Anyone else sick of being beholdent...

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

Pro sports continues to lose the idea that it was a nice diversion for fans to be spectators of. For me, I don't need all the news that ESPN spouts 24/7. The sports media has gotten out of control. Maybe the big 3 networks should have a sports show after their evening news programs.

 

And where the Bills are concerned, with the threat of moving in the future hanging over the franchise, that unfortunately takes away attention that could be placed on the team itself, the upcoming draft, etc. I agree, it grows tiresome hearing of this yet again. Even after the new agreement in 1998 with the Bills/Lease/Whatever else it was, I had sense that we would be hearing about more problems within a decade. You could see the handwriting on the wall with these mega-rich a-holes like Jones, Snyder and Kraft.

 

It is easier to just be a casual fan of sports these days.

[BillnutinHouston]

What pricks you beholdent ? 

656679[/snapback]

 

There's all kinds of phonetic spelling on this board.

[Dan]

I can remember, growing up in TN in the 80's, getting Bills information was next to impossible. Other than the occasional little snippets on Sunday, there was nothing.

 

The advent of the interent has made my Bill's following all inclusive. In fact, I read so much Buffalo newspaper, I should probably pay taxes.

 

However, I fail to see how any of this has to do with the Bills current situation regarding a move or losing money. If anything, all this added exposure would seem to make the Bills more money. Look at my house and you'd see all the Bills' gear - surely some of that money feeds back to the organization.

[Ramius]

For me, I fear, I may soon start to pass off pro football like I have some of the other sports.  I'm 33.  I played D-I college baseball and was the head coach of a major high school in Indiana.  Loved baseball, breathed it.  Went to coaching clinics etc.  I was a huge Pirates fan, being from Pittsburgh.  Then the strike came.  Here I was a college kid, traveling to see the Pirates in the playoffs every year, sleeping in my car, and driving back to Indiana for class the next day.  Die Hard. 

 

Then the strike came.  Then the talk of the Pirates moving from Pittsburgh.  For a guy who went to countless numbers of baseball games a year, I have been to ONE game the past 9 years.  The first regular season game ever at PNC Park.  There was no way I thought baseball could lose me as a fan.  They did.  I could care less about baseball anymore.  Not one inkling.

 

I fear.....that with greed starting to rear it's ugly head in football, that if the Bills move, I'll be done with most Major League Sports period.  You may think apathy won't set in, but for me and baseball it did.  I'm an example of a die-hard fan they lost.

 

I hope football doesn't lose me too.  I love football.  But some of the greed is really starting to show.  It's hard to support people like T.O. and Dan Snyder when my fiance teacher has to buy her own school supplies for kid's in her class.  I used to watch four sports.  I'm pretty much down to one.  I put major energy into football and coming to see the Bills every week from 10 hours away, BUT, there are signs that the sport is going in the wrong direction under Snyder and Jones and company.

 

Please NFL, dont' lose me as fan.  Long Live the Bills!

656801[/snapback]

 

 

Ummmm, last time i checked, the pirates never moved from pittsburgh...

[Fezmid]

Ummmm, last time i checked, the pirates never moved from pittsburgh... 

657095[/snapback]

That's probably why he said the talk of the Pirates moving out of Pittsburgh. Just like the talk of the Bills moving out of Buffalo is pretty irritating.

 

CW

[Buftex]

Don't get me wrong, I love the Bills, and quite honestly, I would be really devestated when/if they leave WNY, even though I did 19 years ago. But, the NFL has long turned my stomach with its taking advantage of its' fans loyalty. I can't tell you how many times over the years, I thought the NFL's business practices were sh-------, but, knowing better, I fell in line, because I loved the Bills so much.

 

I gave up on baseball in the early 1990's, ironically, just before "my" Yankees were reborn as a dynasty. I gave up on the NBA as well, after Jordan retired...sure I still pay some attention to the playoffs, but they are not "can't miss" like the NFL playoffs.

 

I am sure some has to do with age, some with the success of the teams that I root for, but I can honestly say, as I get older, I am enjoying hockey more than any of the other pro sports. It is not just because the Sabres are having a good season, but I like the sort of regional marketing of the game, the sort of obscure cities they play in, the homer broadcasters....it reminds me of the way things were, back in the 1970's. Maybe the NHL's lack of success in infiltrating the hearts, minds and souls of the national audience, in the end, makes the game more appealing. If you like hockey, you do so because you really like the game, you have to sort of work to follow it (particularly if you live in a city where most have never heard of the NHL), it is not rubbing its' tool in your face every second of every day....it is not telling you that you love it, and asking for money, it is letting you decide...

 

Kelly F&B Dog, I know what you are saying. I would have loved to have all the media outlets to the Bills, even in the early 1990's when they were good. Now though, I just think all of the overexposure just makes me realize that a lot of this is pretty silly. I mean, look at the glut of media "tallking heads" who have become wealthy off the NFL, for really, doing nothing but going to games, and formulating opinions. What would John Clayton, or Chris Moretenson be doing if there was no NFL? Probably shift managers at Walmart.

[Ramius]

That's probably why he said the talk of the Pirates moving out of Pittsburgh.  Just like the talk of the Bills moving out of Buffalo is pretty irritating.

 

CW

657097[/snapback]

 

I know the talk is irritating, but the pirates are still in pittsburgh, no? So he gave up on a team that never moved, but hit on hard times. Sounds like a fairweather fan more than a jaded one.

[Fezmid]

I know the talk is irritating, but the pirates are still in pittsburgh, no? So he gave up on a team that never moved, but hit on hard times. Sounds like a fairweather fan more than a jaded one.

657107[/snapback]

That wasn't the only reason -- he listed other reasons (strike, steroids, etc), that was just another straw on the camel's back.

 

I'm a huge BIlls fan myself, but I'm getting sick of the whole "money" aspect of the game as well. Just play. I don't want to hear about stadiums, revenue sharing, money over cap, etc. If I was interested in these things, I'd read the Wall Street Journal. And I'd say that, because of all of these things (in addition to the EXTREMELY negative attitude most threads on here have), I don't follow the Bills as closely as I did just a few years ago. It's natural.

 

CW

[KOKBILLS]

Well...This mess is, and has been, irritating for a while now...No question about it...

 

The Bills are SO much more than just My favorite Sports Team...When you have over 35 Years invested in something, well...they kinda have you by the "you-know-what's..."

 

That is My overall feeling about the NFL...They have such a superior Sports Product compared to the competition, what are we really to do? I mean, I'm not going to stop watching The NFL, I'm going to Purchase the NFL Package every Year, and I'm going to follow the Bills Franchise no matter where they go...

 

Is it sad that they one day MAY leave Buffalo?...Heck yes it is...Will I be pissed of?...You bet, especially if they have different Helmets...

 

But in the end, what you gonna do? It is what it is...The League has cleared a definitive Path to where they are headed...And if the Bills get run over on that path I really don't think The NFL Owners as a whole sweat it much...All in all IF the Home Attendance stays high in Buffalo, it's going to be awfully hard for the NFL to Sell a Move...Look at the mess that was caused in Cleveland...

 

Just My opinion...

[stuckincincy]

All in all IF the Home Attendance stays high in Buffalo, it's going to be awfully hard for the NFL to Sell a Move...Look at the mess that was caused in Cleveland...

 

Just My opinion...

657113[/snapback]

 

I'd say that's very true about attendance.

 

B'gal's owner Brown pulled the low-attendance "card" when he extorted a new stadium with his moveing threat(s).

 

But of course, the low attendance was of his own doing. When the new stadium opened up, I think they sold out the first game (novelty value) but that was it. Only until Mikie pulled his nose out (in large part due to taxpayer disgust) and let others run the football side of the business, did they start to fill the stadium.

 

So I think as you and others, that winning or at least being perceived as exerting the "ol college try" is vital. As is avoiding MM-EM-Sam Adams type stuff, which lends an air of buffoonery and ineptitude, which would be raw meat to the sports reporting crowd.

 

I'm satisfied with Levy/Jauron to date, and I feel they will execute a decent draft. I reserve the right to be surprised, though.

[Coach Tuesday]

You guys are all whiny and nuts. 10-20-30 years ago, and the first 50 years of the NFL, you got to watch 2-3 games total each week. The only football news you got about the Bills was a couple articles a day during the season from The Buffalo Evening News or Courier Express you had to buy. There was no cable and satellite and ESPN and ticker machines and Internet and message boards and Two Bills Drive and every game available and sports bars with 30 TVs and huge screens with great pictures and HDTV and The NFL Network.

 

You're lucky bastards to have NFL news and games everywhere 24-7 365.25 and you just complain. DirectTV is friggin' awesome. ESPN, even though they are evil blowhards, is friggin' awesome. The Internet is friggin' awesome. The NFL Network is friggin' awesome. The coverage of the NFL and the availability of it and the cheapness of price for how much time you spend with it and how much it matters to you is friggin' awesome.

 

The Bills aren't moving in the near and probably far off  future.

 

Move to Iraq. We're the luckiest bastards in the history of the world.

657043[/snapback]

 

Post of the year.

 

NEWSFLASH: THE BILLS ARE NOT A PUBLIC ENTITLEMENT, THEY ARE A PRIVATE CORPORATION. SO IS THE N.F.L. FANS ARE NOT SHAREHOLDERS NOR ARE THEY VOTERS.

 

Like it or not, "Greed" has gotten this country where it is: the most powerful military and economy in the history of mankind. There are only two things we legitmately can complain about:

 

first, public corruption, meaning politicians abusing the system to make themselves or their friends money. I don't see that happening in the case of the Bills - if anything, corruption will be part of the SOLUTION to keeping the Bills here (unfortunately).

 

second, the League and its owners making poor ECONOMIC choices, meaning choosing something that's in the SHORT-TERM best interests of themselves or the League but that harms the LONG-TERM viability of the N.F.L. IMO here's where we may have a legitimate gripe: by adopting a CBA that threatens to wipe out small-market teams, the ownership may be increasing its short-term pie (LA, television revenues) while harming the League's long-term outlook by eroding the until-now-expanding fanbase. That's a gripe, but it's a gripe about the stupidity of the League's front office, NOT a gripe about capitalism - which by the way is HERE TO STAY, because it's the least-worst way of organizing a society. If you don't believe me, spend some time in France, where they've chosen Pensions over Progress by consistently making stupid choices in the name of "culture," "tradition," and "the good of the community."

[The Dean]

Lv-Bills @ Apr 8 2006, 08:03 PM)

I fear.....that with greed starting to rear it's ugly head in football, that if the Bills move, I'll be done with most Major League Sports period.  You may think apathy won't set in, but for me and baseball it did.  I'm an example of a die-hard fan they lost.

*

 

As there are still millions of rabid baseball fans, I guess you were more of a die-semihard fan.

[Fezmid]

As there are still millions of rabid baseball fans, I guess you were more of a die-semihard fan.

657137[/snapback]

You're not honestly trying to say that the sport is just as strong today as it was before the strike, are you?

[alg]

I fear.....that with greed starting to rear it's ugly head in football, that if the Bills move, I'll be done with most Major League Sports period.  You may think apathy won't set in, but for me and baseball it did.  I'm an example of a die-hard fan they lost.

656801[/snapback]

My sentiments exactly. I was a huge lifelong Mets fan and I didn't even watch the WS they played in last. Greed has left MLB dead to me, and if the Bills move, the NFL will not even be an afterthought in my world.

 

Its happening even now. Yes, I am with SDS on his points, but the demise has been in progress for awhile. To wit:

 

Consider that it takes about $200 on average to take a family of 4 to a game. In Buffalo that means hard working people are putting out big cash to see a game that keeps jacking up the rates so that owners and and players can make even more outrageous money. And we listen as players dare talk about "feeding their family." Disgusting.

 

Why is it that such things must trend upward? I see why players wanted a bigger piece of the pie, but why o why must that pie grow like something out of The Blob? Why is it the prices are beginning to compete with a Broadway show?

 

History teaches us that such greed eventually blows itself up. It is only a matter of time before these knuckleheads kill the golden egg laying goose.

[The Dean]

You're not honestly trying to say that the sport is just as strong today as it was before the strike, are you?

657148[/snapback]

 

 

WOW....where did I say something even CLOSE to that?

 

He called himself a "diehard" fan. I was just pointing out the "hard" in his diehard, must not have been all that hard. There are multiple millions of people still interested in baseball...all of them are a LOT more "diehard" than him apparently.

 

BTW, I'm NOT a diehard baseball fan...and I still have an interest in baseball...less than I did 10-15 years ago, to be sure...but, then again I'm not, nor have ever been, a baseball diehard.

 

I consider myself a DIEHARD Bills fan. If there's a legitimate (not "replacement players") NFL team in Buffalo called "The Bills", I'll be attending or watching EVERY game I possibly can and rooting for the team. No league rules, ownership bitching, lockouts, free-agency, strikes, etc. will change that. You see, I am a diehard Bills fan.

 

SO...if you were still wondering...this entire thing was about his (and many others here) use of "diehard". It was an off-hand cheap-shot and, now, far too much has been made of it.

 

Move along...nothing to see here...

[SilverNRed]

You're not honestly trying to say that the sport is just as strong today as it was before the strike, are you?

657148[/snapback]

Don't know about last year's attendance, but both major and minor league baseball set attendance records in 2004.

[jahnyc]

What is sad is that the fans in Buffalo have held up their end of the bargain. All of the games last year were sold out, even with a crummy team and record.

 

How can you justify moving a team that enjoys real and tangible support? The Bills are an important part of the community, would this be true in LA? No.

 

Unfortuntately, it all about economics, and the economics of a team in Buffalo are becoming problematic.

[Rubes]

How can you justify moving a team that enjoys real and tangible support?

657217[/snapback]

 

Unfortunately, that's the easy part.

[Fezmid]

WOW....where did I say something even CLOSE to that?

 

He called himself a "diehard" fan.  I was just pointing out the "hard" in his diehard, must not have been all that hard.  There are multiple millions of people still interested in baseball...all of them are a LOT more "diehard" than him apparently.

 

BTW, I'm NOT a diehard baseball fan...and I still have an interest in baseball...less than I did 10-15 years ago, to be sure...but, then again I'm not, nor have ever been,  a baseball diehard.

 

I consider myself a DIEHARD Bills fan.  If there's a legitimate (not "replacement players") NFL team in Buffalo called "The Bills", I'll be attending or watching EVERY game I possibly can and rooting for the team.  No league rules, ownership bitching, lockouts, free-agency, strikes, etc. will change that.  You see, I am a diehard Bills fan.

 

SO...if you were still wondering...this entire thing was about his (and many others here) use of "diehard".  It was an off-hand cheap-shot and, now, far too much has been made of it.

 

Move along...nothing to see here...

657208[/snapback]

Ok, I thought I must've just misunderstood, but wasn't sure.

[Lv-Bills]

I know the talk is irritating, but the pirates are still in pittsburgh, no? So he gave up on a team that never moved, but hit on hard times. Sounds like a fairweather fan more than a jaded one.

657107[/snapback]

I'm not sure I should even justify this moronic follow up, because you obviously can't read, but oh well. Go back, re-read the reasons, and then try to comprehend. If it's still over your head, well so be it.