yall Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Even the 20 year-old version of me would rather spend 2.7 million on a palatial estate in Buffalo than on an apartment... well, anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Almost half the hockey players in the NHL grew up in Southern Ontario, no different than Buffalo weather-wise. So I doubt that's a turn-off. As for football, sure some guys worry about where the parties are at but do want that kind of player? If you make millions hop a plane to NYC on your off day. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Even the 20 year-old version of me would rather spend 2.7 million on a palatial estate in Buffalo than on an apartment... well, anywhere. AND you'd have 2 million to spare. Me I'd rather have a townhouse in a big city in my 20s. But that's really the point. I think the interests of the players are likely just as mixed as any other population sample. Mario went mansion in burbs. Eli went with a moderately sized condo overlooking manhattan. I don't think preference is universal. There are plenty of pro athletes from rural upbringings and colleges, just as there are many from more urban settings and all preferences in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Strip clubs in Niagara Falls. I'm sure that counts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yall Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Strip clubs in Niagara Falls. I'm sure that counts Honestly, I wish the Bills and Sabres would hire me as their "off the record" tour guide. I'd have people jumping through hoops to sign here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Why can miserably cold and snowy and boring green bay get players to sign? They have a tradition of winning. Most athletes have their "main" off-season residence in another city than their work residence so I don't think they really care. Green Bay is built around the Stadium. Its like being in Ann Arbor. The players are the sole fixation of Green Bay. Orchard Park is too far from Buffalo and the players tend to live just as far away. The difference is where the players, play practice and live is similar to a rural \ "exburb" setting. Its very isolated living situation. Not a small town built around a stadium. The Sabres are actual more apart of Buffalo and understand the City better based on their living and working environment. I would see the Sabres players around Buffalo in Allentown all the time. I never see a Bills players ever. So there is something to be set about the exburb lifestyle in Orchard Park. However Most NFL players don't live in the City they play for year round so this environment isn't a great detriment to the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Chidi Ahanotu (now broke) did the Toronto to Orchard Park commute to get a taste of big city living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eme123 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 The NFL is a LIMITED opportunity. We want to attract players who are here to work. We want players that are just happy to have an opportunity. Guys that wouldn't go to Buffalo likely wouldn't go to many other towns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I live in Charlotte and can attest to how bad the football culture is here. On any given Sunday, there are Bills fans tailgating in lots. To go watch the Bills game at a Bills bar. I realize the Panthers are less than 20 years old and most fans are still Redskins fans from way back when, but it's kind of sad. It is just now starting to change in Atlanta. Why? because the Falcons have a great owner who is building a tradition of winning. For years you would go to a Falcons game and if they where playing the Steelers, Dallas, or San Fran, etc... the stadium would be split 60/40. Not so now. As for Buffalo, the city is a nice place. If you can make money in Buffalo it is a great town. So to me sports players have no reason not to go to Buffalo. The snow is over hyped. Yes the weather is not great, but there are many days in the summer in Atl i woould trade with Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 It is just now starting to change in Atlanta. Why? because the Falcons have a great owner who is building a tradition of winning. For years you would go to a Falcons game and if they where playing the Steelers, Dallas, or San Fran, etc... the stadium would be split 60/40. Not so now. As for Buffalo, the city is a nice place. If you can make money in Buffalo it is a great town. So to me sports players have no reason not to go to Buffalo. The snow is over hyped. Yes the weather is not great, but there are many days in the summer in Atl i woould trade with Buffalo. I'd trade every last day of the summer in Raleigh for Buffalo weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Green Bay is built around the Stadium. Its like being in Ann Arbor. The players are the sole fixation of Green Bay. Orchard Park is too far from Buffalo and the players tend to live just as far away. The difference is where the players, play practice and live is similar to a rural \ "exburb" setting. Its very isolated living situation. Not a small town built around a stadium. The Sabres are actual more apart of Buffalo and understand the City better based on their living and working environment. I would see the Sabres players around Buffalo in Allentown all the time. I never see a Bills players ever. So there is something to be set about the exburb lifestyle in Orchard Park. However Most NFL players don't live in the City they play for year round so this environment isn't a great detriment to the Bills. Sundays at the Snotty Fox is packed with Bills, Sabres, & the beat collection of girls in Buffalo (all the people who work in the restaurant & bar business). Just a FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Buffalo people have one of the worst inferiority complexes I've ever run across. The fact of the matter is there are a certain number of people who don't want to come to Buffalo because its (too cold, too square, too dull, you name it) just as there are a certain number of people who don't want to go to NYC, Miami, Denver or anywhere else you can name for any variety of reasons. On the plus side, the overwhelming number of people who move to Buffalo seem to like it a whole lot and rave about it, and that includes a long list of Bills players who have moved from, for example, Los Angeles and never left, like Jack Kemp, and continuing on right to the present with Moulds, Thurman, Kelly and even Reuben Brown still living in the area. As far as free agents, just get the franchise winning again and the whole problem of not wanting to come to Buffalo will recede in the mists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalphOP83 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 As a good friend of mine once told me....when he was drafted by the bills...(just after the super bowl years) all the other players drafted around him were jealous...if a team is winning or has a culture of winning the players will want to come. These players come here and work....they can fly anywhere they want on short notice during their time off. Pat kane spends his summers here in buffalo and built a home in buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRQ_BillsFan Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Completely disagree. Anytime you get a sports radio host in Buffalo that says he doesn't like football & would rather talk about tennis, you need to keep him at all costs. Plus, do you think radio hosts who get offended when callers ask how are you doing just grow on trees??? Why is it these guys never complain when a player, coach or celebrity asks them how they are doing? Then they just kiss ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 AND you'd have 2 million to spare. Me I'd rather have a townhouse in a big city in my 20s. But that's really the point. I think the interests of the players are likely just as mixed as any other population sample. Mario went mansion in burbs. Eli went with a moderately sized condo overlooking manhattan. I don't think preference is universal. There are plenty of pro athletes from rural upbringings and colleges, just as there are many from more urban settings and all preferences in between. Do you think you would have had the discipline to have that wealth in your mid 20's and still be able to not only get up and do the job every day during the season but also not get suspended for the very stringent NFL conduct/substance policy? I think a whole lotta' fans would not. Most probably. In that case, if you can't use it, what is the difference if you have it or not. Might as well get what debauchery you can in the offseason away from prying, interested eyes. Kind of a no sh*t where u eat deal. Derek Rose on the other hand, he has a guaranteed contract in a league where the players are much bigger than the game so, yeah, maybe he can tear up his knee and take a couple years off to get to know the ladies of Chicago from his wonderful pad. The NFL don't work like that, Schopp. Every day may be your last in the No-Fun. One day you are LIGHTS OUT, the NFL DPOY and the next thing you know you are 27 years old, jobless and no more money coming in. Even the NHL is a rogue league when it comes to how much players can enjoy themselves and they also have guaranteed contracts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Strip clubs in Niagara Falls. I'm sure that counts Is there a weigh in? Sorry couldn't resist. It is very easy to be enamored with a city when you are in a multi million dollar apartment, that you didn't pay for. It is interesting that when some "country boy" gets drafted by a New York team the talk is always about how overwhelming it will be. My point is that big cities are great. I lived in New York for a long time, but big cities can be a pain and inconvenient, even if you have money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I get what he's saying to some degree, but if you have a winning team players will come. The 90's Bills had no trouble luring players in. Back then the Patriots were so terrible that nobody wanted anything to do with them. Boston was still Boston. Buffalo was still Buffalo. Most players want to make money and win, and everything else is a distant third. If you have millions of dollars you can find fun things to occupy your time anywhere. I agree most players probably think like this. For the partying exceptions, we aren't going to be in the running. Some guys like the South Beach scene or the L.A. vibe or whatever. I hate to say it, but Buffalo doesn't have as much to offer the young rich bachelor as most other NFL cities. But if Whaley and Marrone return the Bills to the playoffs - and manage the cap intelligently - we'll be able to successfully entice good FAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Sundays at the Snotty Fox is packed with Bills, Sabres, & the beat collection of girls in Buffalo (all the people who work in the restaurant & bar business). Just a FYI. That's allentown. That's where I said the Sabres hang. Never seen a Bill though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrags Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 That's allentown. That's where I said the Sabres hang. Never seen a Bill though. most likely Miller and Roy used to hang there ALOT!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1B4IDie Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 most likely Miller and Roy used to hang there ALOT!!! Miller always was a wet Blanket. Roy, Peters, and McKee would get loose though. Even the big goof Myers was more fun than Miller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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