Serious question - What if the Bills leave town?

[ChasBB]

I pretty much stopped following the NBA when the Braves left town save for a Finals here & there. It'd probably be pretty much the same if the Bills left. I don't think I could respect a league that would pull a franchise out of Buffalo (despite compelling financial reasons to do so). It just wouldn't be right and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't only stop following the Bills, but I'd probably stop following the league.

 

On the upside, the Sabres would get a lot more attention as would the UB Bulls.

Edited September 21, 2010 by ChasBB

[sharper802]

When they leave I will watch college FB. Outside of Bills games there are only about one or two more games worthy of watching. Look at last week. Maybe Jets/Pats was of some interest. I couldn't have cared less about any other game. I guess Minn/Miami and the Manning Bowl had interest for some but not me.

I will take Ohio St-Miami, Ohio St.- USC, Texas-Oklahoma, Florida Gerogia, Alabama Auburn over almost all NFL games.

[Sabre Bill]

I pretty much stopped following the NBA when the Braves left town save for a Finals here & there. It'd probably be pretty much the same if the Bills left. I don't think I could respect a league that would pull a franchise out of Buffalo (despite compelling financial reasons to do so). It just wouldn't be right and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't only stop following the Bills, but I'd probably stop following the league.

 

On the upside, the Sabres would get a lot more attention as would the UB Bulls.

 

 

Become a Clippers fan?? Not likely!!

 

It'd have to be: Go Bears!

[cale]

You know when you say a thing like this you're supposed to use a real hot chick.

 

I think 50% of this forum could get Sarah McLachlan.

 

To each their own. I think Sarah Mac is super hawt. Really you have no idea...

[Dr. Fong]

The Buffalo Bills are the only reason I bother with the NFL, AT ALL.

 

If/when the team leaves my most beloved city, I'll feel relieved that I won't have to follow all the made-up drama about a bunch of millionare adult males, never being happy for getting paid to play a game.

 

I will only follow college football, and probably high school football since it's so big here in the South. Where players actually care about their team/teammates, and are playing for the love of the game.

 

Wouldnt miss the NFL for a second.

 

 

Ditto

[Gunner]

I'll cheer for Colts, Rams or somthing like that you know, something eats grass! It's darn hard to be a Bills fan these days!!!!

 

so, you would cheer for two teams that left their cities to play someplace else?

[MyHorseAteTheKid]

I have pondered this question for many, many years. It seems like the answer depends on the scenario, like what if they go to Toronto VS LA, or do they keep the name and logo or start fresh? I don't think I will truly know the answer to this question until I am actually forced to have to answer it.

 

I have been a life long Bills fan. My old man grew up in Buffalo and my Grandparents died there. I have seen the play around 15 times in person (only twice in Buffalo). With all that being said, if they move to LA, I would like to root for the Texans. It would be perfect. They are an exciting team. It's a three and a 1/2 hour drive for me, so I could even get season tickets. There's only one problem.....

 

I can't make myself fall in love with them like I have loved the Bills my whole life.

 

If I could pay someone to brainwash me and make me forget I was ever a Bills fan and make me believe I love the Texans, I might have to seriously consider signing up for that. God, my life would be so much easier.

 

But I guess life being a Bills/Sabres fan isn't supposed to be easy. I wish it was. I feel like a beaten spouse who is blindly in love with a person who verbally abuses her and destroys her self worth, yet can't bring herself to leave that person.

 

I am rambling, I know. Bottom line. I am stuck being a fan for life (or at least until they cease to reside in Buffalo). What happens if that day ever comes? How many of you will follow them to another city? How many of you will follow another team? How many of you will just quit being a fan of any team and just do your best to enjoy fantasy football?

 

 

My first Bills memory was sitting in the living room in front of the old Admiral B&W TV with my father and grand dad.. Both of them were going nuts over how great that SOB Cookie Gilchrist was.. My first Bills game was at the Old Rock Pile and Daryle Lamonica (who was traded the season before) was making his first trip back to Buffalo as a Raider.. Season tickes followed when Rich Stadium opened and continued until about 1988, after I moved 300 miles from town made it just too hard to make every game... NFL Sunday Ticket followed and now on the internet.. I will be a Buffalo Bills fan until the day I die or until the team leave town... If the team moves, I wont give a rats ass about the game anymore... Sorry, just the way I feel..

[nmas3]

It would be very hard but I think I would watch the Redskins. At least I could go the games more regularly.

 

Being in VA it is hard to get up to NY to watch games.

[LGB]

It would be very hard but I think I would watch the Redskins. At least I could go the games more regularly.

 

Being in VA it is hard to get up to NY to watch games.

 

if the Redskins get Vincent Jackson, they could go pretty far...just sayin'

[Trader]

I have pondered this question for many, many years. It seems like the answer depends on the scenario, like what if they go to Toronto VS LA, or do they keep the name and logo or start fresh? I don't think I will truly know the answer to this question until I am actually forced to have to answer it.

 

I have been a life long Bills fan. My old man grew up in Buffalo and my Grandparents died there. I have seen the play around 15 times in person (only twice in Buffalo). With all that being said, if they move to LA, I would like to root for the Texans. It would be perfect. They are an exciting team. It's a three and a 1/2 hour drive for me, so I could even get season tickets. There's only one problem.....

 

I can't make myself fall in love with them like I have loved the Bills my whole life.

 

If I could pay someone to brainwash me and make me forget I was ever a Bills fan and make me believe I love the Texans, I might have to seriously consider signing up for that. God, my life would be so much easier.

 

But I guess life being a Bills/Sabres fan isn't supposed to be easy. I wish it was. I feel like a beaten spouse who is blindly in love with a person who verbally abuses her and destroys her self worth, yet can't bring herself to leave that person.

 

I am rambling, I know. Bottom line. I am stuck being a fan for life (or at least until they cease to reside in Buffalo). What happens if that day ever comes? How many of you will follow them to another city? How many of you will follow another team? How many of you will just quit being a fan of any team and just do your best to enjoy fantasy football?

 

If the Bills leave Buffalo we will all find something else to do. If you really love football go out an buy season tickets for the UB Bulls. They are more fun than the Bills and you can buy season tickets for roughly the price of a Bills ticket. Alternatively take up Golf, Fishing, Sailing or Skiing.

[marvlevy]

Wow reading some of these posts sounds like there's some of us in danger of some kind of emotional breakdown if they leave Buffalo. I've always wondered what is this strange attachment that even I a rational level headed person has to this hopeless team. I used to hop trains in Niagara Falls and ride them to Niagara University to watch Simpson loaf around on the field. Now 30 years later I still pay attention to this mess. What part of the fact that football is just a business and winners and losers are based on money don't we understand? This isn't about clan against clan or city against city or working class against white collar... This is just a business and nothing more. If they move out of Buffalo suck it up and forget about it and whatever you do don't jump into the upper niagara and ride over the Falls:)

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

It would just be the cherry atop of the 50+ year crap sundae that was the Buffalo Bills. Sometimes I really think the city is cursed.

 

PTR

 

To your point: I have little doubt that the Bills would move to LA, and promptly win a Super Bowl.

[BRH]

Put me down for the "done with the NFL" crowd if the Bills leave. I have built up too much hatred for the 31 other franchises (some more than others, of course, but each in its own way) in my 41 years on this earth to root for any of them.

[Hammered a Lot]

The first time I saw the Bills live was when I snuck out of the "hood" (the rule was Don't leave the Hood or you will get the belt, yard stick, etc) and rode my bike 2 miles to watch them practice at their traing camp at the "Hotel."

So when the Bills move Adios NFL. Buddy the Wonder Dog will be walked more. Perhaps I'll drink less. I might even solve that age old problem and figure out Women!

[Maddog69]

I really don't think the Bills will leave WNY, but the closer we get to the end of the lease and the end of Ralph's lease on life, the more uneasy I feel. But if they leave, I am done with football for a very long time.

[Max Fischer]

I'm glad someone finally brought this up.

[Marv's Neighbor]

First, the BILLS leaving is still a very big IF!

 

The NFL is fast pricing itself out of reality. Nobody goes to a game alone. When you consider how much it costs to take a: wife, date, family etc. it quickly gets unaffordable for most people. That's for a single game, Season Tickets are 20 times worse.

 

We all know about the Jacksonville situation. The last fan there can turn out the lights and fold up the seat cover tarps!

 

The Jets have a new Stadium that they can't sell out because of all the PSL crap and the overall expense of going to their games.

 

The Redskins had a pat hand with RFK Stadium. Sold out-100 year waiting list etc. Now they can't fill FedEx and they're located next to a couple of the wealthiest Counties in the US!

 

If the PATS start to lose-no better place to start than this Sunday-you will see a lot of empty seats there too.

 

LA has proved they don't want/need the NFL. If LA is so great why did Al Davis leave? They have a better chance of selling out Bull Fights than they do NFL games!

 

Considering the economy, with no near term end in sight, I can't see them moving, even if Ralph took the dirt nap right now!

 

In answer to the question, I'd handle it the same way I did when the Braves moved....NBA??? What's the NBA???

[rockpile]

If the Bills move, that team is dead to me.

I will have my memories of the original AFL Champs/ NFL Almosts.

The new team would no longer be the Bills.

 

I have no other 'favorite' team, but I might be able to find another eventually.

[coseybedaman]

I guess I am one of the very few that would follow them as a fan wherever they went. I am a football fanatic, and more importantly, a Bills fanatic so I really could never even come close to pulling for another organization. As sad as it is, I would be one of the first people with LA BLOODS or ORLANDO MICKEY MICE season tickets

[jr1]

I'd probably watch a movie every Sunday instead. I care about the Bills for civic pride reasons more than being an NFL fan

[BigBuff423]

I love football, the NFL in particular, so I would be a fan of a team. I have lived in Florida, Georgia, and Virginia growing up but home has always been Central New York. That being said, I have loved the Bills since I was in my early teens, moved around too much before that so I couldn't really build any allegiance to any team until then. So, I'm a New Yorker at heart. And it would just be taboo for me to root for the Jets....for obvious reasons. That means I would become a Giants fan. As they are shown every week on the local Fox channel, and ironically I wouldn't have to worry about a blackout either. Seriously, I've contemplated this jump for several years, and honestly NOT because they've been losing. It's been a matter of upper management that I have serious problems with. When Nix was hired and I read his resume I was swollen with hope once again, so as long as they're in Buffalo and I can't see myself being as die hard a fan for any other team. But I have also grown up watching the Giants, and despite the heartbreak of the Super Bowl, I didn't hate the Giants, I was just so pissed at Norwood, and not so much for missing the field goal, but for missing the extra point at halftime, which would have forced overtime and who knows what would have happened. Anyways, if the Bills move anywhere, I'd be a Giants fan. I've already decided....

[sllib olaffub]

A question I've asked myself - and I've been mad enough this last decade to try to just look at football objectively, to pick the teams whose staff I like, the teams I feel represent football the way I'd like it to be played, the way I wish the Bills would play. But if it isn't the Bills I just can't get into football much. It's too much of a commitment of time and unless I'm emotionally attached to the outcome - as I am with Bills games - then it isn't worth it to sit through the 3 hours.

There's a lot I don't like about football anymore, and it all comes down to money. I've been watching college more these past few years to try to check out players I think would fit in good with Buffalo, and those games are fun.

I think if the Bills went to Canada I'd still root for them, because we could still lay some type of claim to them. If they moved to another city in the US, though, it'd be tough.

There is no reason a Bills team can't work here - any suggestion otherwise is not absolutely honest. We have enough of a base to support a team. It might be more profitable elsewhere - and if that is all it comes down to then the Bills will move. But if that is all there is Wilson shouldn't get much recognition from fans at all, really. He's as close to death as any mortal could get and he sure isn't taking it with him, so why not give something back to the fans of WNY who supported his lousy, cheap team for half a century? I hope he does so. And, to go back to what I said above, its sickening because Wilson comes off - whether he is or not I don't know - as one of the less money crazed owners, but in reality, Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder, and the like go nuts trying to bring a championship home. We deserve that brand of crazy here, even if it is at the end.

[Clippers of Nfl]

for me it depends on how the team does in the new city. which most likely they will suck too.

 

so if the 1st season goes something like 0-5. that will give me liberty! i'll be free from rooting for a sucky @ team.

 

if they start like 5-0, then i 'll root for that team.

 

my loyalty will not be as strong that's for sure. so if they suck year 2, i'll probably abandon ship.

 

i'm an nfl addict. so i would need a team. most likely the broncos.

 

IF THEY CAME TO LOS ANGELES, NONE OF THE ABOVE APPLY, I WOULD FULLY SUPPORT!!!

[Dante]

No way I could cheer for another team. Like someone else in this thread I'm more of a Bills fan than a NFL fan. I think I would be sad but not as much as I would have been 5 or 6 years ago. This team has nudged me towards indifference as I have wised up to the deal over the last few. I think my football loyalty will be tied to whatever teams has my fantasy pool players.

Edited September 23, 2010 by Dante

[Joaquin1119]

I am a Bills fan only, not a football fan. I really don't watch much football unless it is the Bills or future Bills opponents.

 

I just don't enjoy the game itself very much. So if the Bills move, be it to Toronto, LA, or anywhere else I will be done with American football altogether. My decision is very simple, yours not so much

 

 

im pretty much in the same boat.. I love my buffalo bills.. i do watch other football games on tv but 90% of time it make me sleepy and i just turn off the tv.. if buffalo was to leave our city.. I wouldnt care much about football..i just keep watching hockey

[Red]

I would not follow the Bills anymore if they moved.

 

To me, they are the BUFFALO Bills.

 

IF that ever changed, I'd be done. No more gear, no more money going towards that organization- wherever it would move to.

 

Which would also, coincidentally, stop me from paying hundreds of dollars every year on DirecTV Sunday Ticket to only watch the Bills. I'd probably switch to another team; but I would not have the passion that I do for the BUFFALO Bills. I live in 'Skins land. I've liked the 49ers for years. Maybe I'd follow them.

 

But I would not follow the Bills if they ever left Buffalo.

[BUFFALOKIE]

I might root for the Rams or Chiefs, since they are close to home. I would still pull for Cleveland and Detroit because, in my mind, they are similar to Buffalo, and I have a soft spot for the underdogs (call me a loser lover - which someone here has already claimed for their screen name). I would definately root for any team playing against the Cowboys. But all-in-all, I probably would watch very little football. I have never followed college ball too much, but I think that would interest me more than cheering some other NFL team.

 

Long Live the Buffalo Bills!!!

[Clippers of Nfl]

im pretty much in the same boat.. I love my buffalo bills.. i do watch other football games on tv but 90% of time it make me sleepy and i just turn off the tv.. if buffalo was to leave our city.. I wouldnt care much about football..i just keep watching hockey

i noticed that. a lot of you are fans of buffalo or the bills. not really the SPORT. i love the sport and the nfl.

 

i watch all monday night games.

i watch 3 games each sunday. (granted without all the commercials)

 

im addicted to FOOTBALL.

 

like this weekend.

bills game was annoying. but i watched.

watched pats vs jets. loved it!!!

sunday night game. big brother picking little brother apart. liked it.

brees and the almost niners was a good game too.

[iinii]

They would have to change the name, colors and logo. The LA Bills just doesn't have the same ring.

[weehawk]

It's easy. The Bills leave and UB becomes a Div 1 Big East team with RWS becoming their home field.

 

BUF is a college town anyway. If it wasn't for the Sabres, that's all we'd have.

 

BUF is no longer a big-league town from either a population or business stand point, and the only alternative is for UB to step up. Of course there is no guarantee that the NCAA will do this, but if there is support (which I think there would be once the Bills leave) then I think they'll do it.

 

BTW, I have no affiliation whatsoever with UB. This is simply my opinion on where things might go once the Bills leave. The Bills are leaving. It's just a matter of when. Would you spend over $800 million to keep them here? I sure as hell wouldn't and I dont think there is a sane businessman in the world that would.

[papazoid]

#1- i really don't see the bills leaving.....("IF" #2)

#2- we must continue to sellout our games.....if at any time that stops, the bills are gone.

#3- with TORONTO we are no longer a small market club. embrace a shared team. it significantly increases our chances of keeping them.

#4- in the unlikely event they do leave...i would be devastated, but i love football and that would continue.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

I care about the Bills for civic pride reasons more than being an NFL fan.

[DCBongo]

I have been a Bills fan all my life even thought I have pretty much always lived in CT. My Dad is from Buffalo and passed the team down to his two kids. Like other, I like the Bills more than the NFL. If they left, I'd cry, sit Shiva, burn my Bills jerseys and try to figure out what to do with Sundays mid Sept through 1st week of Jan. I'd still watch the super bowl, for the commericals of course.

[Oswego Optimist]

Well, I for one know exactly what will happen if-and that is a huge if-the Bills ever leave town. In my world, time will cease to be a linear phenomena. Instead, time will become a cyclical replay of my life as a Bills fan from 1978-2010.

 

 

 

The cycle will begin with me randomly selecting a tape from my vast archive of past Bills games on VHS. In my mind, the year will immediately revert to the month and day of the tape I draw. So, if I pick Oct 28, 1990 that's where my season starts. Of course, to truly escape the trauma I will need to completely revert to the time period in question. Thus, I will use lingo of the target year, dress in the styles of the target year, refer to news stories of the target year, and engage in any sports conversation based on the reality of the Bills in the target year.

 

　

My loving family will, at first, help with the deception. I can see Sundays now with Oswego Old Man (Dad), Oswego Outlaw (Brother) and Oswego OTR (trucker Neighbor) with our LaBatts, wings, and archaic jerseys from yesteryear proudly donned. Yes at first they will think the whole scenario is cool.....until they realize I have made a complete psychotic break and can no longer distinguish fantasy from reality. Then they will refuse to participate; however, since the ritual would be incomplete without them, I will assume the roles of all game day friends and family, including Oswego Old Timer (deceased Grandpa).

 

　

In the end, I will be forced to leave my trade and exist on disability. Parents and children alike will shudder as my unshaven, unabathed, unkempt shell wanders around town asking, "Will this finally be the year?"

[The Dean]

Well, I for one know exactly what will happen if-and that is a huge if-the Bills ever leave town. In my world, time will cease to be a linear phenomena. Instead, time will become a cyclical replay of my life as a Bills fan from 1978-2010.

 

 

 

The cycle will begin with me randomly selecting a tape from my vast archive of past Bills games on VHS. In my mind, the year will immediately revert to the month and day of the tape I draw. So, if I pick Oct 28, 1990 that's where my season starts. Of course, to truly escape the trauma I will need to completely revert to the time period in question. Thus, I will use lingo of the target year, dress in the styles of the target year, refer to news stories of the target year, and engage in any sports conversation based on the reality of the Bills in the target year.

 

　

My loving family will, at first, help with the deception. I can see Sundays now with Oswego Old Man (Dad), Oswego Outlaw (Brother) and Oswego OTR (trucker Neighbor) with our LaBatts, wings, and archaic jerseys from yesteryear proudly donned. Yes at first they will think the whole scenario is cool.....until they realize I have made a complete psychotic break and can no longer distinguish fantasy from reality. Then they will refuse to participate; however, since the ritual would be incomplete without them, I will assume the roles of all game day friends and family, including Oswego Old Timer (deceased Grandpa).

 

　

In the end, I will be forced to leave my trade and exist on disability. Parents and children alike will shudder as my unshaven, unabathed, unkempt shell wanders around town asking, "Will this finally be the year?"

 

 

A man with a plan. I love it.

[froway]

If they left Buffalo they would change their name, logo, and uniforms. I heard they will be gold and white if they go to L.A. like the Saints alternate jerseys.

 

 

Sound nice, but I am the Buffalo fan.

[Rob_not_Rian_Lindell]

Reich and Metz are in Indie with Polian, wouldn't they be a better choice?

 

 

They are coaches now, I am talking about when they were players.