Maybe it's different for Bills fans that live in or around Buffalo (I live in NYC and root for the Bills because I only root for New York based teams) but I hated it when it happened and I still hate it. It's like losing a home game every year. Certainly the energy level in Toronto doesn't match that of the Ralph.
Your feeling is not any different than actual Bills fans that live in Buffalo. (the guy above you is off his rocker) Everyone hates the Toronto initiative. It definetely is losing a home game every year because they are playing in front of football fans in Canada and not just Bills fans. A Bills - Redskins game in Toronto has Rams, Patriots, Jets, Redskins, Giants etc. fans all over the place that just want to see a game. Even as a Jets fan I have to say the atmosphere at a regular Bills game is GREAT so I have to shake my head and feel sorry that its being sacrificed so your owner can get $$$ - using a "move" as a tool for Buffalo people to accept it. The fans HATE it and the players HATE it (Fred Jackson spoke out) the only people who like it are Torontoites ? and Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Buffalo and the Bills ownership would be smart to embrace the Buffalo gameday atmosphere and go full steam ahead in Buffalo. Half-assing it like this is going to make them lose their team. The Bills could easily become just like the Green Bay Packers if they just do more to create a gameday "experience" like the Packers do - almost making it a college-type like atmosphere, marketing more the great tailgating scene and embracing their history. And the City needs to get out of their ass and do more to keep the team around - ie look into a downtown stadium or one near the Falls even. Sure this will require a lot of start up capital but it will pay off in the long run and there are certainly plenty of ways to get that money especially when the Commish is a WNY native and Sen. Schumer is behind it. The problem is that you can't build a freaking bridge in Buffalo without people bitching. "Whoring" out the Bills to Canada once a year is not a good answer at all, is a half ass way of gaining revenue and it really does the lay groundwork for a future move. End of rant sorry - and I'm not even a Bills fan!
I'm not going to comment further on this because you are clearly not well informed with the business aspect of this move. I will say that if they played important games there instead of at the Ralph, like the Jets a few years back, I would be pissed because of the atmosphere. But recently they've been using that game for NFC opponents, which don't matter as much. If they're going to do that I'm going to continue to love the move.
It would be nice to show where I said that. Otherwise, I'll have to assume you are ultra sensitive while menstruating........
We could easily compensate the money for the Toronto deal by raising each ticket price $10. That would still be fair IMHO since we still have one of teh cheapest ticket prices in the NFL. I'd have no problem paying that or having one less beer to get the same amount of home games as the rest of the league.
As soon as the snow falls and the Bills are out of the playoff race, the Bills fill half the stadium. It will be a quarter full if you raise the ticket price by $10.00. I would love the Bills to raise the cost of tickets. It would get all the trailer trash out of that stadium. That stadium houses the scum of the earth on Sundays because literally 98% of the Buffalo area can afford to go to a Bills game. I can walk up to most games and buy a scalped ticket for 25 bucks. That's unheard of around the league.
I agree 100% but lets not make it out like people from western New York are scum of the earth. If you could get tickets for $50 in Philly, B-more, DC, and yes even Jersey you would have even more scum.
Here is my 2 cents as someone that grew up in Rochester, NY and have gone to 20 Jets@ Bills games. The true knowledgeable Bills fans are good fans and good people. Most of my friends and a decent amount of extended family are Bills fans. They overreact a lot during the off season and tell you how great the Bills are. Then when they suck, they are the 1st people to stop watching games and tell you how terrible the team is. Very few die hard, I'm gonna watch every minute of every game type. I haven't missed a minute of a Jets game since '86 so I can't relate to the casual type. The scum are the people that know 2 players on the team and show up to the game hammered. They see you wearing a different jersey and assume they are supposed to hassle and fight you. They truly are the scum of the earth. Due to these people, I wish nothing but the worst for the entire Bills franchise.
Do you really think a$$hole fans are only symptomatic to Bills fans? Every fanbase has their embarrassing group of fools. Every. Single. One. You sound bitter because you grew up in Rochester, NY, which means you took a fair amount of ribbing growing up. Let it go dude.
lol...Yeah well when there is 70,000 people not all of them are going to be true fans or civilized people for that matter. I don't consider anyone a real NFL fan if they can't name atleast a minimum of 4 players on each team and atleast 10 of their own. No true way to analyze which fans are the most passionate but if I could guess Buffalo is up there. But I get your original point of us having more "scum" simply because we have one of the cheapest ticket prices in the NFL thus more types of people can get in. Welfare recipents can afford to get into a game if they want.
I've been to away Jet games at 12 other stadiums around the league. No one comes close to the scumbags in Buffalo.
Have you been to Cleveland? - Much worse. Buffalo has good fans for the most part.. Don't judge them by the gameday behavior of a handful of a-holes..
I judge them by living amongst them for 33 years. I've been to a Cleveland/Jet game. Wasn't even close to Bills fans.
But this is true of pretty much any fan base, of any team, in any sport. (The only group it doesn't really apply to are the Tebots, who would pay cash money to see TD Jesus take a dump.) When I graduated from college ('94), my first major expense was season tickets for Pats games. I did that before I even bought a car, and was able to get a hold of them immediately. I held onto them for about five years before moving to northern NH. When I moved back to MA about five years ago, I was wait-listed for season tickets for a couple of seasons and eventually withdrew my name. I'm sure that happens everywhere.
Pretty low standards if you consider a REAL nfl fan someone who can name only 10 players on their team. I think a better barometer of a real nfl fan is finding someone who can name their entire offensive line.
I would disagree that Buffalo is up there with passionate fans in reality. I would agree that the National media makes Buffalo fans out to be exceptional. They figure its a cold blue collar city so they must be great fans. This isn't true. My friend is a middle school teacher in Buffalo (big time Bills fan)...He says less than 20% of the kids in his middle school are Bills fans and most of the parents are also not Bills fans. The fact of the matter, most have lost interest over the past 10 years due to mismanagement. Many Bills fans I know stop watching games around Halloween. I can only compare fans to myself. I admit, the Jets run my life most of the year so I'm not saying it's a great quality. I am way too hardcore.... I didn't miss a snap during the Kotite years.
Oh wow, Jets fans yelled things at a Pats fan. This really compares to being spit on, beers thrown at me and people threatening my life in Ralph Wilson Stadium. Russ Brandon has publicly stated that he doesn't want prime time games due to all the drunken shenanigans that goes on in that dump.
I was referring to the Pats fan as the scumbag:wink:....... j/k All kidding aside, all of my experiences with opposing fans getting abused at Bills home games stems from the fact they deserved it by shooting their mouth off. If you're going to an opposing stadium and yelling and screaming as if you own the joint, don't cry when the low-lifes call you on it. In the clip, the Pats fan actually handled himself pretty well. To be called "asshole" by the droves of Jets fans shows that every fanbase has their group of knuckleheads. I'm quite sure this dimwitted behavior isn't the norm amongst Jets fans. Your tone is quite bitter, and frankly, tiresome. Maybe you should check your own behavior and see how you can avoid getting beer thrown at you, spit on, etc.....?
I'm not the provoking type. I cheer for my team but am not obnoxious. I do say something back to any fan that thinks they are entitled to swear or throw things back at me. I would say it speaks volumes that I have been to over 20 Jets @ Bills games and never gotten into a fight. That also stems from going to the games with my friends who are mainly Bills fans. I agree there are idiot Jet fans that deserve it by their actions in Ralph Wilson. However, I have brought my Bills fan friends to numerous Bills @ Jets games and not one thing has ever been thrown at them nor has any Jet fan really cared to taunt these people. Which shows how terrible of a team the Bills are, Jet fans don't even care to taunt them.
