zow2 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I mean seriously...it's not THAT long ago when the Bills would split with the Jets and Pats nearly every year (from the early 80's on the Phish too). Those teams were never looked upon as being such better programs than Buffalo. In the last 10-12 years we've taken a beating, while our AFC East rivals have become "destination" cities for free agents and the hot coaches. Luckily Miami has stumbled all over themselves but they are bound to get it turned around and possibly get Manning too. Can Nix, Gailey, Stevie, Fitz, Merriman, Dareus, etc... make Buffalo "cool" again? Just ranting here but I gotta believe we're coming into an era where it's OUR time to shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Start Winning. Thats the best marketing campaign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle flap Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I mean seriously...it's not THAT long ago when the Bills would split with the Jets and Pats nearly every year (from the early 80's on the Phish too). Those teams were never looked upon as being such better programs than Buffalo. In the last 10-12 years we've taken a beating, while our AFC East rivals have become "destination" cities for free agents and the hot coaches. Luckily Miami has stumbled all over themselves but they are bound to get it turned around and possibly get Manning too. Can Nix, Gailey, Stevie, Fitz, Merriman, Dareus, etc... make Buffalo "cool" again? Just ranting here but I gotta believe we're coming into an era where it's OUR time to shine. Winning is the coolest thing they could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sure, but it all starts with a new owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sure, but it all starts with a new owner. Unfortunately, that's a big part of it. Old-timers like Wilson don't appreciate the need to create an attractive atmosphere for players to come in to. The team facilities are not that great and the stadium really needs some work too. He is a bit too old to understand that players do sign to play in places with a bit more glitz that coddle them. He's used to the days of lunch-pail players who just come in to work to get a job done. Indianapolis is not really a much better city than Buffalo, but they have a sick stadium and that in itself makes them relevant even after their winning days. Mark Cuban really changed the culture when he bought his NBA team by installing a luxury locker room, having catered meals after games (I know the catering is ridiculous for an NFL team, I'm talking about the sentiment) and basically treating his players better than other places in the league. That in itself brings in FA signees. It's really not Wilson's fault. He's older than dirt and he is simply too disconnected from 20-30 year olds to understand what makes them happy.I really don't think he's even aware of the exasperation his fan base feels for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Unfortunately, that's a big part of it. Old-timers like Wilson don't appreciate the need to create an attractive atmosphere for players to come in to. The team facilities are not that great and the stadium really needs some work too. He is a bit too old to understand that players do sign to play in places with a bit more glitz that coddle them. He's used to the days of lunch-pail players who just come in to work to get a job done. Indianapolis is not really a much better city than Buffalo, but they have a sick stadium and that in itself makes them relevant even after their winning days. Mark Cuban really changed the culture when he bought his NBA team by installing a luxury locker room, having catered meals after games (I know the catering is ridiculous for an NFL team, I'm talking about the sentiment) and basically treating his players better than other places in the league. That in itself brings in FA signees. It's really not Wilson's fault. He's older than dirt and he is simply too disconnected from 20-30 year olds to understand what makes them happy.I really don't think he's even aware of the exasperation his fan base feels for him. was talking with a buddy of mine about how cool it would be to have mark cuban as the owner. For all the bad rap he takes he has turned a disaster of a franchise into one of the best in his sport. Players love to play for him and I think his joy is infectious. I also think he figured out how to stay out of the way and not be the media circus that he once was. If nothing else the media wouldn't be able to avoid us and with media exposure comes player attention. Just a pipe dream I know but a great one none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whateverdude Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Unfortunately, that's a big part of it. Old-timers like Wilson don't appreciate the need to create an attractive atmosphere for players to come in to. The team facilities are not that great and the stadium really needs some work too. He is a bit too old to understand that players do sign to play in places with a bit more glitz that coddle them. He's used to the days of lunch-pail players who just come in to work to get a job done. Indianapolis is not really a much better city than Buffalo, but they have a sick stadium and that in itself makes them relevant even after their winning days. Mark Cuban really changed the culture when he bought his NBA team by installing a luxury locker room, having catered meals after games (I know the catering is ridiculous for an NFL team, I'm talking about the sentiment) and basically treating his players better than other places in the league. That in itself brings in FA signees. It's really not Wilson's fault. He's older than dirt and he is simply too disconnected from 20-30 year olds to understand what makes them happy.I really don't think he's even aware of the exasperation his fan base feels for him. Oh BS! Ralph sends each prospective free agent a fruit cake and invites them to a game of shuffle board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkington Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Start Winning. Thats the best marketing campaign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) Winning doesn't cure everything. I thought it did, but it can't be relied upon as THE magnet to attract players anymore. I follow the San Antonio Spurs in basketball. Four recent NBA titles. Future HOFs on the roster. Under Gregg Popovich, they've never missed the playoffs. He's a coaching legend. Yet year after year, free agents go to anywhere but San Antonio. All the team does is win. In the NFL, teams like the Patriots and Packers should have players knocking on their door willing to play for them. However, more often than not, the big names always go elsewhere. I remember the world was literally stunned when Reggie White picked Green Bay in the dawn of free agency. Green Bay? No NY? No California? I wish it was just about winning. That'd be a straightforward problem to solve. Now, I'm sure players look at NY state taxes, laws, media market, etc before even getting to football-related topics. And that's if you don't have your agent in your ear telling you which places are lousy and which ones are great based on his or her bias. Edited March 8, 2012 by dpberr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalos#1Fan Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Unfortunately, with the increase in chlorofluorocarbon global warming is a larger concern than before. Soon, playing in Buffalo will be in sweltering heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I hate the Bills ! Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Green Bay is the Smallest Nfl Franchise, yet one of the most successful. The weather in the winter is similiar to Buffalo and If you like Sausage and cheese its the place to be. Winning Cures everything, when the Bills were winning, Bryce Paup ,Quinn Early, James Lofton, Chris Spielman all Marqee names back then wanted to be here. We also managed to resign our horses back then even Bruce who was almost shipped to Denver in a trade, but the Bills stepped up and paid him. Now they need to do it again pay the Good Players to come there, play for a city and win a championship. They also have to suffer thru eating at bad restaurants and not having a nite life like south beach ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Green Bay is the Smallest Nfl Franchise, yet one of the most successful. The weather in the winter is similiar to Buffalo and If you like Sausage and cheese its the place to be. Winning Cures everything, when the Bills were winning, Bryce Paup ,Quinn Early, James Lofton, Chris Spielman all Marqee names back then wanted to be here. We also managed to resign our horses back then even Bruce who was almost shipped to Denver in a trade, but the Bills stepped up and paid him. Now they need to do it again pay the Good Players to come there, play for a city and win a championship. They also have to suffer thru eating at bad restaurants and not having a nite life like south beach ! I agree with only one thing to add: The guys you mentioned played the majority of their careers before free agency. Arguably your players mentioned are "team first" types of guys. Green Bay is very successful. How many marquee free agents do you see giving discounts or officially acknowledging they'd like to play there? Or traded there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollars 2 donuts Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sure, but it all starts with a new owner. This. Two great big scoops of this. I don't care who the owner of the team is, if they start winning consistently the players will come in greater droves. Heck, Erik Dickerson wanted to be traded here in '87. Actually, and correct me if I am wrong, he may have been briefly on paper a Buffalo Bill as result of the Biscuit trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmasThoman Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 "cool" to play here? what does that even mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) "cool" to play here? what does that even mean. It's pretty simple, not a place that gets made fun off being bass ackwards. When you have players making jokes about Buffalo (long list), reporters making jokes about Buffalo (Peyton to Buffalo:LOL), it gives the town an air of not being a good place to play, even if it's not true. Perception means a lot to people whether you credit that statement as accurate or not. Miami sucks, but the town is a vacation spot, so player would consider signing off of that alone. Buffalo needs to create a player-friendly culture. Not in easy workouts or anything, but being known as a good place to live and supportive of the players. Edited March 8, 2012 by ndirish1978 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I think the mention of Green Bay (and Pittsburgh is in this category too) is irrelevant in this topic. While both teams are fabulously successful, with few exceptions neither team is traditionally a player in free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 It's pretty simple, not a place that gets made fun off being bass ackwards. When you have players making jokes about Buffalo (long list), reporters making jokes about Buffalo (Peyton to Buffalo:LOL), it gives the town an air of not being a good place to play, even if it's not true. Perception means a lot to people whether you credit that statement as accurate or not. Miami sucks, but the town is a vacation spot, so player would consider signing off of that alone. Buffalo needs to create a player-friendly culture. Not in easy workouts or anything, but being known as a good place to live and supportive of the players. Very true. How about Brady taking a shot at Buffalo hotels during the SuperBowl? That actually got national publicity. Or the few NHL players that have ripped the city. All these things help the negative perception of NOT a cool place to be. Green Bay is the great exception. First off they got very fortunate by getting Favre and Rodgers back to back. Those are two awesome QBs. Green Bay is universally known as the place to play if you want to WIN. No one really makes a permanent home there but it's a good NFL city to win in. Buffalo was kind of like that through the 90's but the organization let it slip away, plus we didn't get lucky with a QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santana Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It hasn't been a good franchise, it's cold, its a small market, we haven't been to the playoffs in over a decade...and the beat goes on. We are now doing the right things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Buffalo and Niagara Falls used to be "the" place for a honeymoon.... It still might be on the Canadian side. The city of Buffalo lost that stench of the steel mills years ago, but the population is still declining year after year. During the 50's the population was 500,000 plus, now about 260,000. The weather is still a big factor as to why players don't like Buffalo. But then add in a Buffalo Bills owner who has been notoriously cantankerous and frugal over his 50 year reign and the weather isn't the worst part. Even Jim Kelly cried when he heard he was drafted by the Bills. OJ didn't want to come to Buffalo either. Other NFL players took notice when the Bills didn't give Jason Peters the money he deserved, then traded him away. Gotta be tough for Buddy Nix to lure in top talent.Jauron tried to trade for Tony Gonzalez, he refused to come to Buffalo. OTOH, it helped keep Donovan McNabb away Sometimes its good to be the Buffalo Bills. I look at this team now and see they signed Stevie Johnson, they signed Scott Chandler. Nix is talking about being aggressive in free agency this year, unlike the last two years. If the Bills can field a competitive team and get a winning record, that would go a long way to help bring in free agents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Why is green bay cool ? It's not the weather...worse than buffalo. It's not the size or coolness of the city...its smaller and fewer applebees than buffalo. It's cool and a destination because they win and will be competitive. And it helps attract players who can play with an all pro MVP at the most important position...QB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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