The Region Fielding Winners

[Billsfed1]

Was so torn last Sunday.  Ended up crossing the border and going to our 1 game of the year (maybe seasons next year, prices are crazy right now).

 

Was a great game.  We crossed early Saturday and spent the whole weekend in WNY.  My girlfriend was over the moon to go to the Leveled Up store.  Restaurants were world class as always.

 

For any hockey fans in here, McDavid is looking at the fact that the Bills are a Superbowl favorite, Blue Jays a World Series favorite, (I’m a Canadiens fan myself) but if the Leafs get this guy, it’s another winner in the area.

 

I’m just over here relivin’ my youth like

 

[Billsfed1]

The last time the Bills and Blue Jays were in a championship series, they were in it at the same time.

 

Even tho it’s been a minute for both franchises, they’re doing it again together.  

 

Life is good!

[Augie]

 

Why does my mind immediately go here? 

[Don Otreply]

35 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Why does my mind immediately go here? 

It’s your inner custodian…

[Low Positive]

Buffalo is not in a region with Toronto like Newark is with NYC. I don't have to show my passport to cross from New Jersey to New York. The Bills are WNY's team. Most Bills fans either live in WNY, are from WNY, or have ties to the area. Contrary to popular belief, Buffalo has a hockey team. They might suck, but most Bills fans are Sabres fans. I know there are some who are not, but I think even they would agree that this is the case. Sabres fans HATE leafs fans the same way Bills fans hate Pats fans.

 

The other fact of the matter is that Buffalo is in NY. Most Bills fans I know are either Yankees or Mets fans, though Toronto and Cleveland are closer to Buffalo. These are facts, and no amount of marketing can change that. The Bills promoting the Blue Jays during a playoff series against the Yankees is a decision made by the Bills' marketing department and is extremely tone deaf. It's almost as bad as the Colorado Avalanche owner having the Av's players attend a Rams home game (he owns both teams). 99.9% of Avs fans are also Broncos fans (duh!), and they are PISSED about seeing their players at another NFL game. These owners and marketing people have ZERO idea about the loyalties of their own fans.  

[Maine-iac]

I'm not saying "most" Bill's fans aren't from WNY but i literally (two weeks ago) got back from a game where I not only went to the game but camped in a lot at the Stadium and there was a whole field of fans just from Toronto.  Nothing but Ontario plates and Canadian flags.  Wonderful people.  Growing up in upstate NY I was actually an Expos fan.  I guess times were different then.  We didn't show our passport to go to Canada.  We were neighbors and friends.

[Billsfed1]

Buffalo absolutely is regional to Toronto and Southern Ontario.  I’m originally from Niagara Falls and I can tell you everywhere within a 4-hour radius is pulling for the Bills.

 

We love hitting up Tops/Wegmans on our trips. Everywhere you look it’s Bills fans.  Cross the border on our side, you’ll see the red, white and blue of the Bills.

 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, my girl got her degree in Rochester (and lived there for 2 years) and also went to USC.

 

Her fav is Dion, and she’s just a regular person pulling for the Bills like so many over here.  
 

Just an FYI, a Bills parade will have to account for a lot of your brothers/sisters up north

Edited 2 hours ago by Billsfed1

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

Why does my mind immediately go here? 

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Low Positive said:

Buffalo is not in a region with Toronto like Newark is with NYC. I don't have to show my passport to cross from New Jersey to New York. The Bills are WNY's team. Most Bills fans either live in WNY, are from WNY, or have ties to the area. Contrary to popular belief, Buffalo has a hockey team. They might suck, but most Bills fans are Sabres fans. I know there are some who are not, but I think even they would agree that this is the case. Sabres fans HATE leafs fans the same way Bills fans hate Pats fans.

 

The other fact of the matter is that Buffalo is in NY. Most Bills fans I know are either Yankees or Mets fans, though Toronto and Cleveland are closer to Buffalo. These are facts, and no amount of marketing can change that. The Bills promoting the Blue Jays during a playoff series against the Yankees is a decision made by the Bills' marketing department and is extremely tone deaf. It's almost as bad as the Colorado Avalanche owner having the Av's players attend a Rams home game (he owns both teams). 99.9% of Avs fans are also Broncos fans (duh!), and they are PISSED about seeing their players at another NFL game. These owners and marketing people have ZERO idea about the loyalties of their own fans.  

For the Toronto Bills fans, which there are a lot of, that's not the case. They like their Canadian teams and also the Bills. I think it's fine for the Bills to acknowledge that.

[Low Positive]

Just now, MJS said:

For the Toronto Bills fans, which there are a lot of, that's not the case. They like their Canadian teams and also the Bills. I think it's fine for the Bills to acknowledge that.

No doubt. But there was no need for the Bills to say anything. Also, how many of those Toronto and Southern Ontario Bills fans remain Bills fans if Toronto  were to get an NFL team? As you say, that border becomes thick when there is an option on your side of it. 

[MiltonWaddams]

1 hour ago, Low Positive said:

Buffalo is not in a region with Toronto like Newark is with NYC. I don't have to show my passport to cross from New Jersey to New York. The Bills are WNY's team. Most Bills fans either live in WNY, are from WNY, or have ties to the area. Contrary to popular belief, Buffalo has a hockey team. They might suck, but most Bills fans are Sabres fans. I know there are some who are not, but I think even they would agree that this is the case. Sabres fans HATE leafs fans the same way Bills fans hate Pats fans.

 

The other fact of the matter is that Buffalo is in NY. Most Bills fans I know are either Yankees or Mets fans, though Toronto and Cleveland are closer to Buffalo. These are facts, and no amount of marketing can change that. The Bills promoting the Blue Jays during a playoff series against the Yankees is a decision made by the Bills' marketing department and is extremely tone deaf. It's almost as bad as the Colorado Avalanche owner having the Av's players attend a Rams home game (he owns both teams). 99.9% of Avs fans are also Broncos fans (duh!), and they are PISSED about seeing their players at another NFL game. These owners and marketing people have ZERO idea about the loyalties of their own fans.  

This is pretty tone deaf. As a Canadian, and a devout fan since 1988, I have joined so many Canadians in going to Bills games ( over 50 home and away so far), buying Bills gear and supporting this team for most of my life. If you don’t think that the fan base is extremely far reaching, you should come to my city of 300,000 people on the West Coast of Canada and see how many Bills fans you meet when you walk around wearing a Bills hat or Bills shirt or a jersey. The Blue Jays AAA team is located in Buffalo. It’s much easier to drive to Toronto than it is to drive to New York City. And, Blue Jays fans have much more in common with Bills fans than Yankees fans do. Known as friendly and welcoming people and inclusive to all of those that come to the city and the stadium is exactly what we know our Bills fans to be. By and large, that is Blue Jays fans. Go to a Yankees game and tell me the same.

[Low Positive]

18 minutes ago, MiltonWaddams said:

This is pretty tone deaf. As a Canadian, and a devout fan since 1988, I have joined so many Canadians in going to Bills games ( over 50 home and away so far), buying Bills gear and supporting this team for most of my life. If you don’t think that the fan base is extremely far reaching, you should come to my city of 300,000 people on the West Coast of Canada and see how many Bills fans you meet when you walk around wearing a Bills hat or Bills shirt or a jersey. The Blue Jays AAA team is located in Buffalo. It’s much easier to drive to Toronto than it is to drive to New York City. And, Blue Jays fans have much more in common with Bills fans than Yankees fans do. Known as friendly and welcoming people and inclusive to all of those that come to the city and the stadium is exactly what we know our Bills fans to be. By and large, that is Blue Jays fans. Go to a Yankees game and tell me the same.

Nobody disputed the fact that there are a lot of Bills fans in Canada. But that doesn't transfer to us being fans of other "regional" teams. If you are trying to say that most people in Buffalo are Blue Jays fans, that is just wrong. The Bisons have been the AAA affiliate of a lot of MLB teams, including Cleveland and the Mets. And most people I know in Buffalo are Yankee fans if they care about baseball at all. This is mostly due to Buffalo getting Yankee games, not Jays games, on local cable during the 80's and 90's. I don't know what the situation is now, but my dad watched every Yankees game on local TV until he passed a few years ago. I'm not saying that Canadian Bills fans are lesser fans, but the idea that there is a natural connection between the Bills and Blue Jays is simply not correct. And the OP was arguing that the we should all be happy if McDavid goes to the Leafs? I suppose we should all be happy when Ontario invades Buffalo twice a year and starts fights with Sabres fans in their own building. I know the Sabres suck, but I still hate the Leafs. 

[MiltonWaddams]

37 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

No doubt. But there was no need for the Bills to say anything. Also, how many of those Toronto and Southern Ontario Bills fans remain Bills fans if Toronto  were to get an NFL team? As you say, that border becomes thick when there is an option on your side of it. 

I would never switch allegiances, nor would any of the real Bills fans that’l I know in Canada. I am about to get a Bills themed.tattoo sleeve. Committed to the core.

2 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

Nobody disputed the fact that there are a lot of Bills fans in Canada. But that doesn't transfer to us being fans of other "regional" teams. If you are trying to say that most people in Buffalo are Blue Jays fans, that is just wrong. The Bisons have been the AAA affiliate of a lot of MLB teams, including Cleveland and the Mets. And most people I know in Buffalo are Yankee fans if they care about baseball at all. This is mostly due to Buffalo getting Yankee games, not Jays games, on local cable during the 80's and 90's. I don't know what the situation is now, but my dad watched every Yankees game on local TV until he passed a few years ago. I'm not saying that Canadian Bills fans are lesser fans, but the idea that there is a natural connection between the Bills and Blue Jays is simply not correct. And the OP was arguing that the we should all be happy if McDavid goes to the Leafs? I suppose we should all be happy when Ontario invades Buffalo twice a year and starts fights with Sabres fans in their own building. I know the Sabres suck, but I still hate the Leafs. 

Fair. All fair. I don’t like being grouped into fans who would switch allegiances. Never in my life.

[Low Positive]

I'm going to bow out here, because I touched a nerve. Tensions are high due to playoff baseball and other reasons. The reason I responded how I did was the insinuation that I, as a native-born Buffalonian, should be happy if the Leafs get McDavid and win a Cup. Last time I checked, Buffalo still nominally has an NHL team. 

[PonyBoy]

It sure would be nice if McDavid joined the Sabres & Canada fans could witness him play close to Toronto...

 

However, I like McDavid and can't wish that punishment on him playing for the Buffalo 🫤