Canadian Bills Fan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) http://www.thestar.c...a-the-brush-off I'm sick of the Toronto media whining about the Bills. I dont blame Bills players one bit about not being thrilled to play a home game in Toronto. Being from there and now living in Hamilton I can say that Rogers has done a horrible job of marketing this. They priced tickets at such a high price that for the price of a singe ticket in a good section would get you easy a ticket and dinner if you were to go see them in Buffalo. I understand them trying to make their money back but this is not the way to do it. I agree with the poster who said it was to little to late regarding trying to change the drinking laws. There is no place you can tailgate, no vendors selling Bills merch. Only overpriced/limited selection inside the dome. I always have and always will hate the idea of the Bills playing in Toronto. It will just never work. Us true Canadian Bills fan's dont mind driving the 60 minutes to Orchard Park. In fact If they are like me, they prefer it. CBF Edited December 13, 2012 by Canadian_Bills_Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsoldier54 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 with Toronto we are the 4th largest market in the NFL.... without Toronto, we will be the 2nd largest market in Los Angeles...... BS. The Buffalo Bills are not moving to LA. With or without the Toronto series they are and will remain the BUFFALO BILLS. I am so tired of this lame speculation. Absolutely no basis in fact for this happening. I know that losing sucks, but this team is not going anywhere and people in Toronto hate the Bills games. Read any Toronto newspaper. This series is on it's last legs unless the league really wants it to continue as an "International" game like the one in London every year. Both are stupid ideas. England is soccer country and they don't care about American football. Canada is hockey country and they don't care about our game either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 BS. The Buffalo Bills are not moving to LA. With or without the Toronto series they are and will remain the BUFFALO BILLS. I am so tired of this lame speculation. Absolutely no basis in fact for this happening. I know that losing sucks, but this team is not going anywhere and people in Toronto hate the Bills games. Read any Toronto newspaper. This series is on it's last legs unless the league really wants it to continue as an "International" game like the one in London every year. Both are stupid ideas. England is soccer country and they don't care about American football. Canada is hockey country and they don't care about our game either. Exactly. They all care about the CFL more than the NFL. I dont know why. A league with 8 teams can not be taken seriously CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) BS. The Buffalo Bills are not moving to LA. With or without the Toronto series they are and will remain the BUFFALO BILLS. I am so tired of this lame speculation. Absolutely no basis in fact for this happening. I know that losing sucks, but this team is not going anywhere and people in Toronto hate the Bills games. Read any Toronto newspaper. This series is on it's last legs unless the league really wants it to continue as an "International" game like the one in London every year. Both are stupid ideas. England is soccer country and they don't care about American football. Canada is hockey country and they don't care about our game either. no one can say with certainty that an NFL franchise will not relocate....it is FACT that 6 have done so in the last 30 years.... Oakland Raiders: to Los Angeles in 1982 Baltimore Colts: to Indianapolis in 1984 St. Louis Cardinals: to Tempe, Arizona as the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 and became the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 Los Angeles Rams: to St. Louis in 1995 Los Angeles Raiders: back to Oakland in 1995 Houston Oilers: temporarily to Memphis in 1997 as the Tennessee Oilers and permanently to Nashville in 1998 (renamed Tennessee Titans in 1999) there are over 10,000 canadian fans and growing that care, buy tickets and attend games at the ralph.... there are folks in WNY who hate the bills......so it's not surprising there are folks in canada who do to. football is not for everyone.....but by every measure, from a marketing point of view, the bills in toronto series is a success... as far as any complaining of perceived competitive disadvantage by playing in front of a quiet toronto crowd....hasn't attended december home games at the ralph. Edited December 13, 2012 by papazoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miserable_fan Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Exactly. They all care about the CFL more than the NFL. I dont know why. A league with 8 teams can not be taken seriously CBF Nobody in Canada (aside from the Prairies) gives a **** about the CFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Nobody in Canada (aside from the Prairies) gives a **** about the CFL Must be a Hamilton and Toronto thing then. I see so many personalized Tigercats and Argo's plates CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heels20X6 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Nobody in Canada (aside from the Prairies) gives a **** about the CFL 55,000 people coming out to see the Grey Cup says otherwise. People in Canada are football fans. Most I know will watch College, CFL and NFL because they love football. Many like the CFL because of national pride. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean people don't give a sh!! about it. Especially when the championship game draws about 2-3 million people in audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsoldier54 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 no one can say with certainty that an NFL franchise will not relocate....it is FACT that 6 have done so in the last 30 years.... Oakland Raiders: to Los Angeles in 1982 Baltimore Colts: to Indianapolis in 1984 St. Louis Cardinals: to Tempe, Arizona as the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 and became the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 Los Angeles Rams: to St. Louis in 1995 Los Angeles Raiders: back to Oakland in 1995 Houston Oilers: temporarily to Memphis in 1997 as the Tennessee Oilers and permanently to Nashville in 1998 (renamed Tennessee Titans in 1999) there are over 10,000 canadian fans and growing that care, buy tickets and attend games at the ralph.... there are folks in WNY who hate the bills......so it's not surprising there are folks in canada who do to. football is not for everyone.....but by every measure, from a marketing point of view, the bills in toronto series is a success... as far as any complaining of perceived competitive disadvantage by playing in front of a quiet toronto crowd....hasn't attended december home games at the ralph. No one can say for certain, but to speculate about a move without any real evidence that it will ever happen is counterproductive. There is no story here. Zero. And as far as the Toronto series being a "success", I guess I would question your criteria for success. They couldn't give away enough tickets to fill the Rogers Centre. The majority of the city of Toronto is apathetic at best towards this game. The Bills have not played well north of the border, so in my mind, this series has been far from successful. I live in Newfoundland and last year my son, his fiance and myself flew into Toronto, stayed in Cheektowaga and rented a car and drove to the Philadelphia game at the Ralph because the whole package was much cheaper than a hotel and tickets to the game in Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dundy249 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I still think we should trade Mario Williams for John SKel....oh crap wrong thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thisistheyear Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) The Packers would never play games in Milwalkee Thank you. I've made the Green Bay/Milwaukee point many times and no one ever addresses it. Everyone around here is acting like butt-hurt clevelanders because they have no business sense. Who cares what anyone else thinks? The Toronto game is about driving revenue in the short term and creating long term viability by growing the fan base. It might not be ideal, but it is an absolute necessity. Every time I hear someone rail about how the Toronto game sickens them, I just think...that person isn't very bright. Edited December 13, 2012 by Thisistheyear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 No one can say for certain, but to speculate about a move without any real evidence that it will ever happen is counterproductive. There is no story here. Zero. And as far as the Toronto series being a "success", I guess I would question your criteria for success. They couldn't give away enough tickets to fill the Rogers Centre. The majority of the city of Toronto is apathetic at best towards this game. The Bills have not played well north of the border, so in my mind, this series has been far from successful. I live in Newfoundland and last year my son, his fiance and myself flew into Toronto, stayed in Cheektowaga and rented a car and drove to the Philadelphia game at the Ralph because the whole package was much cheaper than a hotel and tickets to the game in Toronto. what is certain....is that if it has happened before....it can happen again.... what is certain....is without including the southern ontario market, buffalo is almost the smallest NFL market.... what is certain....is without including the southern ontario market, we would have an even more difficult task of selling out seats. now, i personally don't think the Bills will relocate..... BUT ONLY because they have smartly and aggressively marketed to southern ontario....positioning themselves from a small market to a large market team, which is appealing to the other NFL owners. i absolutely believe that without that effort, we would be at a far greater risk of relocation...in fact i believe relocation would be inevitable. Forbes says the Bills are valued at about $800 million.....just by moving to L.A. the valuation would double to $1.6 Billion. does anyone think a $200 million early lease termination penalty fee is going to stop an L.A. group from bidding ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 True! Well I know I'm always whining about these games. They're embarrassing. Hockey jerseys will be out in full force. SMH I'm not putting on any Sabres gear until they end this damn @#!!@# lockout. Only NHL 13 exists for me ATM... The Packers would never play games in Milwalkee They DID play their games in Milwaukee for years... MAN you make me feel old if you don't know that!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsoldier54 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 what is certain....is that if it has happened before....it can happen again.... what is certain....is without including the southern ontario market, buffalo is almost the smallest NFL market.... what is certain....is without including the southern ontario market, we would have an even more difficult task of selling out seats. now, i personally don't think the Bills will relocate..... BUT ONLY because they have smartly and aggressively marketed to southern ontario....positioning themselves from a small market to a large market team, which is appealing to the other NFL owners. i absolutely believe that without that effort, we would be at a far greater risk of relocation...in fact i believe relocation would be inevitable. Forbes says the Bills are valued at about $800 million.....just by moving to L.A. the valuation would double to $1.6 Billion. does anyone think a $200 million early lease termination penalty fee is going to stop an L.A. group from bidding ? You don't have to play games in Toronto to market the team to southern Ontario. Show me the statistics that say season ticket sales to people from southern Ontario have significantly increased since the start of this series. And your speculation about LA is just that. Anything can happen. Doesn't mean it will. Still no factual evidence to suggest this is even a possibility so why worry about it? Even if it were a real possibility, there is nothing we can do about it, so I see no point in speculating about it or worrying about it at all, EVER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 You don't have to play games in Toronto to market the team to southern Ontario. Show me the statistics that say season ticket sales to people from southern Ontario have significantly increased since the start of this series. And your speculation about LA is just that. Anything can happen. Doesn't mean it will. Still no factual evidence to suggest this is even a possibility so why worry about it? Even if it were a real possibility, there is nothing we can do about it, so I see no point in speculating about it or worrying about it at all, EVER. Bills CEO Russ Brandon said that based on last year’s "demographic studies and the current ticket-selling trend, Southern Ontario has 'inched past' Rochester to become the team’s secondary market," according to Sal Maiorana of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE. Brandon was "quick to point out that Rochester is 'light years' ahead of Southern Ontario in terms of suite sales and corporate sponsorship platforms, and season and individual game ticket sales in the Rochester region continue to increase," but just "not as fast, recently, as in Southern Ontario." He added that the spike in ticket sales in Southern Ontario "is directly attributable to the regionalization push the franchise made with the Bills Toronto Series." http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/04/24/Franchises/Bills.aspx?hl=Marketing%20and%20Sponsorship&sc=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Bills CEO Russ Brandon said that based on last year’s "demographic studies and the current ticket-selling trend, Southern Ontario has 'inched past' Rochester to become the team’s secondary market," according to Sal Maiorana of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE. Brandon was "quick to point out that Rochester is 'light years' ahead of Southern Ontario in terms of suite sales and corporate sponsorship platforms, and season and individual game ticket sales in the Rochester region continue to increase," but just "not as fast, recently, as in Southern Ontario." He added that the spike in ticket sales in Southern Ontario "is directly attributable to the regionalization push the franchise made with the Bills Toronto Series." http://www.sportsbus...ponsorship&sc=0 I'd say 'based upon the pockets of Rogers Communications, we have found that southern Ontario has inched past Rochester'. FIXED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe W Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Branden neglects to mention the Canadian Dollar has strengthened by 40 % over the Toronto series period. Probably the biggest element in the ticket rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benderbender Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Shows you what kind of owner we have when we would sacrifice a the slight edge a home game gives you for money. Oh wait, I forgot. The Cryptkeeper isn't cheap. We're just ungrateful fans. That's right. I forget so easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe W Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Shows you what kind of owner we have when we would sacrifice a the slight edge a home game gives you for money. Oh wait, I forgot. The Cryptkeeper isn't cheap. We're just ungrateful fans. That's right. I forget so easy. Buffalo home games in December should be a big home edge, unfortunately there won't be a windfall in the next Rogers agreement if there is one. Rogers took an enormous bath on these games. probably close to $40 Million, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 (edited) http://www.thestar.c...a-the-brush-off this quote struck a nerve and the reason I hate this: "Problem part two — it all began to seem pointless once it became clear the NFL never intended to push the sale of a team into Canada. Rogers thought they were paying for a test drive. Instead, they bought a five-year long tease" People of Toronto would hop on if it was their own team. I dont see them becoming Bills fans. I dont see people in Buffalo jumping from the Yankees, etc to the Blue Jays due to the Bisons' affiliation. The Bills have Southern Ontario fans. It is increasing not because the Series. It is due to the strengthened Canadian dollar, the allure of the WNY shopping, increased awareness and popularity of the NFL (aside from the series), and the gameday experience at RWS. There are numerous ways the Bills can market to Ontario without playing a game that diminishes what the Bills stand for. They can start with winning. Im not so sure this thing is getting extended anyways Edited December 13, 2012 by May Day 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Buffalo home games in December should be a big home edge, unfortunately there won't be a windfall in the next Rogers agreement if there is one. Rogers took an enormous bath on these games. probably close to $40 Million, team A plays three games ALL in inclement weather... teams B,C & D play only one game each in inclement weather and each play two in nice weather..... who has the advantage ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts