Ralphy's ceremony is on!

[ricojes]

Booing Ralph won't work ... He'll just think we're saying "B-r-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-c-e", and since Bruce went in the HOF with Ralph, he'll just get confused and look around for Bruce and think that we're really idiots, then he'll back up the Mayflower truck in the middle of the night and move the team to Toronto.

I was thinking the same thing, expect for the last couple of statements. If Ralph was smart he would bring Bruce out with him for the ceremony...

[billsfreak]

I'm sorry, but when has Ralph ever threatened to move the Bills?

They play a "Home" game in Toronto in a few weeks?

[thebandit27]

yeah cause the 250million over the past 10 years wasn't enough. the bills couldn't possibly survive in buffalo without the 20000 canadian bills fans that went to the miami game last year (the rest were miami fans).

 

look, it's his right to bend us over if we're willing to take it, but i'm not going to be so naive as to believe that moving games away from buffalo is what will keep the bills in buffalo. wilson's trying to prove the team can MAKE MONEY IN TORONTO to attact a better price from a buyer there. he shovels that b.s. about "expanding the fan base" in the hopes that some suckers will believe it.

 

Aside from the fact that I never said that playing games in Toronto would keep the team here (nor did I say that the team couldn't survive here without the fans that attended that game--don't know where you got that), you clearly have no clue of (1) what an NFL franchise is worth, or (2) what would be involved to move the team to Toronto.

 

(1) An NFL franchise is worth what it's worth, period. 1 billion, 2 billion, whatever. If you think that playing one game per year up there somehow magically increases the value of the team, you're nuts

 

(2) To move the team to Toronto is not just an easy pick up and go operation. There's a ton to be figured out.

 

The only suckers involved in this are the people that buy the crappola about the team moving. It's not happening any time soon.

[JohnC]

and my point is...when the naming rights agreement with Rich Products ran out, he renamed the stadium Buffalo Bills Stadium...the Erie County Commissioner and the NYS governor chose to have it named after Ralph. The fact that he hasn't sold the naming rights again isn't the point...HE didn't name it....get your facts straight

 

The person who SOLELY controls the naming rights to the stadium is Ralph (sold to the highest bidder) Wilson. The county named the stadium. The owner has kept it because he wants it that way. If he wanted to sell the naming rights he could. He doesn't because he doesn't want to do it. If the owner wanted to rename the stadium and get no money for it, he could do that. Again, because he alone has the authority to name the stadium. When you are a narcissist owner you will gladly keep the name of the stadium if it is named after you because you enjoy being exhalted. The issue isn't who originally named the stadium, the issue is who has KEPT it named after himself because that is the way he wants it. When the stadium was named after a product (Rich) the baron owner was highly upset. When the stadium was named after the egotistical owner he felt it was very fitting and appropriate.

[The Senator]

The person who SOLELY controls the naming rights to the stadium is Ralph (sold to the highest bidder) Wilson. The county named the stadium. The owner has kept it because he wants it that way. If he wanted to sell the naming rights he could. He doesn't because he doesn't want to do it. If the owner wanted to rename the stadium and get no money for it, he could do that. Again, because he alone has the authority to name the stadium. When you are a narcissist owner you will gladly keep the name of the stadium if it is named after you because you enjoy being exhalted. The issue isn't who originally named the stadium, the issue is who has KEPT it named after himself because that is the way he wants it. When the stadium was named after a product (Rich) the baron owner was highly upset. When the stadium was named after the egotistical owner he felt it was very fitting and appropriate.

So who stole the jam from your donut?

 

When Rich Products signed a 25-year deal, paying $1.5M to have it named 'Rich Stadium' back in 1972, it was one of the very first naming right deals in all of pro sports. Turns out to have been a great deal for Rich, but you have to remember that the entire stadium complex was completed for about $22M back then. In 1998, Rich balked at the notion of an increased fee on a par with other current NFL deals for naming rights.

 

FYI - here's what naming rights go for in the NFL and other sports- link

 

Now, there aren't a lot of companies in WNY w/deep pockets - are you suggesting that Ralph should take a crappy deal from someone like Dunn Tire, or NorthAmericare? Take whatever he can get - even if it's so far below what typical naming rights deals are worth that it's practically to the team's bottom line - and then have some stupid sounding name on the stadium - and maybe even change the name every few years like we do with our baseball park, or SF did with Candlestick? (Candlestick Park, 3Com Park, San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point, Monster Park - and now, finally, after a public ballot measure, permanently reverting back to Candlestick Park)

 

I think if Ralph could have found someone willing to 'pony up' the going rate, he would have done it, - but, as he said, whatever he could get for naming rights would not make much difference to the financial health of the team. His snookering Ted Rogers out of $80M to play one game a year in Toronto was actually a far better business move, and will have a much more positive impact on keeping the team in WNY than the few shekels he might have gotten to put some local company's name on the stadium.

 

Personally, I like having the stadium named after the Buffalo Bills' HOF founder/owner. I hate the over commercialization of pro sports in general - can't stand things like the 'Old Spice 10 Minute Ticker' or the old 'It's an IBM Big Play' hi-lites - and I find stadium names like RWS, Paul Brown Stadium, Lambeau Field - or even non-commercial names like Soldier's Field, Cleveland Stadium, Superdome, Georgia Dome, etc. - far preferable to corporate names like Lucas Oil Field, Land Shark Stadium, Invesco Field, Lincoln Financial Field, etc.

 

But hey, go ahead and boo the guy if you want - it's a free country. I don't think he'll hear you or that it'll make much difference to him even if he does - but if it's a reaction you want, you might get one from the fans seated around you that conduct themselves with a bit more class.

[mousetrap08]

I would be ashamed to be a Bills fan if fans booed him.

you are right on.there will be a place and time for any criticism later on. show ralph the respect that he deserves while accepting his hof ring. no matter how bad the bills play if it wern't for the man, there would be no bills to cheer or boo for.

[GrudginglyPessimistic]

So who stole the jam from your donut?

 

When Rich Products signed a 25-year deal, paying $1.5M to have it named 'Rich Stadium' back in 1972, it was one of the very first naming right deals in all of pro sports. Turns out to have been a great deal for Rich, but you have to remember that the entire stadium complex was completed for about $22M back then. In 1998, Rich balked at the notion of an increased fee on a par with other current NFL deals for naming rights.

 

FYI - here's what naming rights go for in the NFL and other sports- link

 

Now, there aren't a lot of companies in WNY w/deep pockets - are you suggesting that Ralph should take a crappy deal from someone like Dunn Tire, or NorthAmericare? Take whatever he can get - even if it's so far below what typical naming rights deals are worth that it's practically to the team's bottom line - and then have some stupid sounding name on the stadium - and maybe even change the name every few years like we do with our baseball park, or SF did with Candlestick? (Candlestick Park, 3Com Park, San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point, Monster Park - and now, finally, after a public ballot measure, permanently reverting back to Candlestick Park)

 

I think if Ralph could have found someone willing to 'pony up' the going rate, he would have done it, - but, as he said, whatever he could get for naming rights would not make much difference to the financial health of the team. His snookering Ted Rogers out of $80M to play one game a year in Toronto was actually a far better business move, and will have a much more positive impact on keeping the team in WNY than the few shekels he might have gotten to put some local company's name on the stadium.

 

Personally, I like having the stadium named after the Buffalo Bills' HOF founder/owner. I hate the over commercialization of pro sports in general - can't stand things like the 'Old Spice 10 Minute Ticker' or the old 'It's an IBM Big Play' hi-lites - and I find stadium names like RWS, Paul Brown Stadium, Lambeau Field - or even non-commercial names like Soldier's Field, Cleveland Stadium, Superdome, Georgia Dome, etc. - far preferable to corporate names like Lucas Oil Field, Land Shark Stadium, Invesco Field, Lincoln Financial Field, etc.

 

But hey, go ahead and boo the guy if you want - it's a free country. I don't think he'll hear you or that it'll make much difference to him even if he does - but if it's a reaction you want, you might get one from the fans seated around you that conduct themselves with a bit more class.

Its interesting that that the park you mentioned as Dunn Tire and NorthAmericare is now Coca-Cola Stadium. My guess is that national corporations are likely willing to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of getting their name displayed in 16 times a year in large regional broadcasts of which roughly twice a year they are gonna be Monday night or other evening football broadcasts.

 

One of the marketing rule o thumbs is that individuals are so assaulted by advertising that a person needs to see a name and message three times before it even registers (most of us have had the experience of seeing a great commercial and mention it to friends who then ask who it was for and we have no clue as we have not seen the message the three times required for us to link it to an image). Due to this, marketers seem to routinely now want to plaster there name in a whole bunch of places

 

I have few doubts that Ralph could get a significant load of bucks from selling the naming rights. Perhaps not the hundreds of millions Mr. Ralph would need to make this total more than a gnat on the back if the approaching $1 billion corporate leviathan he has total ownership over with no debt to speak of, However, the total would easily eclipse what many Bills fans will earn in their lifetime.

 

I think the corporate naming of everything also is pretty disgusting to me. However, my disgust at the overnaming that also sees Coca-Cola Parks in Allentown, PA (home of minor league iron Pigs) and in Johhanesburg S.A. does not mean that I am in love with naming parks as monuments to rich guys who are still alive.

 

Ralph Wilson Stadium which the Bills play in (and also this complex is home to the Ralph Wilson Training Facility come off as a set of multi-million vanity plates.

 

If Mr. Ralph was really interested in paying tribute to someone who did something real and gave up something important for our society as a whole then he should lead the charge in stripping his name off the stadium and change the name to Bob Kalsu Field.

 

Otherwise this is less embarrassing than MacDonald's Field but only a little bit less embarrassing.

[JohnC]

So who stole the jam from your donut?

 

When Rich Products signed a 25-year deal, paying $1.5M to have it named 'Rich Stadium' back in 1972, it was one of the very first naming right deals in all of pro sports. Turns out to have been a great deal for Rich, but you have to remember that the entire stadium complex was completed for about $22M back then. In 1998, Rich balked at the notion of an increased fee on a par with other current NFL deals for naming rights.

 

FYI - here's what naming rights go for in the NFL and other sports- link

 

Now, there aren't a lot of companies in WNY w/deep pockets - are you suggesting that Ralph should take a crappy deal from someone like Dunn Tire, or NorthAmericare? Take whatever he can get - even if it's so far below what typical naming rights deals are worth that it's practically to the team's bottom line - and then have some stupid sounding name on the stadium - and maybe even change the name every few years like we do with our baseball park, or SF did with Candlestick? (Candlestick Park, 3Com Park, San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point, Monster Park - and now, finally, after a public ballot measure, permanently reverting back to Candlestick Park)

 

I think if Ralph could have found someone willing to 'pony up' the going rate, he would have done it, - but, as he said, whatever he could get for naming rights would not make much difference to the financial health of the team. His snookering Ted Rogers out of $80M to play one game a year in Toronto was actually a far better business move, and will have a much more positive impact on keeping the team in WNY than the few shekels he might have gotten to put some local company's name on the stadium.

 

Personally, I like having the stadium named after the Buffalo Bills' HOF founder/owner. I hate the over commercialization of pro sports in general - can't stand things like the 'Old Spice 10 Minute Ticker' or the old 'It's an IBM Big Play' hi-lites - and I find stadium names like RWS, Paul Brown Stadium, Lambeau Field - or even non-commercial names like Soldier's Field, Cleveland Stadium, Superdome, Georgia Dome, etc. - far preferable to corporate names like Lucas Oil Field, Land Shark Stadium, Invesco Field, Lincoln Financial Field, etc.

 

But hey, go ahead and boo the guy if you want - it's a free country. I don't think he'll hear you or that it'll make much difference to him even if he does - but if it's a reaction you want, you might get one from the fans seated around you that conduct themselves with a bit more class.

 

Senator, I got a different approach. If this owner is so reluctant to sell the naming rights of the stadium because he finds it unseemly then give the naming rights back to the county and let them sell it in order to use the proceeds for maintenance and upkeep of the facility. The taxpayers paid for the stadium, he didnt. You bring up the point that no one should accept a "crappy" deal if one couldn't get a premium price for the naming rights. Do you want to know what a crappy deal is? Getting nothing when you could get something for those advertisements. Over the past number of years the Bills have given up millions of dollars because the delicate owner is uncomfortable with the concept of his stadium called by a product name. If it is such an outrageous concept then why is he one of the few exceptions when everyone else does it?

 

While you like the idea of having the stadium named after the HOF owner (a joke in itself) I find it disgusting. He is still alive. When he passess and needs to be memorialized then go ahead find an appropriate monument for him. Maybe you can find a worthy spot in Toronto or LA. You are treating him like some self-indulgent potentate who requires that he constantly be bowed down to. Mr. Wilson has been treated very well by the western NY region. He has made in the range of a quarter billion dollars (Forbes estimates) over the past decade. The same decade that the Bills have been consistently wretched.

 

What happens if the Bills are auctioned off and moved to another location? Do we still call the stadium THE RALPH?

[JohnC]

If Mr. Ralph was really interested in paying tribute to someone who did something real and gave up something important for our society as a whole then he should lead the charge in stripping his name off the stadium and change the name to Bob Kalsu Field.

 

Otherwise this is less embarrassing than MacDonald's Field but only a little bit less embarrassing.

 

Grudgingly, What a wonderful idea.

[Frit0 Bandit0]

I think if Ralph could have found someone willing to 'pony up' the going rate, he would have done it, - but, as he said, whatever he could get for naming rights would not make much difference to the financial health of the team.

 

 

Here's a gracious idea ... use what ever money he could get to help reduce the price of the tickets ... what great PR

[The Senator]

Senator, I got a different approach. If this owner is so reluctant to sell the naming rights of the stadium because he finds it unseemly then give the naming rights back to the county and let them sell it in order to use the proceeds for maintenance and upkeep of the facility. The taxpayers paid for the stadium, he didnt. You bring up the point that no one should accept a "crappy" deal if one couldn't get a premium price for the naming rights. Do you want to know what a crappy deal is? Getting nothing when you could get something for those advertisements. Over the past number of years the Bills have given up millions of dollars because the delicate owner is uncomfortable with the concept of his stadium called by a product name. If it is such an outrageous concept then why is he one of the few exceptions when everyone else does it?

Check your facts, John. Of the 31 NFL stadia, 13 (just slightly less than half) do not sell naming rights - Arrowhead Stadium, Candlestick Park, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Giants Stadium, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Oakland Coliseum, the Georgia Dome, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Soldier Field, the Louisiana Superdome, Paul Brown Stadium - named for the founder of the Bengals, Lambeau Field - named for Curly Lambeau, founder of the Green Bay Packers, and Ralph Wilson Stadium - named for the HOF owner/founder of the Bills and one of the original founders of the American Football League and driving force in the AFL/NFL merger - link

 

 

EDIT: You can also add Cowboys Stadium to that list, at least temporarily anyway - to date, Jerry Jones has not been successful extorting what he considers a fair naming rights fee from anyone.

 

While you like the idea of having the stadium named after the HOF owner (a joke in itself) I find it disgusting. He is still alive. When he passess and needs to be memorialized then go ahead find an appropriate monument for him. Maybe you can find a worthy spot in Toronto or LA. You are treating him like some self-indulgent potentate who requires that he constantly be bowed down to. Mr. Wilson has been treated very well by the western NY region. He has made in the range of a quarter billion dollars (Forbes estimates) over the past decade. The same decade that the Bills have been consistently wretched.

 

What happens if the Bills are auctioned off and moved to another location? Do we still call the stadium THE RALPH?

I'm amused at how viscerally you emote. Given the intensity of your feelings toward the man and the team, I'd think you'd find "THE RALPH" an appropriate name!

[The Senator]

Its interesting that that the park you mentioned as Dunn Tire and NorthAmericare is now Coca-Cola Stadium. My guess is that national corporations are likely willing to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of getting their name displayed in 16 times a year in large regional broadcasts of which roughly twice a year they are gonna be Monday night or other evening football broadcasts.

As I pointed out to JohnC, facts are sometimes useful when trying to make a point.

 

The deal for naming rights at our baseball stadium is not with Fortune 100 Coca Cola Company, but with the locally-owned and privately-held Coca Cola Bottling Company and includes 'pouring rights - enabling them to sell several thousand gallons of sugar-water at exorbitant prices every home game.

 

Since Rich Products and the Coca Cola Bottling company are both family-owned privately companies, financial figures for the naming-rights deal have not been disclosed - but I would imagine naming rights for a Triple-A ball park are considerably less than for an NFL stadium.

 

One of the marketing rule o thumbs is that individuals are so assaulted by advertising that a person needs to see a name and message three times before it even registers (most of us have had the experience of seeing a great commercial and mention it to friends who then ask who it was for and we have no clue as we have not seen the message the three times required for us to link it to an image). Due to this, marketers seem to routinely now want to plaster there name in a whole bunch of places

 

I have few doubts that Ralph could get a significant load of bucks from selling the naming rights. Perhaps not the hundreds of millions Mr. Ralph would need to make this total more than a gnat on the back if the approaching $1 billion corporate leviathan he has total ownership over with no debt to speak of, However, the total would easily eclipse what many Bills fans will earn in their lifetime.

Do you really, think the Bills have that much marketing cachet? There isn't a single F500 company headquartered in WNY, and the largest privately held ones are controlled by tightwads like Bob Rich and Jeremy Jacobs. Whom do you suggest might be interested in paying $6-7M a year to have their name on the football stadium in Orchard Park? Because if Ralph could squeeze $120-140M out of anyone for a 20-year naming rights deal, I GUARANTEE he'd listen.

 

Meanwhile, Jerry Jones has not been successful interesting anyone in naming rights for Cowboys Stadium, even though Dallas is home to several Fortune 50 companies and the Cowboys have a worldwide marketing cachet that far exceeds the Buffalo Bills'.

 

I think the corporate naming of everything also is pretty disgusting to me. However, my disgust at the overnaming that also sees Coca-Cola Parks in Allentown, PA (home of minor league iron Pigs) and in Johhanesburg S.A. does not mean that I am in love with naming parks as monuments to rich guys who are still alive.

 

Ralph Wilson Stadium which the Bills play in (and also this complex is home to the Ralph Wilson Training Facility come off as a set of multi-million vanity plates.

 

If Mr. Ralph was really interested in paying tribute to someone who did something real and gave up something important for our society as a whole then he should lead the charge in stripping his name off the stadium and change the name to Bob Kalsu Field.

 

Otherwise this is less embarrassing than MacDonald's Field but only a little bit less embarrassing.

It's been suggested before. I supposed it'd be equally noble if the Cardinals changed the name of their facility from University of Phoenix Stadium - named for the world's largest marketeer of on-line degrees - to Pat Tillman Stadium, but don't look for that to happen any time soon.

[Dan]

Has there ever been a thread with so much misinformation in it?

 

...My guess is that national corporations are likely willing to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of getting their name displayed in 16 times a year in large regional broadcasts of which roughly twice a year they are gonna be Monday night or other evening football broadcasts.

...

Uuum.... the Bills only play 7 regular season games a year in their stadium, not 16. That may or may not go back up to 8 games in a few years. We just recently went 13 years without a Monday night game. We're now 3 years running with a MNF game; however, this year it was a road game. So, no guarantees that the advertisment gets seen on MNF. This year's other prime time game is in Toronto. So, any advertiser expectingto get national prime time spotlight would be SOL this year.

 

Again, with a team like the Bills, there's no guarantee that your advertisement gets a national spotlight.

 

 

Senator, I got a different approach. If this owner is so reluctant to sell the naming rights of the stadium because he finds it unseemly then give the naming rights back to the county and let them sell it in order to use the proceeds for maintenance and upkeep of the facility.

That's actually not a bad idea at all.

 

...You bring up the point that no one should accept a "crappy" deal if one couldn't get a premium price for the naming rights. Do you want to know what a crappy deal is? Getting nothing when you could get something for those advertisements. Over the past number of years the Bills have given up millions of dollars because the delicate owner is uncomfortable with the concept of his stadium called by a product name. If it is such an outrageous concept then why is he one of the few exceptions when everyone else does it?

I believe this inaccuracy has been addressed. Jerry Jones even turned down the money because he didn't like the deal. And he's a billion dollars in debt. Apparently, all NFL owners don't agree with your assessment that a crappy deal is better than no deal at all.

 

...

When he passess and needs to be memorialized then go ahead find an appropriate monument for him.

Yes, because we should only honor people or recognize their life achievements AFTER they die. What a great world you must live in.

 

...

What happens if the Bills are auctioned off and moved to another location? Do we still call the stadium THE RALPH?

My guess is no one will care.

[The Senator]

Has there ever been a thread with so much misinformation in it?

 

Uuum.... the Bills only play 7 regular season games a year in their stadium, not 16. That may or may not go back up to 8 games in a few years. We just recently went 13 years without a Monday night game. We're now 3 years running with a MNF game; however, this year it was a road game. So, no guarantees that the advertisment gets seen on MNF. This year's other prime time game is in Toronto. So, any advertiser expectingto get national prime time spotlight would be SOL this year.

 

Again, with a team like the Bills, there's no guarantee that your advertisement gets a national spotlight.

Nice catch - even I missed that one

 

So the going rate to have your name on the stadium would come to about $1M per game.

 

Yeah, plenty of companies are gonna do that.

[Dan]

Nice catch - even I missed that one

 

So the going rate to have your name on the stadium would come to about $1M per game.

 

Yeah, plenty of companies are gonna do that.

I know. It's tough to sift through all the hatred and crap being spewed.

[DarthICE]

I hope they boo his ass out of the stadium

[The Senator]

I hope they boo his ass out of the stadium

Yeah I'm envisioning something more like this...

 

Coming off back-to-back road wins, a pumped up RWS crowd showers their beloved HOF owner with love and goes wild for Fitzpatrick's first home start, as TO finally demonstrates why we signed him...

 

BuffTown Bills 33

Houston Texans 10

 

 

 

15 and 4 baby!!!

 

GO BILLSSS!!!!

REVERSE THE CURSE!!!!!

[JohnC]

I'm amused at how viscerally you emote. Given the intensity of your feelings toward the man and the team, I'd think you'd find "THE RALPH" an appropriate name!

 

Senator, Watching nearly a generation of garbage football performances on the field has a tendency to give one a jaundiced view of this shyster owner. Also, witnessing this classless owner make disparging comments at the Toronto podium toward the western NY market, which has been very loyal and enriching to him, doesn't instill a feeling of warmth towards this fading baron.

[iinii]

I'd say it depends on the score at halftime - if we're winning, it'll be a love fest.

 

(Amazing what consecutive road-wins and a new QB will do for RW's health and mood, no?)

Gotta take your window of opportunity where you can.

[jester43]

Aside from the fact that I never said that playing games in Toronto would keep the team here (nor did I say that the team couldn't survive here without the fans that attended that game--don't know where you got that), you clearly have no clue of (1) what an NFL franchise is worth, or (2) what would be involved to move the team to Toronto.

 

(1) An NFL franchise is worth what it's worth, period. 1 billion, 2 billion, whatever. If you think that playing one game per year up there somehow magically increases the value of the team, you're nuts

 

(2) To move the team to Toronto is not just an easy pick up and go operation. There's a ton to be figured out.

 

The only suckers involved in this are the people that buy the crappola about the team moving. It's not happening any time soon.

honestly i don't even know what the hell you're talking about. from the very start, the bills have advertised the toronto games as a way to ensure the franchise's future viability in buffalo. and you're telling me it's a good thing we play there to "expand the fanbase". i call bull **** on both points.

 

the bills turn a healthy profit right here, and the game last year proved that toronto fans don't give a **** about the bills- nor should they, really. the suggestion that these games are going to spawn a whole new throng of loyal bills fans is laughable.

 

i never said the value of the team increased because we play there. i do say they put the games there to court potential toronto bidders when ralph dies. they sure as hell didn't do it to ensure the future viability of the team in buffalo.

 

toronto games = a slap in the face to bills fans no matter how anyone tries to spin it. that is one of many reasons why ralph wilson can go !@#$ himself and i hope they boo the hell out of him today.