Casey D Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 We top the list of 40 major league cities at USA Today. Can't seem to link the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talley56 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Here it s, and they put Detroit way too high IMO. I get the Lions are a perennial disappointment but the Red Wings and Pistons of the 80s should more than make up for that. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/06/sad-depressing-miserable-sports-cities-2016-ranking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 uh oh. i posted this kind of stuff in the Cleveland winning the championship thread about how we were now going to be the top of these lists for many years and i got blasted by the homers. seems pretty obvious to me that no Bills fan should have been rooting for Cleveland because now we are the worst of the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Nah, Buffalo by their definition has one major league team. The Bills. Hockey is not included, although the Sabres suck and tanking IMO is not a way to build........ The Bills, have a rabid fanbase, like the Sabres. The Bills have sucked the entire 21 century. But try getting a walk up opening day game ticket. Pats ticket or possibly any ticket before the annual elimination game. You won't there gone and will be because Bills fans Are well Bills fans. Unswayed by decades of suck. And that means something to us. I submit teams, and city's like tampon Bay, Jackville, and the Dolphins all in the uninspiring state of Florida easily can take the spot the Bills were ranked. Unless the misery index is simply the single metric used for this journalistic masterpiece. This is click bait and a tiresome annual Ranking. I miss the Braves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 People and things can only affect you if you let them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey D Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 People and things can only affect you if you let them. No worries. It's just nice to have our suffering recognized. Badge of honor for the fan base given its loyalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) We have gone through hell, but we recently had a multi-billionaire buy both teams and pour money into the city. Its really the best its been around here in a while. Edited June 24, 2016 by TheTruthHurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 That seems to be the topic du jour. I saw a clip of some smug !@#$ on Sportscenter going on about how miserable Buffalo sports fans are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 when I see a bills or sabres hat walking the other way at the airport I'll spin around and chase them down for a high-five and lets go buff a lo wouldn't trade it for anything in the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 No worries. It's just nice to have our suffering recognized. Badge of honor for the fan base given its loyalty. You consider that nice? I consider it annoyingly smug and condescending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 I'll just say I'm very happy for Cleveland. The losing just makes the winning feel that much better, and it will come. Some day..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnzane Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 I tweeted the author, pointing out that our pro sports culture is better than Atlanta, and that with Jack and Terry this town has a lot to be excited for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) No worries. It's just nice to have our suffering recognized. Badge of honor for the fan base given its loyalty.I tend to agree. Part of being depressing is the close calls and the disappointment. It is very similar to Cleveland. When fan bases that care get to the top of the mountain it's so much sweeter (and more memorable) than when teams like the Florida Marlins win. Everyone respects our fan base. We've been as disappointed as anyone. Our letdowns havent deterred the dedication and when we get ours it will be just as nice. Edited June 24, 2016 by Kirby Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fridge Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Nah, Buffalo by their definition has one major league team. It always amazes me when people decide to create their own definitions and expect everyone to live by them. Hockey is one of the major professional sports. It's part of the big four. It may get the lowest ratings, have a terrible TV contract, but it's a major sport. Let's dispel this myth that it is not because you don't want it to be. I HATE the NHL, and the way they go about marketing and running their league but it's a major sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 It always amazes me when people decide to create their own definitions and expect everyone to live by them. Hockey is one of the major professional sports. It's part of the big four. It may get the lowest ratings, have a terrible TV contract, but it's a major sport. Let's dispel this myth that it is not because you don't want it to be. I HATE the NHL, and the way they go about marketing and running their league but it's a major sport. I would say kind of. It is a regional sport and the ratings reflect that. The Stanley Cup averaged less than 4M viewers. By comparison, it is roughly the equivalent of your average Monday Night Raw episode. That's roughly 1/3 of the people watching the Indianapolis 500. The reality is the NHL is LIGHT YEARS from the other leagues. I'm a hockey fan but they aren't on equal footing with the other 3 leagues. You can't have 10% of the people watching and consider yourself an equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Things Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Who gives a rats ass??? Let's go Buffalo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Nah, Buffalo by their definition has one major league team. The Bills. Hockey is not included, although the Sabres suck and tanking IMO is not a way to build........ The Bills, have a rabid fanbase, like the Sabres. The Bills have sucked the entire 21 century. But try getting a walk up opening day game ticket. Pats ticket or possibly any ticket before the annual elimination game. You won't there gone and will be because Bills fans Are well Bills fans. Unswayed by decades of suck. And that means something to us. I submit teams, and city's like tampon Bay, Jackville, and the Dolphins all in the uninspiring state of Florida easily can take the spot the Bills were ranked. Unless the misery index is simply the single metric used for this journalistic masterpiece. This is click bait and a tiresome annual Ranking. I miss the Braves! BPA - The Bucs won the SB in 2002, won the Stanley Cup after, were one series away from the Stanley Cup this year, went to it last year and just a few years ago went to the World Series. I'll grant you the fan base is more loyal in Buffalo, but Tampa has produced some good teams over the years. The attendance has been poor since Gruden was fired, but the Lightning have decent attendance and it's hard to maintain attendance in the Rays as so many games are during the workday, and the Trop is a big stadium. I think you'll see decent attendance this year at Bucs games as there is some excitement again in the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Finding it hard to give a flying F. WNY rules. (Though I have been told by many here that being from ROC, I don't count as a WNYer. Which is obviously ridiculous.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 BPA - The Bucs won the SB in 2002, won the Stanley Cup after, were one series away from the Stanley Cup this year, went to it last year and just a few years ago went to the World Series. I'll grant you the fan base is more loyal in Buffalo, but Tampa has produced some good teams over the years. The attendance has been poor since Gruden was fired, but the Lightning have decent attendance and it's hard to maintain attendance in the Rays as so many games are during the workday, and the Trop is a big stadium. I think you'll see decent attendance this year at Bucs games as there is some excitement again in the team. I didn't mean to put Tampa Bay teams records as being worse than Buffalo. But the nature of the demographics here, and the huge Snowbird population create a situation of a smaller less passionate/interested/seasonal fanbase. You can go to a Bucs game easily. when the Bills were Playing a few years back. It seemed like at least a third of the stadium were Bills fans. I don't think the game was close to a sellout. Unless someone is born here life long fans are hard to come by. The Rays attendence unless a powerhouse team is here is at times laughable. Day game or not. I see more people chatting someone up with a Bills/Sabres hat on than say a Bucs/Bolts. Their misery index is better than Buffalo but I see way less people that Could care less about Tampa's pro teams. Unlike WNY where the fanbase is rabid. The article seemed to only use a won loss record as the main theme in their rankings. I guess for anyone not a Bills fan it would seem fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-8 Forever? Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 well, whatever. if the Bills excel, then they'll have a 'best teams in the worst places' and the Bills will be #1 again. just let it go. there is no hope for this kind of poll. Jimmy Griffin and his abysmal handling of the Blizzard of '77 permanently entrenched WNY's national "suck" image and ensured WNY is the national media's example #1 of winter in the US. what's done is done. go bills. it's just us guys. no one else will support the Bills or the area. don't expect the love anytime soon. go bills. go win some games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 why in the World would New York not be near the bottom of the list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 Oh good, ESPN think we are only the 2nd most miserable. Poor San Diego. How will they survive with their perfect weather and fish tacos at the beach? http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/16472883/sports-misery-index-cleveland-passes-crown-most-tortured-fans-san-diego-buffalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I didn't mean to put Tampa Bay teams records as being worse than Buffalo. But the nature of the demographics here, and the huge Snowbird population create a situation of a smaller less passionate/interested/seasonal fanbase. You can go to a Bucs game easily. when the Bills were Playing a few years back. It seemed like at least a third of the stadium were Bills fans. I don't think the game was close to a sellout. Unless someone is born here life long fans are hard to come by. The Rays attendence unless a powerhouse team is here is at times laughable. Day game or not. I see more people chatting someone up with a Bills/Sabres hat on than say a Bucs/Bolts. Their misery index is better than Buffalo but I see way less people that Could care less about Tampa's pro teams. Unlike WNY where the fanbase is rabid. The article seemed to only use a won loss record as the main theme in their rankings. I guess for anyone not a Bills fan it would seem fair. BOA - I appreciate the clarification. A couple of points. It's a misnomer to think Tampa has a lot of snowbirds. It's one of the industrial cities in FL and most people in the city of Tampa and suburbs live here 12 months a year. Snowbirds are more so in Pinellas County which is everything between Clearwater to St. Petersburg. When I moved here 25 years ago, it seemed a ton of people were from somewhere else. Now there is a much more mature population where people have lived in Tampa for many years. There are a ton of Lightning fans here. I think they've gained such a nice fan base because they've had a good product for quite some time. The Bucs have sucked for 6 years, and prior to that Gruden was up and down. People glorify that guy, but he would go 11-5 one year, and 5-11 the next year. That went on from 2002 when they won the SB to 2010. It's funny as Ray Jay stadium had a waiting list of over 10,000 people for season tickets and every game sold out until the crash of 2008. It was hard to get tickets from 1996-2008. Since then, the stadium has been half empty. What fills the stadium these last few years are the northern teams fans who use the game as a reason for a vacation. The Rays are different. They've had good teams, but have ok attendance. It is too big of a stadium for this city. They get great attendance for the Yankees and Red Sox fans as it fills up with those fans. My point before was also you'll probably see an uptick in ticket sales this year as there is some genuine excitement Tampa might put together a much better product. People have gotten behind Winston as a franchise QB, McCoy, and David are loved down here. They feel they had a good draft although the kicker pick was not well received in Tampa at all. I guess to your point, it is very hard to compare Bills fans to many cities as I believe we have some of the most loyal rabid fans in the US. I call into NFLR quite a bit, and those analysts always seem to say Packers, Chiefs, Bills, and Steelers are some of the best fans in the NFL. Interestingly, they also comment how loyal Browns fans are even though they have such a bad team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I would say kind of. It is a regional sport and the ratings reflect that. The Stanley Cup averaged less than 4M viewers. By comparison, it is roughly the equivalent of your average Monday Night Raw episode. That's roughly 1/3 of the people watching the Indianapolis 500. The reality is the NHL is LIGHT YEARS from the other leagues. I'm a hockey fan but they aren't on equal footing with the other 3 leagues. You can't have 10% of the people watching and consider yourself an equal. Rather regional perspective, Kirbs. On the global front, its absolutely a major sport. Possibly 2nd only to soccer or 3rd to basketball. Can't speak for the ice-less, US South, but they're missing a fantastic game. I agree, the NHL is a very poorly run Pro Sport League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 Rather regional perspective, Kirbs. On the global front, its absolutely a major sport. Possibly 2nd only to soccer or 3rd to basketball. Can't speak for the ice-less, US South, but they're missing a fantastic game. I agree, the NHL is a very poorly run Pro Sport League. I was speaking strictly domestically (probably should have clarified that). There are pockets in Eastern Europe where it is a major game. Baseball has the islands and into South America. Football really is North America but it is growing in Europe. Soccer is 1st, basketball 2nd because those are worldwide games. They are played on every continent and in some of the larger countries in the world (i.e. China, India, etc..). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaccof Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 (edited) I had my truck aligned this morning and my Bills front plate was hanging by a thread due to a recent run in with something I ran over....when I came to pick up the truck I started talking football with the shop manager and it was then that he mentioned he fixed my Bills plate "because I felt bad for you being a Bills fan....." so it's finally paid off - being a Bills fan that is..... Edited June 26, 2016 by chaccof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 I had my truck aligned this morning and my Bills front plate was hanging by a thread due to a recent run in with something I ran overl....when I came to pick up the truck I started talking football with the shop manager and it was then that he mentioned he fixed my Bills plate "because I felt bad for you being a Bills fan....." so it's finally paid off - being a Bills fan that is..... Where do you live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 Depressed? Hardly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickelCity Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 We are the most depressing sports town. Sorry some take that hard. It is what it is, but long suffering sports towns yield great fan bases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaccof Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Where do you live? Richmond, VA - Redskins land.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 People and things can only affect you if you let them. I agree. That's why I stand in front of speeding dump trucks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 BOA - I appreciate the clarification. A couple of points. It's a misnomer to think Tampa has a lot of snowbirds. It's one of the industrial cities in FL and most people in the city of Tampa and suburbs live here 12 months a year. Snowbirds are more so in Pinellas County which is everything between Clearwater to St. Petersburg. When I moved here 25 years ago, it seemed a ton of people were from somewhere else. Now there is a much more mature population where people have lived in Tampa for many years. There are a ton of Lightning fans here. I think they've gained such a nice fan base because they've had a good product for quite some time. The Bucs have sucked for 6 years, and prior to that Gruden was up and down. People glorify that guy, but he would go 11-5 one year, and 5-11 the next year. That went on from 2002 when they won the SB to 2010. It's funny as Ray Jay stadium had a waiting list of over 10,000 people for season tickets and every game sold out until the crash of 2008. It was hard to get tickets from 1996-2008. Since then, the stadium has been half empty. What fills the stadium these last few years are the northern teams fans who use the game as a reason for a vacation. The Rays are different. They've had good teams, but have ok attendance. It is too big of a stadium for this city. They get great attendance for the Yankees and Red Sox fans as it fills up with those fans. My point before was also you'll probably see an uptick in ticket sales this year as there is some genuine excitement Tampa might put together a much better product. People have gotten behind Winston as a franchise QB, McCoy, and David are loved down here. They feel they had a good draft although the kicker pick was not well received in Tampa at all. I guess to your point, it is very hard to compare Bills fans to many cities as I believe we have some of the most loyal rabid fans in the US. I call into NFLR quite a bit, and those analysts always seem to say Packers, Chiefs, Bills, and Steelers are some of the best fans in the NFL. Interestingly, they also comment how loyal Browns fans are even though they have such a bad team. Well the way you break out Pinellis County from Tampa is pretty interesting and correct in terms of snowbirds, etc. Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Thanks bud. I really wasn't trying to argue, just know this area as well as Buffalo. I love both places. Buffalo will always be home in my heart, but absolutely love Tampa. Nice people, great weather, a solid economy, and a lot to do. The difference really lies in so many dads and moms came from up north somewhere (I'm 48 so people in my generation) so they have their childhood team, and then they have their Tampa teams. The other part of this area as far as sports fans is college. College rules down here. People are nuts about the Gators, Seminoles, Hurricanes, and so on. I can't tell you how many people have season tickets to these teams and drive up every weekend for the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRQ_BillsFan Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) I've lived near Tampa for 25-30 years now and could give a rats @ss about any of thier teams. I've gone to some games, usually Bills and Sabres but others as well. The day they announced that Pegula was buying the team was like winning the Super Bowl to me. So my misery clock started ticking over at that point. Something only a Bills fan could understand, so I wouldn't expect the national media to pick up on it. Edited June 26, 2016 by SRQ_BillsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 I'm more depressed about moving away from SRQ after 18 years than my sports teams, and that's saying something! Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRQ_BillsFan Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 How long ago was that? Love the area. Growin like crazy out east. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) Moved there in '93 and moved to Atlanta 5 years ago for work. Still get back often as we have a place there my mom lives in. Just not often enough! I left Buffalo for college at 17, so I lived in Sarasota longer than any other place in my life. I've learned to just consider myself lucky for that. Edited June 27, 2016 by Augie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 I don't think we are depressed anymore since the Pegulas adopted us. We rich now. Anything is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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