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Poll: More Bills Fans In Syracuse Than Any Other Team


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Surprised to see this. Growing up in CNY, it always seemed pretty bandwagon-y for pro sports. The Bills were definitely tops in the 90s, but Giants fans have surged in the last decade or so. You'll definitely see a lot of Packers and Steelers around Syracuse too. We also had quite a few Eagles fans around the time of their success in the early to mid-2000s. I can remember some of the Eagles fans I talked to claimed McNabb (former Syracuse QB, of course) was a major reason for their fandom.

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Growing up in Buffalo, I didn't recall any huge MLB following. Mets fans probably outnumbered Yankees fans, but baseball fans were all over the place. I remember visiting one time in the late 90s and all of a sudden everyone was a Yankees fan. Where'd that come from? Fans are front-runners ... it takes great discipline to suffer with the Bills even though (like me) you've been gone for 35 years ...

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Growing up near Syracuse all I can say is that I personally only knew a few Bills fans. I knew far more Giants fans, and then all the bandwagon fans of other NFL franchises. Syracuse being an NFL town is the most accurate statement in that article.

My family is from Buffalo, and I went there quite often which explained my devotion to the team. Even this article claims that the Giants get more mentions on Facebook from Syracuse area people than the Bills do. I think that's a more accurate representation than the poll. I've lived outside of Rochester as well, and until you actually get into Rochester, Bills fans are few and far between as well. Go just a few miles east of Metro Rochester and for the most the only true Bills fans you meet are people who came from Buffalo. No one from Syracuse or CNY without Buffalo roots are going to get attached to this team until they win. For the last 15 years I've been hearing it from Giants,Cowboys,and Patriots fans how my team stinks. That's what you get when you live in CNY.

Imo the Buffalo area is the only true Bills country. We have fans other places, but to claim them as Bills country would be false. Russ should worry about winning, then the marketing will follow. In many ways I find Syracuse to be a disappointment, no matter how much marketing is done. Syracuse has been in the Bills television market for as long as I can remember, the Bills are jammed down their throats every week. We haven't been a winning team, hence the lack of fans. Too many bandwagon fans. That's why Jets fans are a rarer breed than Giants fans. Same distance from Syracuse as the author mentions, but the Giants have won Super Bowls. That's how the Syracuse markets works for the most part. Everyone from Syracuse to Buffalo would be onboard if we made a run. Great article, Thanks for posting. Hopefully it is the case now.

Edited by DriveFor1Outta5
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I'm just saying, "more Bills fans in SYR than any other team" could also mean "more non-Bills fans than Bills fans."

That sounds about right from my experience living in CNY too. Syracuse is over 2 hours from Buffalo, and for many people with no Buffalo ties that is a really long ways. Many people don't identify with the Bills as being the local team. Others do because the Bills are on TV in Syracuse. However, I think it is just far enough away that a lot of NFL fans just go with the winning teams. Edited by DriveFor1Outta5
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My experience in Syracuse and Utica indicates that for the NY/NJ teams the Giants have the most fans by far, the Bills are second, and the Jets are third. I also think that there are just about as many fans of other "popular" teams (GB, Dallas, NE, etc.) than there are fans of the Bills or Jets.

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Syracuse is primarily a SU football/college football town.

 

When it comes to the NFL If the Buffalo Bills are playing well you find wall-to-wall Buffalo Bills fans around here in Syracuse. The local sports media in Syracuse primarily covers the Buffalo Bills/Buffalo Sabres over any other professional sports teams.

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Here's another Buffalo Bills news article by Syracuse Post-Standard (Syracuse.com) reporter Matthew Fairburn:

 

http://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2015/10/rex_ryan_having_buffalo_bills_do_pushups_for_penalties_in_practice.html#incart_river_home

 

Brent Axe also covers the Buffalo Bills here in Syracuse.

 

I've said before and I'll say it again, Buffalo Bills fans here in Syracuse, New York are the most knowledgeable, smartest, most NFL aware, non-rose colored glasses wearing Buffalo Bills fans there are.

 

Whether it's pre-season or during the regular season, if you want to know how the Buffalo Bills are doing, just ask a Bills fan from Syracuse, New York.

 

We know the Buffalo Bills better than anyone in Buffalo or Rochester or anywhere else!!

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http://www.syracuse.com/axeman/index.ssf/2015/10/is_syracuse_a_bills_or_a_giants_town_hint_its_neither.html

 

You are a day trip away from Buffalo (Bills), New Jersey (Giants and Jets), Cincinnati (Bengals), Cleveland (Browns), Foxborough (Patriots), Philadelphia (Eagles) and Pittsburgh (Steelers) if you want to see a game live or even get season tickets to a few of those choices.

 

idiot writer forgot about Detroit, Baltimore, and DC.....yet mentions Cincinnati. The other cities are much closer....geez

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