wisebill Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Or has he already been clear: Team will be sold to highest bidder when he goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 He owes us nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 RW doesn't "owe" Buffalo anything. That may sting after all the loyalty we've shown but that's the reality. As far as I know, the team still goes to the highest bidder after his passing. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyal2dagame Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 He owes us nothing. +1, as much as it pains me to agree. does ford owe us a plan if they decide to leave town? gm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need therapy Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 He owes us nothing. Agreed. It would be nice if there was a succession plan, but Ralph owes the fans nothing. He brought the team here and kept the here longer than a lot of other owners would have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwoz Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 He owes us nothing. That's the sad truth. the Bills were a business decision, not a civic endeavor. As a businessman, his goal is to get the greatest return on his investment. The whole issue wouldn't be such a concern if the Buffalo area had a multi-billionnaire who was a great football fan. How about the Sabres owner, or maybe the Rich Products family. They've got the cash. Or maybe the family that owns Delaware North (the Jacobs brothers?). Outside of those two names, I don't see anyone in WNY with pockets deep enough to invest in a football team that is in a small market with little likelyhood of turning it's situation around. It pains me to think about it, but when Ralph goes, the Bills are probably gone as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n97a05MTio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyMark Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Thus far, this thread gives me hope that not all Bills fans are as bizarre as some of the hapless diatribes insinuated last night. It is comforting to realize the majority of posters in this thread (thus far) realize RW owes WNY absolutely unequivocally nothing....nada.....zip......zilch. He can hire / fire whomever .........and can sell the Bills with no regard to the aftermath or whatever he chooses. Because, afterall, he OWNS the team. Why this is so hard for some to grasp is rather stupifying. What a great response to an utterly peculiar first thread. Go Chan. Great hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Just because he does not "owe" it, doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do. Taking appropriate steps to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo where they belong is the right thing to do, whether he "owes" it to anybody or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 With the money Al Davis raked in from continually pinballing between Oakland and LA, and the way Baltimore bailed out pig-faced satan, I would say that we owe Wilson much more than he owes us. The Bills could have been the Baltimore Ravens...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Just because he does not "owe" it, doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.Taking appropriate steps to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo where they belong is the right thing to do, whether he "owes" it to anybody or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonabb Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Well, I think some gratitude and an attempt to ensure the team has a legit shoit to stay would be a good way to go. Does he owe it to us to make the team stay? No. But he's taken, I would guess, in excess of $100M in taxpayer dollars for stadium construction, upgrades, maintenance and operating costs. If its not a civic endeavor, then give us our money back and instead of making $25M a year, you can make $22M. As soon as its funded by taxpayer dollars, it's a public-private partnership with the assumption that our taxpayer dollars are for a community good. The guy has turned a $25,000 investment into a $900M entity and Erie County/NYS supported it by building a stadium and giving him money. How come we as taxpayers (and season ticket holders) invested in this business, helped make it what it is but we get not even a reach around when this moron dies? It's so easy to be simple and say he owes us nothing, but that's a simple answer to a complex question involving more than some simple "free market" analysis of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyMark Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Well, I think some gratitude and an attempt to ensure the team has a legit shoit to stay would be a good way to go. Does he owe it to us to make the team stay? No. But he's taken, I would guess, in excess of $100M in taxpayer dollars for stadium construction, upgrades, maintenance and operating costs. If its not a civic endeavor, then give us our money back and instead of making $25M a year, you can make $22M. As soon as its funded by taxpayer dollars, it's a public-private partnership with the assumption that our taxpayer dollars are for a community good. The guy has turned a $25,000 investment into a $900M entity and Erie County/NYS supported it by building a stadium and giving him money. How come we as taxpayers (and season ticket holders) invested in this business, helped make it what it is but we get not even a reach around when this moron dies? It's so easy to be simple and say he owes us nothing, but that's a simple answer to a complex question involving more than some simple "free market" analysis of business. At first blush you have a point, yet, it is unfair to say Ralph took your money. Someone, not him, voted that your money be given to him. Big difference.....not wordsmithing. With that you should argue the same people that took your money in the first place should then do something about it now.....but at that, that ship has sailed. Again, Ralph has done nothing wrong...at all. And probably deserves credit for keeping the team in Buffalo when he could have probably tripled his own revenue in any other market. Your intentions are worthy, your target is mis-guided. Ralph is not the enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 he does not owe the city or the fans one, but I feel he owes the organization one. The coaches, players and administration should know the long term viability of the team instead of living day to day like Ralph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 One's legacy is his only true enduring trait. To ignore one's legacy is to condemn oneself to the dustbin of time, the tomb of the forgotten. He owes it to himself, not us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Thus far, this thread gives me hope that not all Bills fans are as bizarre as some of the hapless diatribes insinuated last night. It is comforting to realize the majority of posters in this thread (thus far) realize RW owes WNY absolutely unequivocally nothing....nada.....zip......zilch. He can hire / fire whomever .........and can sell the Bills with no regard to the aftermath or whatever he chooses. Because, afterall, he OWNS the team. Why this is so hard for some to grasp is rather stupifying. What a great response to an utterly peculiar first thread. Go Chan. Great hire. You one of Ralph's grandkids or something? WE have made that old bastard rich. You're wrong when you say he doesn't owe us the favor of TRYING to keep the team in Buffalo. But then again, he's only ever cared about the bottom line rather than winning while he was alive, so why not adhere to the bottom line when he kicks the bucket, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Philster Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 in answer to the thread, yes and no It's the responsible thing to do to have a plan in place, more for the organization than for the fans. Just like a will. However, he doesn't owe it to the fans to tell us about it...and it's tasteless to talk about it to an extent. "Hey Ralph, what's gonna happen to the team when you die?" Who wants to talk about their death? A rumor came out a couple of years ago that said that Mary Wilson was getting the team and selling it to Jim Kelly's group upon Ralph's passing. Whether that's just a rumor or the facts, we won't find out until after Ralph passes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 i cant believe he would want to just die out and have his chips all cashed in at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Just because he does not "owe" it, doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.Taking appropriate steps to make sure the Bills stay in Buffalo where they belong is the right thing to do, whether he "owes" it to anybody or not. That's your opinion. In Ralph's opinion, maybe the right thing to do is what's best for his family. I don't have a problem with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 does take a little bit of work to put a succession plan together. kind of when ol Ralphie was doing the ol AFL-NFL merger dealie, when he was doing some actual work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts