MDyl7993 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 anxiety attack? need drugs? Need to drink? Left car running and gas on empty? Hungry? Bored? Thought a game was only 3 quarters? Hot date? When I left AFTER the game ended, there was no traffic tie ups. Bet it was worse for those who felt they had had enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theesir Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 The sad pathetic answer is, that a city that once prided itself on having some of the best fans in the NFL can no longer stake that claim. With the exception of a core of solid "to the death" fans, the majority of fans in the past 5 years or so, whether talking about the Bills or Sabres here in Buffalo have become some of the worst Bandwagoners there are. Hell, it even was like that when the team was bad in the 80's. Only a select core showed up all the time. As soon as the Sabres got good, everyone wanted to be there and now tickets are hot. The Bills need to win a couple more before most fans "remember" that they love the team and have been there with them throught thick and thin. the complete definition of band-wagon fans. And to me the sellout "streak" of the past couple of years is fabricated. How many of those games had their final few thousand tix bought up by local TV radio stations or businesses. I know that still counts, but try to get a ticket in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver or multitudes of other cities. There are NONE to be had. No car dealers buying the last couple of thousand the Thursday before the game so the "shut ins" can watch it on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gflande1 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Wow, good question...I actually had to look up the definition on Dictionary.com... fane [feyn] –noun 1. a temple. 2. Archaic. a church. anyway, as far as why a fane would leave early, I really dont know...I will have to research a little more. By the way, what does this have to do with football? Oh yeah, I totally agree with theesir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 100% leave to get an early start on traffic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I think the regionalization of the franchise may have something to do with it. Fans traveling longer distances to the games == fans in a greater hurry to get a start home. In both cases the games were over.... I'd be more concerned with 20,000 empty seats at the beginning of the game then at the end. You pay your $50, you decide when you've received your $50 worth (or not). With the NFL working hard to take the home crowd out of the game more and more, what's the worry about whether fans stay 'til the bitter end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeWarnerSux Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 The sad pathetic answer is, that a city that once prided itself on having some of the best fans in the NFL can no longer stake that claim. With the exception of a core of solid "to the death" fans, the majority of fans in the past 5 years or so, whether talking about the Bills or Sabres here in Buffalo have become some of the worst Bandwagoners there are. Hell, it even was like that when the team was bad in the 80's. Only a select core showed up all the time. As soon as the Sabres got good, everyone wanted to be there and now tickets are hot. The Bills need to win a couple more before most fans "remember" that they love the team and have been there with them throught thick and thin. the complete definition of band-wagon fans. And to me the sellout "streak" of the past couple of years is fabricated. How many of those games had their final few thousand tix bought up by local TV radio stations or businesses. I know that still counts, but try to get a ticket in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver or multitudes of other cities. There are NONE to be had. No car dealers buying the last couple of thousand the Thursday before the game so the "shut ins" can watch it on TV. 792757[/snapback] I was at the game yesterday and didnt really see anyone leaving early. I know mist people left the Jets game when it was 28-13 but the stadium was full at the end of the game yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I think the regionalization of the franchise may have something to do with it. Fans traveling longer distances to the games == fans in a greater hurry to get a start home. In both cases the games were over.... I'd be more concerned with 20,000 empty seats at the beginning of the game then at the end. You pay your $50, you decide when you've received your $50 worth (or not). With the NFL working hard to take the home crowd out of the game more and more, what's the worry about whether fans stay 'til the bitter end? 792769[/snapback] 20k at the beggining? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 anxiety attack? need drugs? Need to drink? Left car running and gas on empty? Hungry? Bored? Thought a game was only 3 quarters? Hot date? When I left AFTER the game ended, there was no traffic tie ups. Bet it was worse for those who felt they had had enough. 792745[/snapback] Traffic? Tired of non-stop obscenities? Getting home with ones' family? Folks not susceptible to those that want to gin up a mob mentality so they can act the fool, or those who actually are not slaves to a business endeavor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I consider myself die hard, and I've left both games early this year. I left after the Jets scored with 3 minutes left to go up 28-13. That was for two reasons- 1) The Bills needed 15 points in 3 minutes to tie, and they had scored only 13 in the first 57 minutes. 2) I was sitting with four friends, three of whom were Jets fans, and I wanted them to shut up, so we left. Don't worry, I was in the Big Tree to watch the final TD and drive. I left early yesterday because the game ran long and I promised my grandmother I'd drive up to Lewiston to cut down some trees in her yard. I didn't want to get stuck in traffic so I bolted when the Bills punted up 17-6 with three minutes left. I did not want to operate the chainsaw in the dark. I whole-heartedly apologize if their loss to the Jets or the close finish against the Vikes was my fault. By the way, those of you with tix to last season's games, how did you NOT leave early??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper13 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 "Fabricated Sell-Outs"??? Give me a break. They are not putting cardboard people in the stands. They are not putting tarp over sections of seats like in Jacksonville. Fact is, only a few times in the last few years has somebody bought the last few hundred or 1,000 seats. The corporation that bought them, still paid for them, didn't they? RW bought them and gave them to Military personnel or to kids groups. What is wrong with that? How many places sell almost all of their seats to corporations to begin with? Fact is, over 70,000 people buy tickets to each and every game and once in awhile a corporation or RW buys the remaining seats so the game can be on TV. That's a positive in my book. Who knows why people leave earlY? Mostly to beat the trafffic- probably alot of the Canadian fans leave early so they don't sit on the Peace Bridge for over an hour. Maybe some people have an hour, two hour drives or more on the Thruway. Maybe some people have to go to work. Maybe some people have to pick up their kids from the babysitter. Most people have been there all day to begin with. Not everyone can sit in the parking lot and drink themselves into oblivion after the game every week. To question the Bills fan base is beyond absurd to me. Bills have been in the Top 10 in attendance for 20 years now. Sabres sold out every game from the early 70's to the mid 80's. They always had tons of sellouts at the Aud. They were strong in the HSBC Arena until the Rigas fiasco, the general state of the game and then the lockout. The fans are back and Hockey tickets are not cheap. The economy in WNY sucks big time. Not everyone can afford tickets to every game. The fan support is still here and that can't be questioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACor58 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 The traffic situation at Ralph Wilson Stadium is horrible. From the parking lot all the way to 90 is is a freaking nightmare. Whoever designed the in roads and out roads to the place must be the same idiots that designed the bathrooms inside the stadium. I would say that a good portion of the fan base comes from outside of Buffalo, and most of them have jobs. There is a huge difference in getting back to Rochester in an an hour and 15 minutes than there is getting home in 3 1/2 hours when you have to get up and go to work the following morning, especially after leaving Rochester an 7:30 AM to go tailgating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 20k at the beggining? 792779[/snapback] I've heard someone say there were 20K empty seats at the end of the game. I'm just saying I'd rather there be X number of empty seats at the end of the game (people leaving early) than X number of empty seats at the beginning of the same (unsold seats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I would say that in most cases, if a FAN leaves early, there is a good reason. Most of those who regularly leave early, are not fans. Note that I said most not ALL! A lot of people missed an exciting finish. Sadly, one was a Vikings fan who did nothing that I saw to justify one drunken bum from taunting him, trying to start a fight from two rows and twenty seats away. Section 219 was GREAT! We had a fantastic time (almost everyone behaved). Post game we fired up the grill over at Hammer's and chilled until about 6pm. anxiety attack? need drugs? Need to drink? Left car running and gas on empty? Hungry? Bored? Thought a game was only 3 quarters? Hot date? When I left AFTER the game ended, there was no traffic tie ups. Bet it was worse for those who felt they had had enough. 792745[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Ralph Wilson Stadium is the worst place to leave after the game is over, its like theres one exit to leave out of, small town also of Orchard park......traffic does suck around the stadium after the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I've heard someone say there were 20K empty seats at the end of the game. I'm just saying I'd rather there be X number of empty seats at the end of the game (people leaving early) than X number of empty seats at the beginning of the same (unsold seats). 792794[/snapback] oh I thought you were talking about the beginning of yesterdays game..a TON oe people got in late due to gate 9 being closed for the Clintons... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I have no problem if you leave the game early, just don't complain about the fans not being rowdy enough for you. There is a season ticket holder who sits behind me who was complaining yesterday early in the 4th quarter that the fans were not being loud enough on 3rd downs. Then the guy leaves the game with 5 minutes left. I wish he'd make up his mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACor58 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 oh I thought you were talking about the beginning of yesterdays game..a TON oe people got in late due to gate 9 being closed for the Clintons... 792810[/snapback] Couldn't they have just dropped Hillary in from a plane and not given her a parachute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I have no problem if you leave the game early, just don't complain about the fans not being rowdy enough for you. There is a season ticket holder who sits behind me who was complaining yesterday early in the 4th quarter that the fans were not being loud enough on 3rd downs. Then the guy leaves the game with 5 minutes left. I wish he'd make up his mind! 792812[/snapback] The fans were VERY loud yesterday - plenty of noise! ...and no waves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theesir Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 "Fabricated Sell-Outs"??? Give me a break. They are not putting cardboard people in the stands. They are not putting tarp over sections of seats like in Jacksonville. Fact is, only a few times in the last few years has somebody bought the last few hundred or 1,000 seats. The corporation that bought them, still paid for them, didn't they? RW bought them and gave them to Military personnel or to kids groups. What is wrong with that? How many places sell almost all of their seats to corporations to begin with? Fact is, over 70,000 people buy tickets to each and every game and once in awhile a corporation or RW buys the remaining seats so the game can be on TV. That's a positive in my book. 792786[/snapback] I in no way claimed that the games did not actually sell out, but rather that the hue and cry that we have such great fans as evidenced by the fact we have sold out 17 of the last 18 or whatever is a fabrication. Fans being so into the team that every seat is sold is different than every seat being sold because the owner bought them and gave them to military families. A sell out is a sell out from the financial point of view, but a sell out as an evidence of "great fans" is a different story. And the whole economy argument to me is bull sh--. Its about choices of what to do with your money. A Bills game is not so expensive that most people can't afford it, many just choose different things to do. The "real fan" base is not as deep as it once was and that's all I was trying to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 My son announcing at the 2 minute warning that he had to go to the men's room RIGHT AWAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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