JPS Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 I'm guessing that you just saw Major League for the first time? Helluva good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 But why? If he wants to sell the team, why doesn't he just sell it? There must be some value added to selling a viable franchise rather than a notoriously inept team that needs a complete rebuild. It would be kind of comforting to find a valid reason for the nightmare that has become this team, but the most logical explanation is a remarkably incompetent series of front office decisions. To put it mildly we have actually gone downhill from a "high point" (????) of Donohoe and Williams to the crew we have now. I do admit that the Bills leaving town now would be considerably less than painful than it would have been if they left right after our four superbowls...but I don't think Ralph is all that concerned about how we take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 You can't tell me he's made these series of decisions in order to win...I don't buy it. He spent a crapload of money on free agent offensive linemen a few years back (Langston Walker and one or two others who I can't remember right now). That didn't turn out well, but it was a lot of cash and they were the big names at the time. He wanted to throw that money away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) Doesn't it make more sense that Ralph is putting a crappy product on the field to lessen the blow of them leaving? Don't hire football people. Pay rock bottom for GMs, Coaches and "talent". It's not that he's senile and he has good intentions. I think he maybe stripping this town of our pride in this team so it's easier to say goodbye. Maybe it's a paranoid delusion I had after having one too many bowls of Lucky Charms, but it does make sense, doesn't it? I hope I'm as far away from right as can be. And before you say "the Bills can't leave Bflo", I ask where you live. By that logic, if I plan on selling my house and do not want to upset my neighbors (who are friends) I can stop cutting the grass, let the paint chip off, and make the property an eyesore so they cannot wait until someone else buys the property and I move. Stay away from the Lucky Charms, the chemicals in the marshmallows are known to negatively impact your brain function! Edited October 5, 2010 by Rockpile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Well I'm not saying there is a conspiracy, but if you are old enough to remember the Buffalo Braves, when new owner John Y. Brown tried to move the Braves to San Diego, he was blocked by the NBA because the league said Buffalo supported the franchise well. Brown then set out to cut or trade every good player on the team until the Braves were the worst team in the NBA. As you can imagine attendance dropped like a rock, and Brown had his alibi to leave town. Of course the franchise never recovered and still sucks to this day: The L.A. Clippers. Honestly the same thought crossed my mind. PTR I must admit it's crossed my mind, too. Things like the Kelsay extension come immediately to mind as things that seem like "let's see what we can do to PO the fans in the easiest possible manner". Fact is, it's pretty self-evident that it is much easier to move a franchise when there's little public support for it in its current home town, particularly for an image-conscious league like the NFL. Much easier when you can say, "Look, those folks don't even want the team" and point to declining attendance. Even if that's the case, I'm not so sure I'd blame Ralph here--he's 92 and I once heard him personally say he'd never move the team while he was alive and call me nuts, but I believed (and believe) him. His wife and various other relatives who may have his ear and/or the real power at OBD may not have that same loyalty, especially when literally hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, however..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonprophet Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 I think he maybe stripping this town of our pride in this team so it's easier to say goodbye. Is that the motivation for the Kelsay extension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FightinIrishBills Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Doesn't it make more sense that Ralph is putting a crappy product on the field to lessen the blow of them leaving? Don't hire football people. Pay rock bottom for GMs, Coaches and "talent". It's not that he's senile and he has good intentions. I think he maybe stripping this town of our pride in this team so it's easier to say goodbye. Maybe it's a paranoid delusion I had after having one too many bowls of Lucky Charms, but it does make sense, doesn't it? I hope I'm as far away from right as can be. And before you say "the Bills can't leave Bflo", I ask where you live. I live in Buffalo. Point not taken? I'm sorry, Ralph Wilson maybe foolish and not able to properly run a football franchise, but give the man just a little credit. He could've left Buffalo YEARS ago. I'm not old enough to remember the '70s or mid-'80s, but I do know this team was bad. Very bad. Just because a team is bad doesn't mean the owner is trying to strip anyone's pride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 By that logic, if I plan on selling my house and do not want to upset my neighbors (who are friends) I can stop cutting the grass, let the paint chip off, and make the property an eyesore so they cannot wait until someone else buys the property and I move. Stay away from the Lucky Charms, the chemicals in the marshmallows are known to negatively impact your brain function! Your logic stinks. The Buffalo Bills are one of the country's 32 most expensive houses in a Billion dollar neighborhood. The value of the franchise is not dependant upon their success or failure.....and you leave Lucky Charms alone. They're delicious and now made with whole grain. I live in Buffalo. Point not taken? I'm sorry, Ralph Wilson maybe foolish and not able to properly run a football franchise, but give the man just a little credit. He could've left Buffalo YEARS ago. I'm not old enough to remember the '70s or mid-'80s, but I do know this team was bad. Very bad. Just because a team is bad doesn't mean the owner is trying to strip anyone's pride. I'd bet over half the people on this board are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bflojohn Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 By the way, for you high level conspiritorialist, Major League ends with the rag-tag lovable losers rallying to win the pennant and saving the franchise for the beleagured fans of Cleveland! Pick another movie already because personally, I like that ending for the Bills. Super Bowl baby!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 He spent a crapload of money on free agent offensive linemen a few years back (Langston Walker and one or two others who I can't remember right now). That didn't turn out well, but it was a lot of cash and they were the big names at the time. He wanted to throw that money away? Who threw money away? Season tix went up dramatically over the past 5 years with these PR pumped FA signings, thus making RW $$. Have we retained ANY high priced FA?? Maybe they all have a purpose. Maybe not. I'm just entertaining the thought, sad as it may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 By the way, for you high level conspiritorialist, Major League ends with the rag-tag lovable losers rallying to win the pennant and saving the franchise for the beleagured fans of Cleveland! Pick another movie already because personally, I like that ending for the Bills. Super Bowl baby!!! No. Pick that movie. I like that happening. I think Chan can definitely be an Oatmeal spokesperson, so we have that similarity too. Lee Evans would have to be Blair. (Blair is the rich over-paid guy that won't dive ground balls, right?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bflojohn Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Third baseman Roger Dorn is the character you are thinking of, Wild Thing has a fling with his wifey poo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Third baseman Roger Dorn is the character you are thinking of, Wild Thing has a fling with his wifey poo!! Yeah Dorn. The problem is we don't have a Wild thing, Beast Mode was as close we had, or a old guy with bad knees that used to be an all star and the leads the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Things like the Kelsay extension come immediately to mind as things that seem like "let's see what we can do to PO the fans in the easiest possible manner". I don't know. Let me ask you this....does the average fan in WNY know just how bad Kelsay is? Let's remember who we are on this board. We are absolute fanatics when compared to "fans." We come from around the country, let alone the world. And, most of us are WAY more invested in this team than logic would dictate that we should be. Year after year the Bills botch the draft. 2006 was the height of this idiocy. Posters on this board could have done a MUCH better job than our "professional" GMs. How could this be possible in any sense of the imagination? There is an evident, unbroken chain of stupidity, senility and ineptitude in this organization, but one thing should NOT be forgotten when looking at the full picture, and that is Ralph's ability to make money. He may be 91, but he could make money in his sleep. Today, at his advanced age, he knows more about making cash than every poster on this board combined. This is why that although I don't immediately cling to your premise, I also don't toss it away. Mr. Wilson might have a money making plan that is over the heads of posters on TBD. Or, this could just be a sinking ship, one being steered by the senile and inept. I suppose it's anybody's guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Your logic stinks. The Buffalo Bills are one of the country's 32 most expensive houses in a Billion dollar neighborhood. The value of the franchise is not dependant upon their success or failure.....and you leave Lucky Charms alone. They're delicious and now made with whole grain. Put that way, you are right - my logic does stink! I forgot that if there are only 32 houses on the market, you can pretty much name your price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson from Gamehendge Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Doesn't it make more sense that Ralph is putting a crappy product on the field to lessen the blow of them leaving? Don't hire football people. Pay rock bottom for GMs, Coaches and "talent". It's not that he's senile and he has good intentions. I think he maybe stripping this town of our pride in this team so it's easier to say goodbye. Maybe it's a paranoid delusion I had after having one too many bowls of Lucky Charms, but it does make sense, doesn't it? I hope I'm as far away from right as can be. And before you say "the Bills can't leave Bflo", I ask where you live. I have been thinking this all week...especially with all the guys they are getting rid of! Will we be able to field a team in 10 weeks with players ANYONE has heard of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offside Number 76 Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Well I'm not saying there is a conspiracy, but if you are old enough to remember the Buffalo Braves, when new owner John Y. Brown tried to move the Braves to San Diego, he was blocked by the NBA because the league said Buffalo supported the franchise well. Brown then set out to cut or trade every good player on the team until the Braves were the worst team in the NBA. As you can imagine attendance dropped like a rock, and Brown had his alibi to leave town. Of course the franchise never recovered and still sucks to this day: The L.A. Clippers. Honestly the same thought crossed my mind. PTR It was Snyder who tried to move the team in the first instance, not Brown (to this day, I try not to spend a dime in Snyder's Hyatt on Main St.), and I believe it was to Florida, not San Diego, to which he first tried to move the team. Interestingly, the Braves played a series of games in Toronto to try to broaden the fan base before moving. Brown then got control and actually ADDED talent (Malone) before giving up. And of course, in effect, he didn't move the existing Braves team to San Diego (and then LA); he moved the Celtics. He swapped the entire Braves team for the entire Celts team before the move. I do not think, though, that this is what Wilson is up to. He may not care if the team stays (personally, I think he would prefer that it does stay), but he definitely doesn't care if it goes--he's not doing anything to try to help a move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I used to believe the premise set forth by the OP. But I feel that I understand Ralph Wilson better now, and I am fully convinced that, had he ever received an offer to move the team to a place where he could be assured of making more money, he'd have moved them already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 I hear you. But every decision seems to suck the life out of us. Buddy Nix - Who?? Chan Gailey - What?? Another RB - Really? Extend Chris Kelsay when he looks sooooo lost. I know it's asking for high level thinking, but I just can't make sense out of the Bills' actions. And besides, all the logical landing spots for NFL franchises have been filled. And LA isn't ripe yet (but it's getting there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 The way I see it is simple. Ralph Wilson cares more about being involved in EVERYTHING going on with his team than he cares about actually winning. Everything he's done since grudgingly setting up shop in Buffalo basically proves that. Oh he hired Bill Polian, though, you say, and yeah, that looks smart, but the fact that he FIRED him for basically calling out ANOTHER know-nothing (yes, Ralph's daughter, whom he hired to be in charge of scouting, if I'm not mistaken, when she knew as little about football as her stupid father but obviously shared his penchant for choosing self-importance over success of the franchise). I'm calling Bill Polian's tenure in Buffalo a happy accident, and until someone shows me decisive proof that this theory is incorrect, I'm sticking to it. Face it, the Wilson family cares more about the Wilson family than they do the fans of Buffalo. And they pretty much say so whenever they are pinned down with the right questions. Too bad for us, with the Buffalo media the way they are, that is a rarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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