hondo in seattle Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 One of the reasons that Buffalonians are die-hard football fans is because we don't have a major league baseball or basketball team to cheer for. For some reason, NBC Sports decided to rub a little salt in that wound today. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when we had an NBA team and MLB dreams... Buffalo’s MLB team that wasn’t Craig Calcaterra Jul 10, 2012, 2:31 PM EDT 16 Comments Buffalo NY Great article about Coca-Cola Field – formerly known as Pilot Field — in Buffalo. The ballpark that, back in the late 80s and early 90s, was constantly outdrawing a couple of major league teams every years. Forgotten now was that the park was built to be expanded, with the specific intent of luring a major league team. But, as Mark Byrnes explains in The Atlantic, it was never to be: Ownership and the city did everything it was supposed to do. It built spectacular facilities and filled it up each game those first three and a half seasons, even outdrawing two Major League teams. So when June of 1991 came and Denver and Miami were given the two expansion franchises, the city’s pursuit of big time baseball ended as deflating heartbreak to a population just months into coping with ‘Wide Right.’ It was the right thing done at the wrong time, as the economics of Major League Baseball were on the brink of a fundamental shift, and smaller cities without major media and corporate power were no longer welcome at the big boy’s table. It’s a dynamic that, had it existed earlier, would have kept Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and a host of other cities out of Major League Baseball. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/10/buffalos-mlb-team-that-wasnt/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAWNDO Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 The Toronto Blue Jays would probably been placed in Buffalo had the domed stadium been build in Lancaster. My link Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoretalk Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 One of the reasons that Buffalonians are die-hard football fans is because we don't have a major league baseball or basketball team to cheer for. For some reason, NBC Sports decided to rub a little salt in that wound today. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when we had an NBA team and MLB dreams... Buffalo’s MLB team that wasn’t Craig Calcaterra Jul 10, 2012, 2:31 PM EDT 16 Comments Buffalo NY Great article about Coca-Cola Field – formerly known as Pilot Field — in Buffalo. The ballpark that, back in the late 80s and early 90s, was constantly outdrawing a couple of major league teams every years. Forgotten now was that the park was built to be expanded, with the specific intent of luring a major league team. But, as Mark Byrnes explains in The Atlantic, it was never to be: Ownership and the city did everything it was supposed to do. It built spectacular facilities and filled it up each game those first three and a half seasons, even outdrawing two Major League teams. So when June of 1991 came and Denver and Miami were given the two expansion franchises, the city’s pursuit of big time baseball ended as deflating heartbreak to a population just months into coping with ‘Wide Right.’ It was the right thing done at the wrong time, as the economics of Major League Baseball were on the brink of a fundamental shift, and smaller cities without major media and corporate power were no longer welcome at the big boy’s table. It’s a dynamic that, had it existed earlier, would have kept Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and a host of other cities out of Major League Baseball. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/10/buffalos-mlb-team-that-wasnt/ What has changed is the media's approach to the Bison's. When I was growing up in the 60's and early 70's with the Bison's playing at the Rockpile and then in Niagara Falls, the News and the Courier Express gave the team extensive coverage. We were aware of the parent club's comings and goings. And, we were listening to Bison games all summer long (Stan Barron, I think Van did some games, and others handled the play by play and color commentary.)and our dads were bringing us to the ball park. Players like Johnny Bench graced the grass of War Memorial and we hosted the International League All Star game plus games against our parent clubs. Now when I come home to visit there is no Bison spirit ... the media only provides after thought coverage and that means that kids growing up in Western New York no longer are begging their dad's to take them to the game and no one is tuning into the games on the radio as they sit in their back yards. The spirit of baseball clearly died in Buffalo ... I can no longer brag to my neighbors who are fans of the Phillies or the Yankees (Very few make the mistake of being ... Mets' fans.) that up in Buffalo we pack the park for minor league baseball and if the stars were properly aligned we should have a major league team but no more ... no more and it is truly sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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