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Would a Buffalo Bills Themed Convention in Downtown Buffalo Work?


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Last month, I spent a weekend downtown for a wedding which also happened to be the same weekend of the Nickel City Comic-Con.   Many of the attendees were staying at the same hotel as I was, and I surprised to see the huge line outside the Convention Center at 8 AM before the doors opened.  You can see the website below to get a flavor of the celebrities and vendors who were attending.  From what I understand the event was a big success.

http://www.nickelcitycon.com/  

 

It made me wonder why no one has put together a Bills related Comic-Con type event.  As evidenced here on this message board, there are Buffalo Bills fans both locally and all over the world.  If a promoter put together a lineup to bring together all of the Bills legends from different era's and schedule autographs signings, Q & A's, and different type of events.  IMO this is the perfect time to do a roast of someone like Marv Levy etc.  Or have a Bills Super Bowl Panel where Kelly, Thurman, Bruce, Andre Reed and whoever else rewatch game and provide commentary.  Or how about Frank Reich, Pete Metzelaars, and Andre talking about the Comeback game versus Houston?   I'm sure there's other ideas that people would come up with as well.  I think there's different ways that you can bring in media personalities to take part as well, and perhaps some members of the national media.

 

It would be a chance for Bills fans to interact and meet their favorite players, get some merchandise signed, and relive some of the great moments in team history.

 

Not to mention there are numerous sports memorabilia dealers or other companies who could serve as vendors. 

 

Is it just me or do you think that an event like this could work?   The Bills fan base is unique and I really think an event like this would go over huge.    If the Bills organization themselves were the ones putting this together - it would be huge!!!

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I think it would work. I think we should do it ourselves though. The Bills would make it too bland. We could sell them a booth. 

And we have to figure out what time of year is best for it.

We would also need somebody with some cash to front it until the profits rolled in. I would, except that I lost all of my nest egg by investing in  Meadcoin.

Edited by BadLandsMeanie
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4 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

There has to be some kind of endorsement/permission from the Bills and the NFL, right? They hold a lot of their own events already, so I'm assuming that's why something like this hasn't happened.

 

There doesn’t necessarily have to be an endorsement.  You could call it BuffaloCon, and never mention Amy trademarks.  Ideally though, it would be good if the team

was cool with it.  I’ve never seen the Bills organization hold anything like this before - outside of training camp at SJFC.  But you opportunities to interact with players is pretty limited only because of practice.  

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Interesting ideas but I must say i think the Super Bowl games(especially since we didn't win any of them) and the Comeback game have bean beaten to death already.  Not sure how much of a market there would be for those games to be rehashed yet again. I think most Bills fans are finally ready to move on from 30 years ago.

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Why not approach the Bills and have them help sponsor it at the Stadium complex during bye week? It would make it a lot more relevant. The only thing extra it could possibly require might be temporary NFTA shuttle bus routes to and from the stadium during the event. The few overnight visitors could easily be housed in nearby motel/hotel space and their shuttle service.  Between the practice facilities and other stadium facilities, it would make more sense rain or shine.  If you wanted to try to make it larger to make it more economically feasible as a sponsor, you could include the Sabres and work with the Pegulas, holding it at their downtown Sabres facilities. It would be more practical and more feasible than a stand alone event. If you come up with a viable plan and the finances, I can't believe the Pegulas would not gladly work with you on it. They could definitely find many ways to profit and benefit from it.

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17 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I kind of like it the day before the home opener. It is like homecoming week. The home opener is the game that people from around the country come in for every year. If you had the alumni back and did something like this it would be pretty cool. 

 

It’s great when we all still have hope, isn’t it? 

 

I’d prefer to make the effort of getting there for a game over a convention. You’d have to tie the two together. 

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7 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

It’s great when we all still have hope, isn’t it? 

 

I’d prefer to make the effort of getting there for a game over a convention. You’d have to tie the two together. 

Oh absolutely, no one is going to pick the convention over a game. It would have to tie together. The home opener as homecoming week would be pretty cool though.

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13 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I kind of like it the day before the home opener. It is like homecoming week. The home opener is the game that people from around the country come in for every year. If you had the alumni back and did something like this it would be pretty cool. 

Time passes on and the nostalgia for the good old SB days becomes less meaningful because a large segment of that population involved in that exciting era has passed on to another pasture. Those who have not passed have become very weathered and are less likely to attend such nostalgic festivities. The reality is that more than a generation has passed since that successful era and thus there is a smaller population of gray beards attached to  those players associated with that very memorable period. 

 

I'm less interested in looking back and more focused on watching the building of a franchise that creates its own successes and memories. A generation of fans have withered because the team was so irrelevant for so long. It's better not to look back and focus more on the future and reconnect with this younger and lost generation of fans. For me the Polian era was exciting and enjoyable. However, I have little interest in looking back. I'm now very hopeful and excited about the present and the not too distant future. 

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5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Time passes on and the nostalgia for the good old SB days becomes less meaningful because a large segment of that population involved in that exciting era has passed on to another pasture. Those who have not passed have become very weathered and are less likely to attend such nostalgic festivities. The reality is that more than a generation has passed since that successful era and thus there is a smaller population of gray beards attached to  those players associated with that very memorable period. 

 

I'm less interested in looking back and more focused on watching the building of a franchise that creates its own successes and memories. A generation of fans have withered because the team was so irrelevant for so long. It's better not to look back and focus more on the future and reconnect with this younger and lost generation of fans. For me the Polian era was exciting and enjoyable. However, I have little interest in looking back. I'm now very hopeful and excited about the present and the not too distant future. 

:( Your are 100% correct there and that one hits right in the feels

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I always have thought about the modern day marketing opportunities for older players. I wonder how much fans would pay to have a home QB like a Jim Kelly throw a staged, easy goal line chip pass to the fan at the home stadium goal line. Have former players in full uniform as extras on the defense and offense. Announcer voice would say something like “Kelly drops back, throws it, touchdown to “Joe Fan”,(inserting the buyers name). Add in sound effects, stock video of stadium fan reaction. Give them a signed DVD or a stick of the video. You could really quickly crank them out. Modern computerized editing and digitizing would make it economical, quick, easy and very realistic.

 Or even just get an agreement with the players in the video.  Have everything pre- recorded except the fan catching the ball in the endzone. Show the QB drop back, make the throw, then mix in the video made there of the fan actually catching a pass in the end zone of the stadium, along with the stadium reaction and special effects. Have the announcer voice say “Touchdown (Joe Fan)!” It would make a cool video, even if you actually could not honestly say “I caught a touchdown pass from Jim Kelly (or whoever) at “The Cap” like the first possibility”. Again the DVD could still be signed by the NFL players involved if you could arrange it. The possibilities could go way beyond just player M&G and autographs.

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9 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Time passes on and the nostalgia for the good old SB days becomes less meaningful because a large segment of that population involved in that exciting era has passed on to another pasture. Those who have not passed have become very weathered and are less likely to attend such nostalgic festivities. The reality is that more than a generation has passed since that successful era and thus there is a smaller population of gray beards attached to  those players associated with that very memorable period. 

 

I'm less interested in looking back and more focused on watching the building of a franchise that creates its own successes and memories. A generation of fans have withered because the team was so irrelevant for so long. It's better not to look back and focus more on the future and reconnect with this younger and lost generation of fans. For me the Polian era was exciting and enjoyable. However, I have little interest in looking back. I'm now very hopeful and excited about the present and the not too distant future. 

Oh I hear you. For me, it’s more about a new tradition. People have family reunions every year. Colleges have homecoming week. The Yankees have old timers day. It isn’t so much hearing Frank Reich tell the comeback story for the zillionth time as it is immortalizing these guys as permanent members of the Bills. Once you put on that Bills uniform you are forever a part of that community. The Yankees do a phenomenal job of that.  

Edited by Kirby Jackson
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2 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Oh I hear you. For me, it’s more about a new tradition. People have family reunions every year. Colleges have homecoming week. It isn’t so much hearing Frank Reich tell the comeback story for the zillionth time as it is immortalizing these guys as permanent members of the Bills. Once you put on that Bills uniform you are forever a part of that community. The Yankees do a phenomenal job of that.  

The devoted fans of Mantle, Ford, Yogi etc are long gone and have had little relevance for the fans for quite awhile. Those fans are from a bygone era. I agree with you that they are an important part of the history of that illustrious franchise but those past players mean little to this texting generation of  fans. What is generating excitement and new fans  in NY is the resurgence of success with a new generation of players. My point is that success breeds success and refreshes and invigorates the market with a new generation of fans.  

 

I don't want to come off as a grouch but I have little interest in looking back especially because the product was for so long tarnished. Bill Polian is a HOF GM. He was most responsible for creating a dynasty in our most glorious era. But when I hear him commenting on today's game he seems so out of touch. As I said before I'm excited about the now and the future. That is where my focus is directed. 

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There have been events like this, and I’ve been to them. I don’t think you’ll get the outcome you want. Why would I or anyone want to fly to Buffalo to get autographs? That’s a lot of money to fly to a dead city for a signature. The locals would eat it up tho. 

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