BillnutinHouston

Ralph owes us? Really? NEWS FLASH - the Bills franchise is a commodity that is PRIVATELY OWNED. Ralph owes us NOTHING.

Translation: Mr. Nix, Please disregard that gaping hole in the side of the Titanic, and get to work on those broken deckchairs. Thank you, One misguided Bills fan

There is very little factual information in the article - it's all sentiment. Mr. Root is a guy who has made up his mind about Ralph and has molded reality to fit his view. For example, he postulates (but offers no proof) that Ralph never took offers to move because those offers weren't substantial enough. So I guess his thinking is, Ralph got the upper hand on those making weak offers by staying in Buffalo and selling his product at rock-bottom prices (by NFL standards) for decades after. Yea, Ralph really showed them, didn't he Mr. Root? And to compare the Sabres to the Bills as business ventures is just silly - the difference in order of magnitude is significant. You almost need to take an NHL franchise's balance sheet and put one or two 0's on the end of every number, to compare it to an NFL franchise. And while Mr. Root admits that even the Sabres may have to adjust their operating practices due to a lack of sufficient revenues (foregoing key free agents), he begrudges Ralph the opportunity to expand his market into Canada. Unfortunately, Mr. Root's perspective is that Ralph is "the man" squeezing the little guy at every opportunity. I guess he does not realize that the other owners are squeezing "bigger guys" in their cities at a much higher rate. Here's some info from his Foundation's website on how he's squeezing WNY: "He has long been recognized for his diverse and generous charitable endeavors that include such beneficiaries as the food banks of Buffalo and Rochester, the Ronald McDonald House, the United Way, S.P.C.A., the Buffalo Philharmonic, Shea's Performing Arts Center, and the Hospice Center of WNY, which recently named a new building wing the "Mary and Ralph Wilson, Jr. Hospice Inpatient Unit". For his tremendous charitable efforts in the Buffalo area over the years, Mr. Wilson was named the Seymour Knox III Humanitarian Award winner in the spring of 2003."

Interesting that they lured Gamble away from sunny South Florida after 16 years with the Fins. I wonder what that took.

It would take a lot more than that to boost the moral of the Bills fan base. Now, the MORALE might be improved...

Yea, ticket prices would go up - to pay for the DEBT SERVICE on the new stadium.

What good does a new stadium do if revenues don't increase?

Sadly, you are correct. Ultimately it will not be about butts in the seats, it's the bottom line (revenues). They are NOT one and the same when you are the cheapest tickets/corporate boxes in the league.

Really? Sorry, I can't let you off that easy, especially if you are going to urge locals to buy tickets. My son and I have made the trip once a year for two consecutive years, and it's a blast. In fact, I will be talking to my tax guy about the idea of buying season tix and donating them (minus the one game I can go to) to a local charity like Big Brothers/Big Sisters. If anyone knows whether donating tickets is considered a valid charitable contribution for tax purposes, let me know.

I get your point - I just hate the total lack of awareness on his part (and Whitner's). They go around strutting and twittering like they are the bomb, while their team melts around them, hungering for some production from their first rounders.

Coaching afraid - exactly - that is an apt description of Jauron's style. A coach with an attacking mentality would be so much more satisfying to watch.

Unfortunately the evidence seems to point to Maybin being another Whitner - a legend in his own mind, all mouth and no game.

Huh? Who feels bad?

On what grounds are you objecting to TO's statement? That its inaccurate? That he let out the dirty little secret that its cold in Buffalo in February?

1) Larry Felser reported recently (Sunday I think) that Al Davis continues to hold the sole legal and exclusive rights to the LA market. 2) As a former resident I can tell you that San Antonio demographically does not meet the profile of a new NFL city, and as long as Jerry Jones has any influence, that market will continue to be "his" forever.

Agree. Throwbacks, please.

Nice avatar - Weekend at Ralphie's

That's Ralph's new financial commitment to winning - a coach assigned to each position.

I'll second that. But I'd also like to add that

You didn't really put an apostrophe in the man's name, did you?

So being Assistant GM for the Chargers is chicken feed?

I never said you commented on his appearance. But your "deep analysis" consisted of blaming him for not knowing how many coaches the Bills have had, and for being 70. Those critiques are not substantive, they're about superficial (stylistic) matters. That's lame and very weak, dude!

So, I guess style matters to you more than substance. That's fine for you, but I don't agree. We are 0-0 with Buddy at the helm. I'll get back to you in a few years.

As much as emotions play into this, this is a business transaction on both sides. Ralph gives WNY football, entertainment, a link to "the national stage", and a symbol of civic identity. In return, we give him tax money, incentives and revenues. Several here have spoken of the fans' loyalty, yet Ralph's gate receipts are among the lowest in the NFL. And really, how many top flight entertainment choices are there in WNY in competition with the Bills? WNY fans fill the stadium well in comparison to the number of wins over the years, but is that a function of the "high character" of WNY fans, or the realization that there's not much else to do ni WNY?

When I moved down South, one of the first things I realized is, while the southern accent tends to be associated with a low IQ (at least it was in my mind), that is just a stereotype. Some of the sharpest and smartest people I know down here have heavy accents. You can't necessarily equate the accent with IQ.