does care but more when it comes to $ then wins... I have no recent evidence otherwise.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

There is no way he cares less about the team than you do. Not a chance. He's just old and stubborn and often makes dumb decisions, and that's it. He cares about winning, he just doesn't know how to do it.

 

Like his coach.

 

If he cared about winning, he'd hire a GM. He'd hire a REAL head coach. If he gave a rat's ass about winning, he'd keep his shriveled self out of the draft room. He'd let someone who knows what the f*ck he's doing run this franchise.

 

But, see, Kelly...he doesn't care. All he cares about is making money. PERIOD.

[Endless Ike]

My mother and father never pooped on my heart!

[cåblelady]

And you Sir, are one great poster.

[Kelly the Dog]

Yeah right.

 

And on the other end, Ralph Wilson thinks of you in terms of dollar signs. You're not his son, daughter, cousin, niece, nephew, or his friend. He wouldn't give you the time of day. You're a paying customer of the product he puts on the field, one of thousands. That's it.

 

That's not to say that the fans have any right to say some of the more awful things that they have, but you're giving Ralph way too much credit. In the end, this is merely a 50 year business relationship that he's had with the fans of this team. He gladly takes the fans' money and in exchange, we expect an attempt to put a quality product on the field. If he seems content with losing, its not surprising that the fans would be irate, giving how much money they've given him over the years for little or no return.

If he actually wanted more money and didn't care about you, he WOULD HAVE MOVED THE TEAM FOR MORE MONEY.

 

If he only cared about money for himself, why would he not sell the team for 800 million dollars today and go spend some of it instead of leaving it ALL for his wife and kids?

 

Again, I think there are a huge amount of fans who simply don't ever take the time to think. Ralph wants to win. I guarantee you Ralph doesn't think that spending 10 million a year on Bill Cowher and giving up complete control of his team would get him a championship. He's probably completely wrong about that, but it's only because he's stupid. Not because he doesn't want to win. I would bet anything that if Ralph Wilson could BUY a Super Bowl for 10 million dollars (more than the cost of a Cowher) he would do it in a second. But you can't.

 

He looks around the league and sees Daniel Snyder and says "Look at these idiots wasting money on big names."

 

Of course it's a dumb way to look at things but it's just the way it is. I guarantee you that Ralph thinks Dick Jauron can win him the Super Bowl next year with a few breaks.

 

It's just that Ralph Wilson has never really been all that football smart.

[dave mcbride]

The "I'm done" people are not only pathetic, but liars. The "I hope he dies" people are worse.

 

Ralph Wilson is old, and (very) misguided, and stubborn, and that's it. He loves the Bills at least as much and likely more than you do. Without him, Buffalo simply does not have a team. It's almost inarguable. If he really was only about money, he could have sold or moved the team for WAY more of it. He probably could tomorrow if he wanted to.

 

The fact is, he's like your parent. He brought you into this world as a Bills fan. He was responsible for that. He kept the roof over your head for about 50 years. He, almost alone, was responsible for that. And whatever else he does, he deserves that respect. Even your love and admiration, like you would for a parent.

 

Unless, of course, your parent did something criminal to you, and deserves your hatred. Which Ralph didn't and has never come close to.

 

All he did was be misguided, erratic, contradictory, and make a long storied string of bad personnel decisions while running his business. That's it.

 

I hate the Jauron move. I didn't like it from day one, although I gave him a few benefits of the doubt. The problem IS at the top, meaning Ralph. It's unconscionable that he will pay Derrick Dockery 7 million a year but won't pay a good coach, who is twice as important to his team and success, half that.

 

But that's just Ralph being dumb. He isn't even all that cheap, he's just erratic, misguided and stubborn. And he's been that way since day one.

 

But he's your football dad and mom. You're going to have huge disagreements over the years with him. He's messed with the family business and he's kept it from becoming a major success like the neighbor's business down the street by some unbelievably boneheaded managerial moves, that's for sure. But he's kept it moving, he's kept it in town, and he's responsible for pretty much the most important things in your (football) life: The team, the town, the colors, the dream.

 

He may be the most misguided owner in the entire league. And he's getting older and more ornery and making even less sense than he did before.

 

In fact, as I said before, the smartest thing he has said in several years is "I don't understand it" about the CBA.

 

But he's still your dad. And you don't want him to move. And he's kept the family and family business intact, despite his repeated, ill-advised, misguided blunders.

 

He's owed your respect not your hatred.

Great post, but I'd say he's more like the owner of the one big corporation in a company town -- the city father, so to speak. People need the firm to do well for the town to survive (I"m speaking metaphorically here), so while they may not like Mr. Pullman/Mr. Potter/Mr. Burns much, they know he's the guy keeping the whole ship afloat. While they may B word and moan about him, they effectively fear him (and therefore show him respect). The problem is, very bad management along with a failure to plan for a changing economy (i.e., the Bills after his death) may leave the town with the equivalent of the Packard factory in Detroit. I'm one of those people who thinks the Bills won't move, but boy he's not making it easy.

[Kelly the Dog]

If he cared about winning, he'd hire a GM. He'd hire a REAL head coach. If he gave a rat's ass about winning, he'd keep his shriveled self out of the draft room. He'd let someone who knows what the f*ck he's doing run this franchise.

 

But, see, Kelly...he doesn't care. All he cares about is making money. PERIOD.

Stupid people don't understand stupidity.

[Brandon]

The reason that he doesn't move the team is because he has a great deal in Buffalo. The fans eat up any line of bullsh** that he sells them and fill up the stadium every year. Hell, they even bent over and took it when he sold a few of their home games to Toronto. The fans of this team are pushovers and Ralph knows it.

 

Its not that he doesn't care about winning, mind you, its that winning is a distant second to the financial bottom line, and it appears to be becoming a more distant second every year that passes.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Stupid people don't understand stupidity.

 

Ralph Wilson is like W. He's one of those people that you have to wonder how he got where he is. If e ran his trucking business like he does the Bills, it's a miracle he's as wealthy as he is.

 

OOOOOOOOOR....he's laughing all the way to the bank playing the Bills fan base for fools.

 

I say it's the latter.

[R. Rich]

I'll preface my response by saying, of course, that I don't hate.

 

 

As for your take on matters KTFABD, you bring up some good points. Thing is, it's all window dressing to me. The one fact I keep coming back to is "9 going on _____." We can debate whether or not it's Ralph's fault, or Jauron's fault, or Trent's fault, or Losman's fault, or Peters' fault, or Marve's fault, but that fact does not change. It's still "9 going on ___". But, if it makes everyone happy, look for your scapegoat and point your fingers.

 

Only 3 more years...

[IDBillzFan]

I guarantee you that Ralph thinks Dick Jauron can win him the Super Bowl next year with a few breaks.

And there is a perfectly justifiable reason to hate the man.

 

There is no way on this Earth that any sane, non-doddering human being who grasps the most rudimentary of football concepts watches that season finale abortion against NE* and thinks that the coaches on the field can win a Super Bowl next year "with a few breaks" without those breaks being the necks of half the coaching staff.

 

Look, I'll still watch them next year because I don't want to have to go to church with my wife, but watching this team consistently re-define mediocrity is on the owner of this team, and right now, I not only hate him, but he can go !@#$ himself for thinking he's close to making a run.