Lurker Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 Fair enough. I stand by my Ogden-bashing, though. They fired an SE I knew at one of their Ohio papers last November; since then, he's been stringing, trying to make ends meet -- and not getting some medical issues checked out, because he had no health insurance. He died Sunday. 36 years old. So yeah, ^$ the beancounters at Ogden (and most other places, too). My condolences to his family and friends. I like to poke a stick in the media beehive, but I respect how hard it is to make a go of it in the profession from a paycheck/benefits perspective.
Lurker Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 There he is... Not visible on ignore unless he's quoted, however...
GripnRip Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 At first I thought I would get angry reading this, but as it turns out I have to agree with most of it. It is a sign of the sad state our franchise is in, and that is really the point of the article(as he states, the blame fails squarely on Mr. Wilson). Giving TO a key to the City? Absolutely disgusting, actually makes me feel embarrassed for a city I love. People dressing up like idiots at the airport? Its an indication of just how bad this organization has slipped competitively - so much so that the arrival of a rented big name player provides more excitement for some than the actual season. Still, it's pretty cheap of a writer to go after these people as if they're showing Buffalo in a negative light. They're not at all, to the outside observer they're just passionate football fans. I think you have to be on the inside to understand why the author takes issue with it. The author fails to distinguish the fans hes disparaging from Buffalo's TRUE fans, however, and this I am offended by. Like a good chunk of the posters here, I live and breathe Buffalo Bills football and will probably have a very tough time jumping on another teams wagon if the Bills were ever to leave WNY. You won't find me dressed like a box of popcorn, starting a TO fanclub, or even buying a TO jersey. I will choose my heros when the Bills win the Super Bowl, not when they show up for OTA.
clayboy54 Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 Dear Mr Borrello, Your Tuesday column on Bills fans is appalling. It is tasteless, if not wholly inaccurate to paint such a picture in the press. And, all this from a journalist who has made the lofty climb to columnist in Dunkirk, NY. Give me a break! You are referring to a legion of fans like me from across America who support the Bills with passion and hopeful excitement every year. I ask you who are you to question our enthusiasm and choice to spend our entertainment dollar on our favorite pastime. Could we spend our money elsewhere? Yes. However, sport is a big part of an American’s life experience these days. It gives each of us positive motivation to look toward winning ways, even when the chips are down. Who can argue with a person’s desire to live vicariously through an athlete or team’s victories, however small, while he may be out of work, or simply scraping to make ends meet? I ask you to consider who you are criticizing. Good or bad, right or wrong, the Bills are a big part of WNY’s cultural experience. It shapes who we are. It gives us pride in winning and in losing. And it pays the salaries of a lot of folks who ride the coattails of sport, like you. I understand it is popular today to write of the negative, find a scapegoat and verbally beat them into oblivion. It is in vogue to create controversy where it is not and attempt to ruin the happiness and peace of others. It is the way of the modern journalist to rile up the masses and round up the lynch mob. It just seems like a fruitless effort on your part to, in this case, bite the hand that feeds you just to get a byline. When the last presses have rolled in the not-to-distant future, and you’re looking for a bright moment in your life, think of those you have offended with your words. What goes around comes around Dan. Oh, and don’t let the tumbleweeds hit you on the way out of your career. Good day.
TOintheBLO Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 That article reads like a message board post. No offense ; ) I get that the celebration was a bit excessive. The "Key to the City" thing actually reminded me of the scene in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" where the small town finally gets a "Burger Barn". Maybe it was the marching band... Seriously though, cut Buffalo some slack and stop taking this so seriously. What have Bills fans really had to cheer for lately? No need to bring up the negatives, we all know what they are. The board is littered with them. It's nice to actually have a glimmer of hope that this season could actually turn out well. If TO is the guy to give us that hope....great! Give him the keys to Ralph's Taurus too and let him tear sh*t up all over town!
Chandler#81 Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 Dear Mr Borrello, Your Tuesday column on Bills fans is appalling. It is tasteless, if not wholly inaccurate to paint such a picture in the press. And, all this from a journalist who has made the lofty climb to columnist in Dunkirk, NY. Give me a break! You are referring to a legion of fans like me from across America who support the Bills with passion and hopeful excitement every year. I ask you who are you to question our enthusiasm and choice to spend our entertainment dollar on our favorite pastime. Could we spend our money elsewhere? Yes. However, sport is a big part of an American’s life experience these days. It gives each of us positive motivation to look toward winning ways, even when the chips are down. Who can argue with a person’s desire to live vicariously through an athlete or team’s victories, however small, while he may be out of work, or simply scraping to make ends meet? I ask you to consider who you are criticizing. Good or bad, right or wrong, the Bills are a big part of WNY’s cultural experience. It shapes who we are. It gives us pride in winning and in losing. And it pays the salaries of a lot of folks who ride the coattails of sport, like you. I understand it is popular today to write of the negative, find a scapegoat and verbally beat them into oblivion. It is in vogue to create controversy where it is not and attempt to ruin the happiness and peace of others. It is the way of the modern journalist to rile up the masses and round up the lynch mob. It just seems like a fruitless effort on your part to, in this case, bite the hand that feeds you just to get a byline. When the last presses have rolled in the not-to-distant future, and you’re looking for a bright moment in your life, think of those you have offended with your words. What goes around comes around Dan. Oh, and don’t let the tumbleweeds hit you on the way out of your career. Good day. Impressive. Cudos. Note to Lori: My condolences to your associates' family, friends and especially you. Very sad.
bananathumb Posted May 19, 2009 Posted May 19, 2009 I thought the article was right on. Took a little courage to say it too. It's a sad world.
toddgurley Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 cmon dude, its dunkirk... Where the hell is dunkirk?
/dev/null Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 Where the hell is dunkirk? Some place along I90 between Buffalo and Erie that everybody drives thru and never stops to see
RayFinkle Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 That guy makes Sully look like a fluff piece writer.
BillsVet Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 There are probably at least 30 other franchises where fans would applaud this article if their team went without a playoff appearance in 9 straight seasons. Nevermind the comment on people at the airport. Isolate on criticism of the franchise. Those 30 other teams' fans would not tolerate 9 seasons of inept play, poor personnel decisions, and terrible coaching like Buffalo fans do. But when anyone has the audacity to challenge a team which has spent more time designing marketing campaigns than actually winning games, it hurts their feelings. It's okay to like the team but disagree with the path they're taking. Just don't expect people to stop their criticism when the team goes 2-8 in their final 10 games and makes no significant moves in the off-season, save for picking up a big name WR who is still good, but not a long term answer.
billsfan89 Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 Its O.k to be negative as long as you give valid reasons and evidence to project bad things. But this article was just childish and really unprofessional and not even in a fun way more in a mean trying to be cool but just sounding like a douche way. Hey if he came out and said TO is old, dropping passes, and causes problems in the locker room than that is a much more legitimate critique than Buffalo sux. There are so many reasons to be concerned about the upcoming season. You could say things like TO's impact is going to be hinder by the fact that a completely revamped o-line ( which lost its best player ) is going to be protecting a injury ridden QB. There I just did his job better than him and I am just some guy on a message board.
manateefan Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 Can't say I was alive when that happened. Now I feel really old. I remember when OJ came to town. The team practiced in a town park where I lived his rookie year and of course all us kids w ere there.
Tcali Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 I enjoyed the rant.-Although the writing was on a high school level in so many ways.
billsrcursed Posted May 20, 2009 Posted May 20, 2009 There are probably at least 30 other franchises where fans would applaud this article if their team went without a playoff appearance in 9 straight seasons. Nevermind the comment on people at the airport. Isolate on criticism of the franchise. Those 30 other teams' fans would not tolerate 9 seasons of inept play, poor personnel decisions, and terrible coaching like Buffalo fans do. But when anyone has the audacity to challenge a team which has spent more time designing marketing campaigns than actually winning games, it hurts their feelings. It's okay to like the team but disagree with the path they're taking. Just don't expect people to stop their criticism when the team goes 2-8 in their final 10 games and makes no significant moves in the off-season, save for picking up a big name WR who is still good, but not a long term answer. Then you didn't read the article. Hell, the title alone was aimed at fans, not the organization. It's fine if that's your opinion, or Dan's in this case, and you can write/think/say whatever you want. But be prepared to have to face the people you criticize when you do. Now it's my turn to share my opinion; that article wouldn't be used to wipe the sunshine from my vertical smiley if it were the last piece of paper known to man. It was childish, inaccurate, and down-right hateful. If I saw him in person, I'd react just as childish as his article was, landing one squarely on the button, then I'd simply walk away, not saying a word, just smiling......
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