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Buffalo fans will cheer to bitter end

STEPHEN BRUNT

From Monday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 12:46 PM EST 09/09/08

Season opener takes on new significance as Bills inch closer to moving ...Read the full article

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  1. R Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: Of course, the Bills' fans cheered at the sight of Tom Brady limping off the field against the Chiefs ?

    That's what hooligans do.

    Isn't it ?
  2. Jack Bauer from Canada writes: whatever it takes
  3. Steven Ferguson from Canada writes: Buffalo played a strong game today, and has a legitimate chance at the playoffs, although not likely the Superbowl. When Ralph Wilson dies, which is not far off given his age (90), it is almost certain the team will leave Buffalo. Since the NFL is not really interested in a team in Toronto, it will likely leave the Southern Ontario market as well, so Ontario fans who travel to the games will also be without a team.
  4. R Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: Classy...

    BTW The early rumours are that Brady has damage to his ACL...

    The Pats did beat the Chiefs, nevertheless...

    Bills' fans (on this thread, so far) are still proven hooligans.

    Cheers
  5. jim slim from cowichan valley,bc, Canada writes: Hmmm...Brady;s out...the door is open Beefalo.

    dont shuffle off to T. O.
  6. R Miller from Halifax, Canada writes: Dirty play for sure...

    Watch the slow motion version...

    That Chiefs safety should be suspended IMHO...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAFtx5emWyk

    Cheers
  7. Harold Reid from Dundas, Canada writes: Bill's played well against an injured Seahawk team and with the soft schedule that lies ahead, they may very well be playoff bound ... time will tell.
    http://www.buffalobills.com/uploads/2008schedule.pdf

    Jet's and Patriot's will certainly have their say before this comes to fruition however and unless Lynch loses his in your face attitude, he may not be healthy for very long. With Buffalo's D - along with Edwards and the receiver corp gelling, they are going to be a handful for all the competition.

    As for relocating after the predicted sale, I say build a larger stadium.
    "If you build it, we will come ...", there is a huge market is in the Golden Horseshoe, Toronto and upstate New York areas, so why move anywhere ?
  8. Howard Young from Canada writes: I drove down from the GTA to Buffalo to watch their home opener. Having the Bills in Toronto would never be as much fun. I hope the Bills do not leave Buffalo and that Golisano buys the team and keeps it there (Ralph Wilson would like to keep the team local if he can). I'm not against Toronto having a NFL expansion franshise.
  9. Jamie King from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada writes: It would be a shame for Buffalo to lose a team that is embraced so strongly by its community. Toronto could never offer the Bills the dedication the Buffalo community has. Sure, Toronto could offer the bucks, but nowhere near as much heart as Buffalonians have offered their team. As a Canadian who has followed the Bills for nearly twenty years I agree something will be happening shortly. While I wish for the team to remain in our area, shuffling to Buffalo would be a sad end to this saga. The Bills can be a binational team. Kelly has supported the concept of a stadium in Niagara Falls NY - for the little it's worth, I do too. Here's why - the tailgate can survive - you fill hotels and casinos in economically depressed areas in Niagara Falls NY and Ont. - you develop a binational partnership group (51% American) and build a new stadium within five miles of the natural beauty of Niagara Falls - the travel time from Toronto is shorter - the stadium would probably be as close as Orchard Park to Buffalo - and on and on it goes. A stadium in Niagara Falls NY makes more sense than Toronto - and cements a unique binational future in the Niagara region for this team. Don't support the concept of moving the team to a city that will milk ALL of the fun out of the experience of going to a Bills game. No self-respecting Bills fan wants to see that team in Toronto.
  10. Jeffrey Beckman from Canada writes: Nothing that anyone says will change Stepen's mind. I can tell you that there is a political,economic and cultural desire to keep the NFL in Buffalo despite what this author states to the contrary. While his article is well written, his journalism is lacking because he only sees it from his own perspective. People with much more knowledge, power and influence both inside and outside the NFL disagree emphatically with Mr. Blunt but he stays on the same montra over and over and over again. As the power brokers have told the good people of Buffalo just support your team and we will make certain that the rest is looked after. The fans have and will continue to speak and they will put Mr. Blunt's one sided arguements to bed once and for all. They will do this despite Ted's billions.
    Hooligan's eh.
  11. Howard Young from Canada writes: Jamie King, have you considered the economic impact on Buffalo if the team was relocated to Niagara Falls, NY? Great for Niagara Falls, Canadians crossing the border and it's an even money proposition for the state of NY. However, that is a losing proposition for the city of Buffalo and its fans.

    The only thing good about that idea is that it's better than the team relocating to Toronto. I don't believe the "it's better than nothing" option is that palatable, it wouldn't be to me if I were in their shoes.
  12. Jeffrey Beckman from Canada writes: Even having these discussions are a complete waste of time. The Bills have been leaving Buffalo my entire adult life(I am 54). It all comes down to how we can waste a billion dollars most effectvely. We are all really taken by these huge sports palaces that drain our time, sprit and money. Even if Buffalo builds its palace and wins the turf wars it winds up the real loser. Who is the real sucker?
  13. Albin Forone from Canada writes: The only Lynch problem is how they're using him - the Buffalo O-line is doing a pretty good job on pass defense but can't open a hole with a backhoe. Every time Lynch runs up the middle he's stopped cold, and it'll hurt him eventually. Run him outside the hashmarks, like Reggie Bush, and run the new kid Omon or hire a bigger fullback to keep the middle honest now and then. BTW, if Buffalo goes down it goes to Los Angeles, and Toronto will have the Olympics (and requisite stadium) before it can even dream of an NFL team.
  14. John Bladen from Ed-Land, Canada writes: Mr. Beckman;

    You are certainly entitled to your own view on what will or won't happen to the Bills. I'd like to agree that the NFL will keep the Bills in Buffalo despite the financial impact.... but I can't. The NFL has a long history of speaking in glowing terms about historic markets, then taking a hands off approach when it comes to the moving vans. Ask Baltimore about that. Ask Houston about that. Ask Cleveland (twice), St. Louis, Oakland and Los Angeles about that.

    I'm sure the league would like to keep the Bills in Buffalo. I'm equally sure the collective will not accept any significant financial hit to do so. It may be, as has been suggested, that there is some sort of 'shared' franchise arrangement coming... in which the Bills play home games in both cities. But that figures to last only as long as the owner does. Once Mr. Wilson dies, the team will be sold. And anyone looking to buy will pay in the neighbourhood of $900M, and will expect a return on that investment that just can't be earned in Buffalo.

    I suppose it is possible that someone will plunk down a cool Billion and be happy to break even, but I doubt it. It's also possible that Mr. Wilson will live another 10 years, and the league will insist Toronto is an expansion market within that period - and that the Bills must be indemnified directly because of this. I could see that happening, possibly, but I still don't see the other owners forking over half their expansion fee just to keep a poor sister going. The NFL hasn't done that, historically, not even for the Colts or Browns.
    And a new stadium wouldn't help. There isn't the economic base in Buffalo to support a new stadium or it's expected revenue streams.

    It's hard for me to see the NFL sticking to the principle you've espoused... I'm sure they mean it when they say it, just not sure they can hold to it when it's "checkbooks at dawn"...

    Cheers
  15. Jeffrey Beckman from Canada writes: John, If only Sir Brunt were so diplomatic. There are factors that nobody is aware of. Who really knows what is in Wilson's Will except Wilson. All we know is that he has assured the highest public official he can deal with, Chuck Schumer that he will do all that he can while alive to make sure his legacy of being the only original owner not to move a team is maintained in Buff. He has also had very confidential conversations with many others pertaining to this. It certainly would be difficult to get Ted Rogers and company interested in any arrangement that would have a right of first refusal so why would he publicly state his intentions. As for the league, it is comprised of mostly smaller market cities some of which have more vulnerabilities than Buffalo particularly because they are not contained witin such a large marketplace. Buffalo is not just Buffalo but everything within a 200 mile radius. Unlike many other marketpklaces that can't tap into this wealth, Buffalo is able to. It therefore stands to reason that it will attract investors with money who would very much like to keep the team where it belongs. The thing that I question is the journalistic integrity of Mr. Brunt who tells me that "I don't know what I am talking about". He goes ballistic when I mention anti-trust provisions that have really never been tested but very well could be if Schumer is crossed. Lets not lose sight that the stadium in Buffalo is still avery viable facility that just underwent a 100 million upgrade 10 years ago. Is a 100 million dollars just chicken feed? I simply reject the totally biased articles that have this as a fait accompli. One last tid bit. There would be a 600-800 million dollar relocation fee tacked on by the league if the team leaves Buffalo. The team is staying put as much as that seems to frost Mr. Brunt's derriere. It would simply be too expensive to move.
  16. sam themacman from Waterloo, Canada writes: I think this article only reveals that the writer has been smoking some funny tobaccie! Give me a break. 1) The Canadian government will intervene before they let a league like th NFL into the country that will undermine the CFL. The rest of the country will cause enough of a stir that Parliament will do what Toronto won't do, and that is say no to the NFL. Count on it. The CFL, is Canadian and as a cultural phenomena it will be protected at all costs. The NFL will be portrayed as the invaders and the "enemy" to be stopped at the gates! 2) The NFL has put its reputation at defending the interests of the people of Buffalo, especially as the commissioner is from the area. You have interested parties, that include former players who are adamant that the Bills will not relocate, and some even advocate plans like the one mentioned, of the Bills relocating to Niagara Falls NY to make it more accessable to fans from Ontario. The Bills are not moving. 3) The Buffalo economy is undergoing changes and is better now than it has been in the last 15 years. Who is to say that this does not improve and that Toronto's goes in decline? 4) As a lifetime Bills fan from Waterloo, I will NEVER go to a Bills game in Toronto, now or in the future. Toronto cannot replicate the game day experience that is in Buffalo. The local people and the team, the local atmosphere makes the Bills what they are. It is tanamount to going to watch the Packers play in Winnipeg! 5) There is no political or economic will to see another stadium built in Toronto. The rest of the province would rebel, never mind what other regions of the country would say and do. You will never ever get public money for such an enterprise. The outcry over Sky Dome still resonates long and loud. Forget it. 6) Last but not least, the NFL loves going and doing international games, but they want their league to stay AMERICAN.

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