Petition - FIRE RUSS BRANDON NOW!!!

[May Day 10]

The contents of this thread is the exact reason I loathe Brandon.

 

He has so many Bills fans convinced that Buffalo isnt good enough for NFL football and the fans fall short. He often points to December games from 20 years ago that are not relevant in 2012 whatsoever. To me it is a slap in the face whenever he brings that up. There is no marketing effort at all in WNY and the team stinks.... and they still are extremely profitable.

There is Canadian support and it has naturally occurred. Mainly due to the gameday atmosphere. Toronto series does nothing. Nobody likes it and puts Bills 'home' games in a bad light.

[BillnutinHouston]

I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right?

[dwight in philly]

I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right?

it doesnt, but i would support a price increase, that way that silly argument about low ticket prices could be put to rest..

[May Day 10]

I assume the petition language includes an acknowledgement that Bills' organization ticket prices need to be raised above THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE, right?

 

As far as a petition goes. It essentially is on Brandon to fire himself. He is locked in as locked can be until there is a new owner.

[GG]

The contents of this thread is the exact reason I loathe Brandon.

 

He has so many Bills fans convinced that Buffalo isnt good enough for NFL football and the fans fall short. He often points to December games from 20 years ago that are not relevant in 2012 whatsoever. To me it is a slap in the face whenever he brings that up. There is no marketing effort at all in WNY and the team stinks.... and they still are extremely profitable.

There is Canadian support and it has naturally occurred. Mainly due to the gameday atmosphere. Toronto series does nothing. Nobody likes it and puts Bills 'home' games in a bad light.

 

And this is precisely why Brandon needs a gold star. He was able to get Rogers to pay $75 million for a craptastic product.

 

I have no clue of what you're talking about not marketing the Bills in WNY. There are very few places in the US where a football team is so much in your face in every spot as the Bills are in WNY.

 

You may think it's an insult, but WNY is economically depressed and it is a challenge to sell out a 75K seat venue when the going NFL ticket price is $100+. When you compound the marketing of a franchisde that has been committed to mediocrity on the football field for most of its existence, Brandon deserves a gold star and not a firing.

 

Now, if you want to talk about the disaster that the Toronto series has been from a footbal standpoint, then few will disagree.

Edited December 19, 2012 by GG

[Bill from NYC]

I would like to see him fired for the smoking ban.

[May Day 10]

And this is precisely why Brandon needs a gold star. He was able to get Rogers to pay $75 million for a craptastic product.

 

I have no clue of what you're talking about not marketing the Bills in WNY. There are very few places in the US where a football team is so much in your face in every spot as the Bills are in WNY.

 

You may think it's an insult, but WNY is economically depressed and it is a challenge to sell out a 75K seat venue when the going NFL ticket price is $100+. When you compound the marketing of a franchisde that has been committed to mediocrity on the football field for most of its existence, Brandon deserves a gold star and not a firing.

 

Now, if you want to talk about the disaster that the Toronto series has been from a footbal standpoint, then few will disagree.

 

1st point - Rogers was paying for the NFL. No primary interest in selling the Bills/buying the rights to one Bills game.

 

 

2. I have lived in Philly, NE, and NYC Areas. Those teams have crazy marketing. Color posters, schedules, cheerleader stuff, etc in the newspapers every week, HD TV shows on local networks in primetime, better commercials that get you excited about the team, etc.

 

3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo.

 

Take the Sabres. Early 00s, tickets were lowest in the league, nobody was going, nobody wanted to buy the team, many of us figured that was it, we were too small-time to hang on to ML sports.

Golisano bought the team, created price structure, reconnected the team with its past and believed in Buffalo. With a little success, people came back in droves. Canadians are helpful, but so is the territory. They are helpful in all facets here, including the Bills without the Toronto series.

For perspective, now, I pay more per ticket for cheapies for 41 Sabres games (and preseason), than I do per ticket for 8-9 Bills games.

And there is a waiting list... and the tickets are no longer close to the cheapest in the NHL.

 

If the Bills were competitive, the tickets would sell themselves w/o Toronto games. Even December. Due to: Popularity of the NFL in general, increased fans in Rochester, Ontario, a hungry fan base, smaller capacity, ease of internet sales, and stub hub resale potential.

 

To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto.

And people buy this and defend it.

A "marketing genious" doesnt market their product by making their customers feel crappy.

Edited December 19, 2012 by May Day 10

[Heitz]

 

3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo.

 

 

Is it though?

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303561504577495083707417526.html

[Direhard Fan]

I signed. Time to move on.

[GG]

1st point - Rogers was paying for the NFL. No primary interest in selling the Bills/buying the rights to one Bills game.

 

 

2. I have lived in Philly, NE, and NYC Areas. Those teams have crazy marketing. Color posters, schedules, cheerleader stuff, etc in the newspapers every week, HD TV shows on local networks in primetime, better commercials that get you excited about the team, etc.

 

3. NFL is at an all time high. Buffalo fans are very good. Selling the NFL is simple. Especially in Buffalo.

 

Take the Sabres. Early 00s, tickets were lowest in the league, nobody was going, nobody wanted to buy the team, many of us figured that was it, we were too small-time to hang on to ML sports.

Golisano bought the team, created price structure, reconnected the team with its past and believed in Buffalo. With a little success, people came back in droves. Canadians are helpful, but so is the territory. They are helpful in all facets here, including the Bills without the Toronto series.

For perspective, now, I pay more per ticket for cheapies for 41 Sabres games (and preseason), than I do per ticket for 8-9 Bills games.

And there is a waiting list.

 

If the Bills were competitive, the tickets would sell themselves w/o Toronto games. Even December. Due to: Popularity of the NFL in general, increased fans in Rochester, Ontario, a hungry fan base, ease of internet sales, and stub hub resale potential.

 

To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto.

And people buy this and defend it.

 

You are comparing apples to turnips. You cannot compare Brandon's efforts to market the team with the crappy product that's on the field. He has full control over one side of the above. Golisano's efforts to spruce up Sabres came on the heels of a damaging lockout and bankruptcy, and were greatly helped by a good product on the ice. Brandon is doing a good job selling a crappy product which the owner is unable to improve. And, btw, exactly how did that fan base in Rochester and Toronto increase, despite the team's horrific play?

[Meathead]

russ brandon is a big reason why the bills have a chance to stay here after ralph goes to the big fieldhouse in the sky

 

show me a petition to give him a raise and ill sign that one

[Dean Cain]

I signed this I'm in. I've blasted to my 300 WNY friends on facebook. Let's clean house!

[Heitz]

Also, for the record, I'm a sports marketing guy that loves the Bills and has helped broker sponsorship deals, market major TV sports properties and worked with professional athletes - where to do I sign up to be Russ' replacement?

 

Also, will you guys turn on me if the Bills continue to lose and / or I don't do exactly what you want?

 

[San-O]

It's unfortunate that a percentage of fans have no understanding of the ramifications of having to compete with the rest of the NFL out of the 56th ranked market. Not only do they not understand this, but they petition to try and ensure that the Bills remain at a disadvantage. Amazing.

 

Exaclty what do you mean by "compete"? Compete for NFL or tv revenue? Compete for their slice of the CBA? Compete with other NFL team in terms of profit?

 

Every year Forbes or some other pub. lists the NFL franchises by value, profit, and the like. Ralph is doing just fine, and also getting $$ millions from selling the

Toronto Series: The home game away from home. I can almost bet you Ralph would be contacting the NFL to sell a Euro-game also, if he could find the phone!

 

It's a bad product, has been for years, and the owner is making a fine profit. If this garbage team WERE on L.A., nobody would be going because people won't support a loser: see Raiders and Rams.

[BillnutinHouston]

 

 

Exaclty what do you mean by "compete"? Compete for NFL or tv revenue? Compete for their slice of the CBA? Compete with other NFL team in terms of profit?

 

Every year Forbes or some other pub. lists the NFL franchises by value, profit, and the like. Ralph is doing just fine, and also getting $$ millions from selling the

Toronto Series: The home game away from home. I can almost bet you Ralph would be contacting the NFL to sell a Euro-game also, if he could find the phone!

 

It's a bad product, has been for years, and the owner is making a fine profit. If this garbage team WERE on L.A., nobody would be going because people won't support a loser: see Raiders and Rams.

 

Sure, the Bills are solvent TODAY with no stadium debt and a committed owner. Solvent yes, but rarely able to spend big in free agency, therefore working from a competitive disadvantage. The one big FA splash, Mario, was financed by the very Toronto series the petition folks rail against.

 

OK, now fast forward to the future... with a successful petition effort you have a continually shrinking local market, curtailed regionalization efforts (happily curtailed by petition signers), rock bottom ticket prices, minimal (unshared) suite revenues, a band-aided stadium and, gasp, an impending ownership change.

 

Faced with this scenario, would a prospective investor group interested in keeping the Bills in Buffalo agree with the petition signers? No.

[Malazan]

To me, he is making excuses for the organization being a failure from the Owner through upper management, while defending the obvious money grab/attempted phase out to Toronto.

 

The key point is that part where you say, 'to me'. It's been reported that around the Organization and NFL, people think he is doing a good job.

 

I hate the Toronto series, but flailing around like a child throwing a temper tantrum doesn't lend credibility to the movement to stop the Toronto series.

 

If you want to have a real impact, dial down the hyperbole and rhetoric. Maybe have people 'pledge' to a higher ticket price and see if there really is general support for higher prices.

[clearwater cadet]

Just win baby and all out problems go way. Its the players. When they come to buffalo there is no pressure to perform, and the players know it. Its an easy pay day, there only so much money in the NFL, and the money in Buffalo is as green as anywhere. Hate me sunday, love me again on monday should be the buffalo moto. Common, these are the same fans that cheer for scott norwood the next day after he missed the kick in Sb25, or the same fans that cheer "THANK YOU SABRES" after losing in 5 to the sens in buffalo, when they should have won the cup that year. Did Russ tell Spiller to fumble on the 1 yard line against NE, or George Wilson to drop multiple game ending INTs, the list goes on and on. There comes a time when the players need to make plays, and for some reason Bills player just can't make them when there needed the most. Lay off Russ, it not his fault.

[bradjames24]

Russ' interview on WGR this week was embarrassing. His reason for keeping the coaching staff was continuity and used the Atlanta Braves as an example of how continuity is good. What an insult to anyone who watches sports.

 

The Braves dominated their division for a decade+ and even won a World Series...don't compare Bobby Cox to Chan Gailey.

Edited December 20, 2012 by bradjames24

[phillyrich]

Yeah, let's fire a WNY guy who loves Buffalo and grew up a Bills fan. I'm sure that jerk has no interest in keeping the Bills in Buffalo. And this team that has missed the playoffs 13 years in row still moves a lot of tickets. Dude is good at his job. He's one of the best assets we have in keeping the Bills in Buffalo. That $75 million we got for 5 meaningless games probably helped us sign Mario Williams (wait, are we running him out of town today?).

 

Completely disagree

[BillsVet]

At the end of season meeting with RW, who else will push for any change and encourage RW to do so? Rumor had it back in 2008 that Brandon pushed to have DJ fired. Brandon knows better than anyone that selling 45k+ season tickets with Nix, Gailey, and perhaps Fitz, is all but impossible.

 

I've been hard on Brandon because he's something of a sycophant, but he's not the problem at OBD. He may, in fact, be part of the solution. The BinT series is not his fault, he just happened to find a billionaire, Rogers, and his stooge, Lind, to overpay for the product.

 

I suspect Brandon will push RW to have Nix retired, Gailey, fired, and Whaley to assume the GM role. Who else depends more on the personnel people more for their own success? It's Brandon.

[Sisyphean Bills]

That $75 million we got for 5 meaningless games probably helped us sign Mario Williams (wait, are we running him out of town today?).

Ralph Wilson was once asked about the Toronto money in an interview and said point blank that none of that money would ever be made available for player contracts.

[dhg]

Ralph Wilson was once asked about the Toronto money in an interview and said point blank that none of that money would ever be made available for player contracts.

 

Link?

[Sisyphean Bills]

Brandon has an uphill battle in marketing this operation. He does a good job at that and he's trusted by ownership, all of which goes to explain why he keeps getting promoted.

[May Day 10]

He has been with the team for 17 years, the exact period since the last playoff win. Obviously all of it is nowhere near his fault.

 

There is a correlation IMO between his rise in power/promotion in the organization, and the devolution the franchise into a complete hopeless joke.

 

I still believe as President/CEO he continues to have a strong say in personnel matters. The hiring of Nix was to get fans off their backs. It was peculiar how many times Wilson stressed "General Manager of FOOTBALL" in the press conference, echoing the exact complaints of the fans.

This is why we get people like Levy, Nix, and Gailey as the "best" the Bills can do. They are the only ones who would be willing to allow upper management to have their way.

 

There are a lot of opinions/observations in there, I know, but it is a message board.

 

 

The reality is, Brandon has been trusted with the organization by Wilson. He is Wilson by extension, and he is teflon. No way he gets fired. If there was a petition with 1,000,000 names, it would end up in Russ Brandon's waste basket.

[GG]

He has been with the team for 17 years, the exact period since the last playoff win. Obviously all of it is nowhere near his fault.

 

There is a correlation IMO between his rise in power/promotion in the organization, and the devolution the franchise into a complete hopeless joke.

 

I still believe as President/CEO he continues to have a strong say in personnel matters. The hiring of Nix was to get fans off their backs. It was peculiar how many times Wilson stressed "General Manager of FOOTBALL" in the press conference, echoing the exact complaints of the fans.

This is why we get people like Levy, Nix, and Gailey as the "best" the Bills can do. They are the only ones who would be willing to allow upper management to have their way.

 

There are a lot of opinions/observations in there, I know, but it is a message board.

 

 

The reality is, Brandon has been trusted with the organization by Wilson. He is Wilson by extension, and he is teflon. No way he gets fired. If there was a petition with 1,000,000 names, it would end up in Russ Brandon's waste basket.

 

I hear you, but it is interesting that most of the top contributors to this team came under Brandon's watch as "GM"

 

I know there was a movement to get football people back in charge at OBD, but the results have been awful. I'm a big devotee to the Moneyball type of management for this franchise, and they were on their way there before they hired Nix. But for all the stability talk that OBD is preaching, the revolving door and lack of true accountability in the front office is what's been holding this franchise back, especially since the TD firing.

[LabattBlue]

Agreed. The guy has zero input in regards to what gets put out on the field.

Did Brandon have any say in Nix getting hired as GM? If so, he is completely accountable for the product being put on the field. If he didn't have any say in regards to the hiring of Nix, then what exactly is he doing as CEO of this company known as the Buffalo Bills?

[T master]

So the guy makes the team $78 MILLION & you want to fire him , he brings Mario in (which could be open for debate) & you want to fire him ?

 

Now if he was the one that wanted to pay Fitz the big bucks or was the one that chose Maybin in the draft OK i get it but the guy does not make any football decisions he is a marketing guy .

 

Although the Toronto series has been a bust for the fans & players alike if the team was winning i think it would be a bit different & you cna't take away the fact that it made $ 78 MILLION for the team !!

 

I would say that on that point alone the guy stays around a while !!

[CodeMonkey]

So the guy makes the team $78 MILLION & you want to fire him , he brings Mario in (which could be open for debate) & you want to fire him ?

 

Now if he was the one that wanted to pay Fitz the big bucks or was the one that chose Maybin in the draft OK i get it but the guy does not make any football decisions he is a marketing guy .

 

Although the Toronto series has been a bust for the fans & players alike if the team was winning i think it would be a bit different & you cna't take away the fact that it made $ 78 MILLION for the team !!

 

I would say that on that point alone the guy stays around a while !!

Yes but you see that doesn't fit into the "I'm mad as hell and demand everyone be fired" mindset,

[Wayne Cubed]

This thread is crazy.

 

So let me get this straight, the Bills playing in Toronto is a disadvantage? Please explain further because as far as I'm aware for the 5 regular season games played it wouldn't have meant jack about the outcome of the season. The Bills haven't been good enough. Simple. Toronto had nothing to do with it. So where's the argument?

 

The only argument that could be made against it was last years game. The only year the Bills came into Toronto with a winning record and then won, but preceded to go into a massive losing streak. So, maybe winning in Toronto caused the losing streak? If you're a conspiracy theorist..

[Homey D. Clown]

russ brandon is a big reason why the bills have a chance to stay here after ralph goes to the big fieldhouse in the sky

 

Dead Wrong.

 

This thread is crazy.

 

So let me get this straight, the Bills playing in Toronto is a disadvantage? Please explain further because as far as I'm aware for the 5 regular season games played it wouldn't have meant jack about the outcome of the season. The Bills haven't been good enough. Simple. Toronto had nothing to do with it. So where's the argument?

 

The only argument that could be made against it was last years game. The only year the Bills came into Toronto with a winning record and then won, but preceded to go into a massive losing streak. So, maybe winning in Toronto caused the losing streak? If you're a conspiracy theorist..

 

Explain to me how 9 away games could POSSIBLY ever be an advantage, nevermind how good the team is. Go ahead and try to make sense of that.

 

Yes but you see that doesn't fit into the "I'm mad as hell and demand everyone be fired" mindset,

 

Yeah, ignore the fact the guy IS IN FACT milking the team away from WNY.... nevermind all those actual facts, and thumb your nose at those who actually see this stupid series for what it's worth. So I guess that it has not been overly publicizied, but the new toronto series will call for 2 games, YES 2 games played in Rogers center each year, and that's somehow GOOD for Buffalo? How can Bills fans actually be so blind?

Edited December 20, 2012 by McKinleys Curse

[CodeMonkey]

Yeah, ignore the fact the guy IS IN FACT milking the team away from WNY.... nevermind all those actual facts, and thumb your nose at those who actually see this stupid series for what it's worth. So I guess that it has not been overly publicizied, but the new toronto series will call for 2 games, YES 2 games played in Rogers center each year, and that's somehow GOOD for Buffalo? How can Bills fans actually be so blind?

It would be good for Buffalo (not necessarily the wins/losses for the Bills, but for Buffalo) if this arrangement makes it economically feasible for the new owners to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Anything that makes the balance sheet look better helps this.

 

You seem to be living in a dream world where the Buffalo economy is not among the worst in the country and ignoring the fact that any new ownership will have a big debt load and will be looking closely at the teams profitability when evaluating if it makes sense to keep the Bills in Buffalo or move them to a better economic environment.

 

In a perfect world everyone here would agree that having all games in Buffalo would be preferred. But we do not live in a perfect world and pretending the only thing that matters is wins and losses does not make sense in my opinion.

Edited December 20, 2012 by CodeMonkey

[Homey D. Clown]

It would be good for Buffalo (not necessarily the wins/losses for the Bills, but for Buffalo) if this arrangement makes it economically feasible for the new owners to keep the Bills in Buffalo. Anything that makes the balance sheet look better helps this.

 

You seem to be living in a dream world where the Buffalo economy is not among the worst in the country and ignoring the fact that any new ownership will have a big debt load and will be looking closely at the teams profitability when evaluating if it makes sense to keep the Bills in Buffalo or move them to a better economic environment.

 

In a perfect world everyone here would agree that having all games in Buffalo would be preferred. But we do not live in a perfect world and pretending the only thing that matters is wins and losses does not make sense in my opinion.

 

While the city of Buffalo itsself is not a city on the rise, Russ Brandon has you along with countless others believing that the area cannot support the team any longer. This is in fact very false, and he also has you believing that giving away home games will cure all. It's obvious to me you aren't willing to see this for what it is, so I won't continue boring you with the facts like WNY and southern Ontario population, or a radical concept of selling stadium naming rights, or anything else this bonehead could do OTHER THAN taking away from WNY a Sunday of revenue. yes, let's pretend that game up in rogers center didn't leave an economic void in WNY last Sunday, that's really convenient.

 

 

FIRE RUSS BRANDON NOW!!!!

Edited December 20, 2012 by McKinleys Curse

[Wayne Cubed]

 

Explain to me how 9 away games could POSSIBLY ever be an advantage, nevermind how good the team is. Go ahead and try to make sense of that.

 

 

You ignore the fact that the Bill are just not good.

 

Many good teams year in and year out go 4-4 or 5-3 or heaven forbid 6-2 in road games. The Bills have an extra road game but are still 2-5 in road games this year, 2-6 if you include Toronto. They are 3-3 at home, hardly a home field advantage. Even if this past game was played at home, that's possibly 4-3 at home and still not good enough to get to the playoffs.

 

Last year, the Bills won at Toronto, so we'll put that in the away column since, that's where you place it. 4-3 at home and 2-7 on the road, that's including the Toronto game, so really 1-7. That's horrible. In 2010 2-5 at home and 2-7 on the road. In 2009 3-4 and 3-6 on the road.

 

See what I'm getting at? Even if you add the one game back at home, it's still not good enough. Yea it could have made them 5-3 at home this year, if they win the Seattle game and win the final Jets game. That's still a BIG maybe.

 

Point is, doesn't matter where the games are played. They aren't good.

Edited December 20, 2012 by Wayne Cubed

[Heitz]

While the city of Buffalo itsself is not a city on the rise, Russ Brandon has you along with countless others believing that the area cannot support the team any longer. This is in fact very false, and he also has you believing that giving away home games will cure all. It's obvious to me you aren't willing to see this for what it is, so I won't continue boring you with the facts like WNY and southern Ontario population, or a radical concept of selling stadium naming rights, or anything else this bonehead could do OTHER THAN taking away from WNY a Sunday of revenue. yes, let's pretend that game up in rogers center didn't leave an economic void in WNY last Sunday, that's really convenient.

 

FIRE RUSS BRANDON NOW!!!!

 

What is your statement or belief based on? It's clear that NFL ticket sales are down and it's a fact that Buffalo has some of the least expensive tickets in the league (which probably means that their luxury boxes, of which they don't have as many as other teams, also sell for less).

 

Even if we sold the naming rights, who is going to pay the price and what are we going to get - $10MM over 5 years? That's nowhere close to the $78MM the Bills got for the Toronto series...

 

Here are the top 20 stadium naming rights deals as of Sept, 2011: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/09/19/In-Depth/Naming-rights-deals.aspx

 

Please, let us know your revenue model beyond naming rights and "anything else"...

 

 

The Toronto game puts money in the teams pockets and (theoretically) exposes Toronto fans and more importantly, businesses, to the NFL and to Buffalo Bills football. Perhaps in some future world, the team is moved to Niagara Falls, a little closer to Toronto and some of those Toronto companies will drop coin on suites.

 

I also don't see anyone with the Bills saying that Toronto is the "cure all". It's part of a strategy to regionalize the team, just like having Training Camp in Rochester and marketing to towns in the Southern Tier are...

 

I think the Toronto game sucks too, but I'm willing to tolerate it if it keeps the Bills in Buffalo!

 

I actually think the Bills do a good job in the marketing department - training camp is a fan favorite, they've been on point with digital trends (messageboards, App, having Chris Brown do a blog and video segments, player created content, etc.) and they do a good job reaching out to fans (I keep getting calls to buy tickets for games, despite living in Vermont). If we had a winning team, it would definitely help sell tickets, but even when winning those cold-ass December games are tough on fans.

 

Where they could really use some help is in the merch department - not sure who their designers are, but the 80's and 90's called, they want some modern looking gear!

[CodeMonkey]

While the city of Buffalo itsself is not a city on the rise, Russ Brandon has you along with countless others believing that the area cannot support the team any longer. This is in fact very false, and he also has you believing that giving away home games will cure all. It's obvious to me you aren't willing to see this for what it is, so I won't continue boring you with the facts like WNY and southern Ontario population, or a radical concept of selling stadium naming rights, or anything else this bonehead could do OTHER THAN taking away from WNY a Sunday of revenue. yes, let's pretend that game up in rogers center didn't leave an economic void in WNY last Sunday, that's really convenient.

 

 

FIRE RUSS BRANDON NOW!!!!

Actually the convenient part is thinking that gameday is a significant source of revenue for the Buffalo area. Except for the people running parking lots around the stadium, and the stadium workers themselves no one is impacted significantly. Thinking that this has any impact on a Buffalo wide economic scale does not have any basis in fact, again in my opinion.

 

And again, in a perfect world I agree having all games in Buffalo is the best possible thing.

Edited December 20, 2012 by CodeMonkey

[Homey D. Clown]

You ignore the fact that the Bill are just not good.

 

Many good teams year in and year out go 4-4 or 5-3 or heaven forbid 6-2 in road games. The Bills have an extra road game but are still 2-5 in road games this year, 2-6 if you include Toronto. They are 3-3 at home, hardly a home field advantage. Even if this past game was played at home, that's possibly 4-3 at home and still not good enough to get to the playoffs.

 

Last year, the Bills won at Toronto, so we'll put that in the away column since, that's where you place it. 4-3 at home and 2-7 on the road, that's including the Toronto game, so really 1-7. That's horrible. In 2010 2-5 at home and 2-7 on the road. In 2009 3-4 and 3-6 on the road.

 

See what I'm getting at? Even if you add the one game back at home, it's still not good enough. Yea it could have made them 5-3 at home this year, if they win the Seattle game and win the final Jets game. That's still a BIG maybe.

 

Point is, doesn't matter where the games are played. They aren't good.

 

the simple fact is that home field advantage is a very REAL thing, and you are an advocate of the Bills giving away that advantage 1-2 times a year. Point is, that's not good for the team regardless of how the team has been performing, there is nothing you can say to change the fact that playing more away games could be good for this team.

[Wayne Cubed]

 

 

the simple fact is that home field advantage is a very REAL thing, and you are an advocate of the Bills giving away that advantage 1-2 times a year. Point is, that's not good for the team regardless of how the team has been performing, there is nothing you can say to change the fact that playing more away games could be good for this team.

 

I never said home field advantage wasn't real. But did you look at the stats: 2012: 3-3, 2011: 4-3, 2010: 2-5, 2009: 3-4. That's the home records. Besides 2011, 1 more game at home wouldn't have given them any real advantage. If the Bills were 6-1 or 5-2 and they had one more game at home making them 7-1 or 6-2 at home. Those would be advantages. Wouldn't have to win as many away games, but they are just not that good that one more home game would make a difference. They are still terrible on the road and home.

[Joe W]

i'd hesitate on using those numbers as Rogers officials have acknowledged this year that previous games were papered, and the attendance figures provided were tickets issued.

this year, it was Rogers policy to reduce ticket giveaways to fill the house. the tickets sold were going to be the tickets sold.

 

if Brandon is correct in suggesting this is the best Toronto's done in regards to ticket sales, than it's worrisome to imagine how many tickets they had actually sold for the previous games.

 

jw

 

How does Branden get away with his lies. Heres' from the Toronro Star:

 

The announced attendance last Sunday, when the Seattle Seahawks pasted the ever-lousy Bills, was 40,770. A man who knows suggested “way under” 40,000 tickets were sold and tales of day-game giveaways are common

 

Brandens not only a liar but an idiot. Get rid of him.

 

JW

[Homey D. Clown]

I never said home field advantage wasn't real. But did you look at the stats: 2012: 3-3, 2011: 4-3, 2010: 2-5, 2009: 3-4. That's the home records. Besides 2011, 1 more game at home wouldn't have given them any real advantage. If the Bills were 6-1 or 5-2 and they had one more game at home making them 7-1 or 6-2 at home. Those would be advantages. Wouldn't have to win as many away games, but they are just not that good that one more home game would make a difference. They are still terrible on the road and home.

 

If you agree that home field advantage is in fact real, why then would you even want the Bills to play 7 as opposed to the 8 every other team gets? and no, this is not about how bad them team has played in any way, it's about being put at a very real disadvantage. And I could easily argue the Bears game might have turned out differently if played in Orchard Park, but that's another discussion for another thread.

[Joe W]

If Rogers is cutting their payment by more than one-half, there;s no financial gain to offset losing home field advntage. Brandon however is locked in to this fiasco plus he would have to sell another 73k of ticket inventory insuring 4 tv blackouts next year.

 

Rogers is playing hardball with him and everything will be done to their terms including no preseason games in Toronto.