The Myth of Blue Collar Buffalo and the Josh Allen "Fit"

[WickedGame]

Allow me to preface this post with a tip of the hat to all hard-working Western New Yorkers (and Upstate New Yorkers, in general) from all walks of life. I'm proud to have grown up in Upstate NY (born in N.T., grew up in Syracuse), and I'm equally proud (yes, equally) of my blue collar father, stay-at-home mother, and my own "white collar"(ish) career.

 

However, I've grown weary of the lazy stereotyping of Buffalo as a "blue collar town." Yes, WNY and CNY have a history built on hard-working, industrial labor. Manufacturing and farming were once the powerful engines that fueled the growth of our communities. But while those industries and jobs still exist, and still play important roles in our economies and our culture, they're no longer the defining industries of our region.

 

Consider these facts:

 

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest employer by industry is healthcare and social services (18.6% of jobs); manufacturing accounts for just 7.4% of jobs. In fact, even if you add the jobs from construction (3.6% of jobs) and transportation/warehousing (4.2% of jobs), the combined jobs from those industries still don't equal the jobs impact of healthcare (Side note: I'm not implying healthcare employees aren't hardworking...simply that the prototype of a lunch-pail-carrying, boots-wearing, calloused-hands worker isn't an accurate representation of most Buffalonians).
   
• Looking again at industries, some of the largest employers are educational services (9.5% of jobs) and professional/scientific/technology services (7% of jobs).
   
• By occupation, the highest number of people in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls region are in office/administrative support roles (16.3 of each 100 jobs); sales jobs are next (10.5% of jobs), followed by food service roles (9.8%) and education/training/library roles (7.5%). Manufacturing production jobs are the 6th most common occupation (6.4%); Farming/agriculture jobs are 21st on the list.

 

I share this just to point out the absurdity of the "Josh Allen is a blue collar guy...a farm boy...he's a perfect fit for Buffalo" arguments. They have little basis in fact...just clinging to outdated preconceptions of what Buffalo once was. If a city's narrowly defined "culture" and its "fit" for a player had any significance, we'd have to let go of half the roster.

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by WickedGame

[Carter]

Buffalo was blue collar when it actually had factory jobs. Now their color is rusted just like the factories.  

 

Buffalo is a no collar town or a any collar you can get town because the economy is terrible and has been for 2 generations. That’s on the locals. Where is your pride of your city? Too much flouride in the water, or just lazy? 

 

 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, Carter said:

Buffalo was blue collar when it actually had factory jobs. Now their color is rusted just like the factories.  

 

Buffalo is a no collar town or a any collar you can get town because the economy is terrible and has been for 2 generations. That’s on the locals. Where is your pride of your city? Too much flouride in the water, or just lazy? 

 

 

 

Now that is horseshit... 

 

there are tons of very very successful people in Buffalo and the city becoming more downtrodden over 50 years is far from their fault

 

how about all of the politicians and scumbags that have stolen from us...

 

yea Buffalo going down hill is totally all the citizens faults. Joke

[BillsFan4]

Good post Wicked.

 

Honestly, I could are less about blue collar or white collar or any of that crap. 

 

Just give me the best QB on the field, who's going to give the Bills the best chance to win every Sunday.

 

Thats the thing - if a QB wins a lot, nobody is going to care about much else.

Everyone loves a winner. 

[Misterbluesky]

Just now, Carter said:

Buffalo was blue collar when it actually had factory jobs. Now their color is rusted just like the factories.  

 

Buffalo is a no collar town or a any collar you can get town because the economy is terrible and has been for 2 generations. That’s on the locals. Where is your pride of your city? Too much flouride in the water, or just lazy? 

 

 

Speaking of factory jobs,the GM Tonawanda Engine Plants just had a massive expansion take place...that's just one example.Get your facts straight...you're 0-2 today.

Just now, Buffalo716 said:

 

Now that is horseshit... 

 

there are tons of very very successful people in Buffalo and the city becoming more downtrodden over 50 years is far from their fault

 

how about all of the politicians and scumbags that have stolen from us...

 

yea Buffalo going down hill is totally all the citizens faults. Joke

The guy is a obvious troll.

[BillsFan4]

Just now, Misterbluesky said:

Speaking of factory jobs,the GM Tonawanda Engine Plants just had a massive expansion take place...that's just one example.Get your facts straight...you're 0-2 today.

This is what I was thinking. 

 

Buffalo's economy is doing much better than it has in quite a long time (since the mid 90's would be my guess). 

It has been continually growing in recent years. 

 

Buffalo is on the rebound! 

Edited April 18, 2018 by BillsFan4

[KDIGGZ]

I'm definitely not blue collar. Anyone that thinks Buffalo is blue collar hasnt visited in the past 5 yrs. It's all yuppies. Houses are expensive in the city. Not many traditional blue collar workers can afford houses near Elmwood

Edited April 18, 2018 by kdiggz

[WickedGame]

7 minutes ago, Carter said:

Buffalo was blue collar when it actually had factory jobs. Now their color is rusted just like the factories.  

 

Buffalo is a no collar town or a any collar you can get town because the economy is terrible and has been for 2 generations. That’s on the locals. Where is your pride of your city? Too much flouride in the water, or just lazy? 

 

 

 

Being proud of where I'm from and pointing out the short-sidedness in how others label us aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, you might say they kinda go together. 

[NewEraBills]

When people talk about blue collar and the Bills I think the phrase has a dual meaning.  Some are talking about the town maybe misguidedly, but I think when it comes to the Bills specifically, they are talking about Sean McDermott and the type of guys that he likes on his team.  So Blue Collar in this sense is a type of mentality.  Allen fits the latter, maybe not the former.

Edited April 18, 2018 by NewEraBills

[BuffaloBillyG]

To me the term "blue collar" means something completely different than it did years ago. 

 

Today while a good amount of people have better paying jobs I believe we still have a 'blue collar mentality". The hard work, the mental toughness it takes to live in an area that you don't see the sun for 8 months a year. Loyalty and dependability. Doesn't matter what your actual job is. It's an attitude. It's seeing a guy you don't know at a tailgate and inviting him to have a beer, grab a plate and relax. It's doing things like donating THOUSANDS of dollars to the charity of a guys charity because he helped our team in some way. It's values. Integrity.

 

[Southern Bills Fan]

Whenever I go back to visit family in Western NY iI'm always surprised at the economic complaints as they relate to politics. All I hear is the complaints about politicians who keep raising taxes and run off businesses and manufacturers, but you keep voting for the same people, who promised to raise taxes and punish businesses and manufacturers. 

[bills_fan]

TBH, todays Buffalo is far more vibrant and exciting than it was 20-30 years ago.  Huge improvements have been made and downtown by the waterfront looks fantastic.  Much credit is due the Pegulas.  I took some time to drive around the city when I was there last August and again in March.  Very impressive from what I remembered.

[4_kidd_4]

Blame NYS for the WNY economy. 

 

Look no further than what could be a potential gem in Niagara Falls. State funnels everyone into their state park, keeps the parking money and angles every other dollar to Delaware North concessions on Goat Island. The City of NF be damned in their eyes. And that’s just one shining example.

 

Don’t blame the locals. Blame Albany.

[Misterbluesky]

5 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Blame NYS for the WNY economy. 

 

Look no further than what could be a potential gem in Niagara Falls. State funnels everyone into their state park, keeps the parking money and angles every other dollar to Delaware North concessions on Goat Island. The City of NF be damned in their eyes. And that’s just one shining example.

 

Don’t blame the locals. Blame Albany.

On the flipside,nearly everything in Niagara Falls,outside of the state park,is run by corrupt politians,native americans (casino) and organized crime.I don't see that area ever becoming as plentiful as it could be...at least not in my lifetime.

[kota]

Why does it matter? 

[4_kidd_4]

8 minutes ago, Misterbluesky said:

On the flipside,nearly everything in Niagara Falls,outside of the state park,is run by corrupt politians,native americans (casino) and organized crime.I don't see that area ever becoming as plentiful as it could be...at least not in my lifetime.

 

Oh I can’t disagree here whatsoever, especially the current mayor who is a lapdog for Cuomo. It’s a wide variety of knuckleheads contributing to the hot mess.

 

But as far as the Casino goes, Mayor Elia was essentially told to shut up and take her medicine by Gov Pataki. She was anti-casino and got railroaded by the state to give up the land. Terrible.

 

There’s also Howard Millstein and his sham development group sitting on prime land and properties for decades now. Yanno, the same Howard Millstien that was chairman of the NYS Thruway Authority. 

 

What a shame.

 

I do see a small spark in the Falls though, something to be said for the recent hotel development and the fact that big investors are starting to plant flags there(Paladino/Ellicott, Hamister, Savarino). It’s a start.

[Lurker]

32 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Blame NYS for the WNY economy. 

 

Look no further than what could be a potential gem in Niagara Falls. State funnels everyone into their state park, keeps the parking money and angles every other dollar to Delaware North concessions on Goat Island. The City of NF be damned in their eyes. And that’s just one shining example.

 

Don’t blame the locals. Blame Albany.

 

Given the political landscape in NF, I'd say that's a wise strategy.    Niagara Falls leadership has been a corrupt cluster**** for over 50 years and they have nobody to blame but themselves for the state of the city...

[4_kidd_4]

14 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

Given the political landscape in NF, I'd say that's a wise strategy.    Niagara Falls leadership has been a corrupt cluster**** for over 50 years and they have nobody to blame but themselves for the state of the city...

 

Like I already said, plenty of layers to this mess, no one here is letting NF politics itself off the hook.

 

But it’s a chicken/egg type of thing imo. The state is certainly complacent with the infighting, it takes the focus off of them.

 

I’m not saying I have an outright solution. I’m saying you have to start peeling layers one at a time to get to the core of the problem. Removing the NYS “overlord” status would be a good start.

 

For example, why was casino cash going through the state in the first place? Why do they keep 75% of the cut and NF gets 25%? When the Senecas recently said no more cash to the state, but we’ll negotiate with the local municipalities, Dyster essentially turtled and deferred back to the state, while infrastructure that absolutely needs those funds continues to crumble. 

 

Power Authority(state) won’t pay their fair cut to local municipalities  either.

 

It’s a shame. 

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, Carter said:

Buffalo was blue collar when it actually had factory jobs. Now their color is rusted just like the factories.  

 

Buffalo is a no collar town or a any collar you can get town because the economy is terrible and has been for 2 generations. That’s on the locals. Where is your pride of your city? Too much flouride in the water, or just lazy? 

 

 

 

It seems to me that your bitter little rant encompasses the typical blue collar lament wailed by individuals who ...

• haven't lived in Buffalo for a while or live in one of the backward neighborhoods still stuck in a time-warp because the residents refuse to accept change
• have never lived in Buffalo and get all their info about what's going on here from their grandfathers and their retired cronies who all live in Florida
• are under-educated individuals with limited academic credentials and/or no or outdated job skills
• refuse to help themselves by going back to school to make up for their deficient educations or job skills
• want to be able to do mindless assembly line jobs that pay well and then retire with comfy pensions like their fathers and grandfathers did
• are embittered because they think people in administrative, educational, medical, managerial jobs are overpaid and consider only blue collar work to be "real work"
• are embittered because they don't like technological and social change
• are embittered old fogeys who think the "good old days" were so much better because white American males didn't have to compete with or "kowtow" to women, gays, Blacks, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, and numerous other "foreigners" like they do today.

Buffalo has changed tremendously in the last decade.  It's not the same city that it was even in 2005 or 2006.  A lot of new people have moved in who aren't weighed down with the baggage of the past, and they're turning the city around ... and a lot of locals who aren't prepared to board the new fast moving train don't like it much.  I suspect you and yours are among them.

Edited April 18, 2018 by SoTier

[4_kidd_4]

Yeah anyone that questions Buffalonians’ “pride” is certainly trolling.

 

Buffalove is real, and it’s only getting stronger.

[buffaloboyinATL]

To me, "blue collar" is a midset, not necessarily the jobs that people do in a given community. Buffalo always had a blue collar mentality when I grew up there and as far as I can tell, whenever I visit, it still does.

Edited April 18, 2018 by buffaloboyinATL

[greeneblitz]

This thread is dumb, however "blue collar" is a value system, not nessesarily a state of economics, and yes we have blue collar values and are a Blue collar town, this is a big reason why a arrogant aithiest rich kid like Josh Rosen doesn't fit with our community nor in our locker room, he's the anti Jim Kelly, who's come to symbolize what a great QB is. 

[4_kidd_4]

3 minutes ago, buffaloboyinATL said:

To me, "blue colla"r is a midset, not necessarily the jobs that people do in a given community. Buffalo always had a blue collar mentality when I grew up there and as far as I can tell, whenever I visit, it still does.

 

Was just about to chime in on this, you nailed it.

 

I hold onto my blue collar roots. My grandfathers, dad and uncles ALL worked their asses off in plants. I am the first professional in my family that got a degree and a job. But you better believe I hold onto the same work ethic and the same “realness” that the men in my family exemplified for generations before me.

[buffaloboyinATL]

4 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Was just about to chime in on this, you nailed it.

 

I hold onto my blue collar roots. My grandfathers, dad and uncles ALL worked their asses off in plants. I am the first professional in my family that got a degree and a job. But you better believe I hold onto the same work ethic and the same “realness” that the men in my family exemplified for generations before me.

You said it even better. That work ethic, among other things, is what "blue collar" means to me. And yes, Allen is more likely to fit with that mentality than Rosen, for example, but I am sure the community will embrace anyone that the team drafts to lead this franchise.

Edited April 18, 2018 by buffaloboyinATL

[stony]

People say that City Hall finally is helping spur downtown development.  I always laugh at this.  One of the reasons TP gets a free pass from me is his willingness to put his money where is mouth is.  The "plant sod in a vacant lot to make it look better" story is a reminder Buffalo politics are still lacking in sanity.

[TheElectricCompany]

What's a "blue collar" player anyway?  A big Eastern European brute who lumbers around the field, isn't particularly refined, but they bring their lunch pail and a "Can do!" attitude to work every day? I'd rather just take talented players and let the sports radio guys worry about the rest. If OBD wants a big arm, big bodied, smart player with tremendous upside, they'll pick Allen, period.  

 

If this is just a thread to whine about Buffalo, I've got my opinions. I did leave and don't intend to return, so you can put the pieces together 

Edited April 18, 2018 by TheElectricCompany

[Tenhigh]

36 minutes ago, greeneblitz said:

This thread is dumb, however "blue collar" is a value system, not nessesarily a state of economics, and yes we have blue collar values and are a Blue collar town, this is a big reason why a arrogant aithiest rich kid like Josh Rosen doesn't fit with our community nor in our locker room, he's the anti Jim Kelly, who's come to symbolize what a great QB is. 

Ah, Jim Kelly wasn't exactly a fit with out city when he was drafted, either.  Seems he was more of a Houston guy....

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

44 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Was just about to chime in on this, you nailed it.

 

I hold onto my blue collar roots. My grandfathers, dad and uncles ALL worked their asses off in plants. I am the first professional in my family that got a degree and a job. But you better believe I hold onto the same work ethic and the same “realness” that the men in my family exemplified for generations before me.

 

Thats what blue collar means.  The roots of the city and where Buffalonians came from.

 

My father was technically a white collared engineer and worked his way through the mgmt ranks- did well. But did his own yard work, worked on his own cars and house and scrimped and saved to build a better future for the family. Worked his tail off would do anything for his neighbors. 

 

Blue collar to me is exemplified by that massive ice storm that came through and decimated the region a decade or so ago- people grabbed their chainsaws and axes and got to work cleaning up the joint instead of waiting around for someone to rescue them. 

 

There isn’t really such thing as a “manufacturing city” in the United States anymore, maybe Detroit or Huntsville...  bet even there it way different now.  

 

But those blue collar values I’m sure are still there as most of the folks that live there had generations of Buffalonians preceding them.

 

I wouldn’t move back there ever, but I get why people stay and/or return 

[SouthNYfan]

3 hours ago, kdiggz said:

I'm definitely not blue collar. Anyone that thinks Buffalo is blue collar hasnt visited in the past 5 yrs. It's all yuppies. Houses are expensive in the city. Not many traditional blue collar workers can afford houses near Elmwood

 

Shutup hipster.

(Jk it was just an easy one)

51 minutes ago, greeneblitz said:

This thread is dumb, however "blue collar" is a value system, not nessesarily a state of economics, and yes we have blue collar values and are a Blue collar town, this is a big reason why a arrogant aithiest rich kid like Josh Rosen doesn't fit with our community nor in our locker room, he's the anti Jim Kelly, who's come to symbolize what a great QB is. 

 

14 minutes ago, Tenhigh said:

Ah, Jim Kelly wasn't exactly a fit with out city when he was drafted, either.  Seems he was more of a Houston guy....

 

Beat be to it tenhigh.

People love to preach revisionist history.

Kelly was a sunglasses wearing, beach loving, arrogant punk when he was drafted.

He went to the USFL to avoid Buffalo.

He admitted publicly that he didn't want to go to Buffalo, it was last on his list.

He said he cried in sorrow when they drafted him.

Did he come to love the city?

Yes he did.

 

Rosen is Jewish, but identified as "kind of an atheist" in high school.

Who cares?

I didn't know this was the Christian Football League.

 

 

[DriveFor1Outta5]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

It seems to me that your bitter little rant encompasses the typical blue collar lament wailed by individuals who ...

• haven't lived in Buffalo for a while or live in one of the backward neighborhoods still stuck in a time-warp because the residents refuse to accept change
• have never lived in Buffalo and get all their info about what's going on here from their grandfathers and their retired cronies who all live in Florida
• are under-educated individuals with limited academic credentials and/or no or outdated job skills
• refuse to help themselves by going back to school to make up for their deficient educations or job skills
• want to be able to do mindless assembly line jobs that pay well and then retire with comfy pensions like their fathers and grandfathers did
• are embittered because they think people in administrative, educational, medical, managerial jobs are overpaid and consider only blue collar work to be "real work"
• are embittered because they don't like technological and social change
• are embittered old fogeys who think the "good old days" were so much better because white American males didn't have to compete with or "kowtow" to women, gays, Blacks, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, and numerous other "foreigners" like they do today.

Buffalo has changed tremendously in the last decade.  It's not the same city that it was even in 2005 or 2006.  A lot of new people have moved in who aren't weighed down with the baggage of the past, and they're turning the city around ... and a lot of locals who aren't prepared to board the new fast moving train don't like it much.  I suspect you and yours are among them.

How elitist ? You must be in the SoTier as research for your sociology dissertation. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by DriveFor1Outta5

[Carter]

All I see is a lot of grasping at straws and excuses.  

 

Went to ub for undergrad. After graduation, I Immediately moved away due to the economy. Found a well paying job in San Diego and was fortunate to buy a house here mortgage free and capped at 1% property tax. So my house, I’m paying just over 10k in taxes a year. In WNY that tax liability would be 40k and unaffordable. 

 

Blue Collar does not mean poor, classless and easily influenced.

 

In this city we put our tax dollars to important positive  things. We hold our politicians accountable and we grow our city to make it a better place for our Children, the future. 

 

What happened in Buffalo? No pride for the future. No pride for the kids. 

 

Trust me, the grass IS greener. 

 

Take the RISK to make a CHANGE. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by Carter

[4_kidd_4]

Ah yes, the classic “I left and everyone that stayed behind is a rube” hot take. Sizzle sizzle.

[C.Biscuit97]

1 hour ago, Tenhigh said:

Ah, Jim Kelly wasn't exactly a fit with out city when he was drafted, either.  Seems he was more of a Houston guy....

It’s hilarious that a guy from small town Pennsylvania thought he was too good for Buffalo.

 

anyways, the term BLUE collar is so outdated and it kinda comes out like an insult when people talk about Buffalo.  Like people from Buffalo are simpletons who just fling ? at each other.  Buffalo is in the best shape it’s ever been in my lifetime (Mayor Urkel!) and is on the rise.  Now if only if they can get Cali’s weather (and some of their women).

[DriveFor1Outta5]

30 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

It’s hilarious that a guy from small town Pennsylvania thought he was too good for Buffalo.

 

anyways, the term BLUE collar is so outdated and it kinda comes out like an insult when people talk about Buffalo.  Like people from Buffalo are simpletons who just fling ? at each other.  Buffalo is in the best shape it’s ever been in my lifetime (Mayor Urkel!) and is on the rise.  Now if only if they can get Cali’s weather (and some of their women).

Buffalo has no need for Cali’s women, they would just need their plastic surgeons. 

[SoTier]

13 hours ago, DriveFor1Outta5 said:

How elitist ? You must be in the SoTier as research for your sociology dissertation. 

 

Dude, I wrote my research in American history so long ago that you were probably weren't even a sparkle in your parents' eyes at the time but that's neither here nor there. 

 

There is nothing particularly "elitist" about getting off your ass and getting a welding certificate or nursing degree rather than perpetually whining about how "there are no jobs in Buffalo" or "there are no jobs in WNY".  There are plenty of jobs in and around the city and around WNY, although not so many for the unskilled and poorly educated because a lot of those jobs have been replaced by computer-controlled/assisted technology.  That's a fact of modern economic life throughout the country, not just in NYS.  

[LeGOATski]

Yeah, I'll be glad when the term "blue collar" is never mentioned again in regards to NFL prospects.

 

It's one of the dumbest cliches.

[SouthNYfan]

13 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

Yeah, I'll be glad when the term "blue collar" is never mentioned again in regards to NFL prospects.

 

It's one of the dumbest cliches.

 

I think it's a real thing.

It's a huge issue and potential bad news if a guy hates the city that drafts him, or doesn't fit well in the local scene.

Sometimes guys just don't "click" with a city.

 

My problem with using it against a prospect/using it during scouting is this:

There is NO WAY to know whether a guy will "fit" in with a city and it's culture.

You can have a guy who looks like he will be a perfect fit, and he never finds his footing, and it's a miserable pairing.

You can also have a guy who publicly says he doesn't want to be there (Jim Kelly) then winds up embracing it, and being the epitome of the team and city.

 

Don't pass of talent because you think a guy is a poor fit with the culture of the city.

Don't reach for a guy just because you think he'll be a cool guy to have a beer with in the bar.

 

[TheElectricCompany]

1 hour ago, SouthNYfan said:

Don't reach for a guy just because you think he'll be a cool guy to have a beer with in the bar.

 

 

Buffalo has no need for Cali’s women, they would just need their plastic surgeons. 

Wrong. Please try again. 

Edited April 19, 2018 by TheElectricCompany

[DriveFor1Outta5]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

Dude, I wrote my research in American history so long ago that you were probably weren't even a sparkle in your parents' eyes at the time but that's neither here nor there. 

 

There is nothing particularly "elitist" about getting off your ass and getting a welding certificate or nursing degree rather than perpetually whining about how "there are no jobs in Buffalo" or "there are no jobs in WNY".  There are plenty of jobs in and around the city and around WNY, although not so many for the unskilled and poorly educated because a lot of those jobs have been replaced by computer-controlled/assisted technology.  That's a fact of modern economic life throughout the country, not just in NYS.  

True, but welders and nurses are blue collar workers. Ironic that you use them as an example while stating that blue calling workers rarely exist, and you call them ignorant. I’m not trying to discount your opinion or be abrasive. I just felt the need to point out that you talking about a class below what’s considering blue collar. The idea there are few blue collar workers remaining is a joke. We will need truckers, nurses, welders, construction workers, plumbers, etc well into the future. It seems trendy to say that blue collar work is dead (when it really isn’t), and that everyone will need to become a computer guy. Politicians have already paid the price for discounting and diminishing the power of blue collar Americans. 

13 minutes ago, TheElectricCompany said:

 

Wrong. Please try again. 

Believe what you want. Most Hollywood actresses  look like rural Wal Mart shoppers without their makeup and plastic surgery imo. 

Edited April 19, 2018 by DriveFor1Outta5

[TheElectricCompany]

14 minutes ago, DriveFor1Outta5 said:

Believe what you want. Most Hollywood actresses  look like rural Wal Mart shoppers without their makeup and plastic surgery imo. 

 

Hollywood actresses are not Cali women.

I'm thinking about the babes at the beach in Del Mar or Santa Monica, or the startup chick in San Francisco.