I feel that some of us may have the RW sqeaky wheel all wrong

[Mitchy moo]

I think that RW maybe fighting for us, the Buffalo fan to keep his team in town and keep it viable. This isn't about a wealthy person making money anymore, it's about him saving his legacy to the town that made it for him. I as well as others here owe him a apology and debt of gratitude for our way of looking at things. Here's to you Ralph, thanks for helping all of us keep our only dream team here, Merry Xmas.
__________________________________________________________

He’s an elderly man who’s tired and frustrated and needs somebody else to take up the fight. But his goal remains for the Bills to survive and thrive here, though their future is bleak.
And Wilson strongly suggested as much when he said to the assembled media, “Fellas, enjoy the team,” inferring it wouldn’t be in Buffalo very long.


http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17624514&BRD=2725&PAG=461&dept_id=562745&rfi=6

[RedEyE]

If it weren't for Christmas Skooby, I might have called you a dillhole.

[LtFinFan66]

:rofl:

[RedEyE]

Even so your topic of discussion does hold some merit.

I used to think that Ralph was fighting for city of Buffalo and the franchise, but recently I've seen it differently. I think the old cheap codger is fighting against change and change alone. He sees the value of a dollar through the eyes of a 80 year old man. He's watched this league grow as fat as his pocket book. One day it cost him 3 dollars and a bag of peanuts to start a franchise. His pockets grew fat with time and now it's time to give a little back and reinvest for a future NFL. The old guy knows he won't see the return. This is the wrong way for him to leave this league. The ultimate demise of this team will be Mr. Wilson stubbornly rejecting a modern NFL.

[Goobylal]

It may be Christmas, but since I'm not Christian, I WILL call you a dillhole, RedEyE.

[Devin]

From my understanding Wilson has always spent cash. I think a lot of FA's we missed out on just didnt want to come to Buffahole.

Havent we always spent to the cap, during the 90's runs wasnt Wilson one of the big spenders with Kelly, Thurman and Co.?

The past couple years we have offered great contracts to athletes who ended up taking other deals in larger market areas. TKO was signed for what 30-35 mil or something?

I know Ralph can be stingy at times, but I mean is his reputation that deserved?

[Mitchy moo]

Even so your topic of discussion does hold some merit.

I used to think that Ralph was fighting for city of Buffalo and the franchise, but recently I've seen it differently. I think the old cheap codger is fighting against change and change alone. He sees the value of a dollar through the eyes of a 80 year old man. He's watched this league grow as fat as his pocket book. One day it cost him 3 dollars and a bag of peanuts to start a franchise. His pockets grew fat with time and now it's time to give a little back and reinvest for a future NFL. The old guy knows he won't see the return. This is the wrong way for him to leave this league. The ultimate demise of this team will be Mr. Wilson stubbornly rejecting a modern NFL.

I think you are dead wrong here RE, it's the modern NFL rejecting teams like Mr. Wilson's who got them here. It's teams like the Bills and others that made this league hit every corner of our great country. Mr. Wilson doesn't want anyteam large or small to get left behind or one be greater than another. If they all share, all of the money that they earn on a more equal level than all the teams that are here now can share in the strength that the league has built. RW is trying to save his team for our area and the NFL is turning away at every chance. I think this "old guy" sees things the way the are and will not let people turn him away. Thank you again Ralph, all of us lifelong Bills fans will never forget you.

[Goobylal]

Basing the cap on ALL revenue and not just shared revenue means that lower revenue-producing clubs will have to eat into profits and thus have a competitive disadvantage, like the less wealthy clubs in MLB. Why people have a hard time understanding this concept really makes me wonder about the IQ of Bills fans.

[BidsJr]

It may be Christmas, but since I'm not Christian, I WILL call you a dillhole, RedEyE.

Christians do NOT celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. So no worrys.

[BidsJr]

So no worrys.

Except for the obvious of course.

[Typ0]

Christians do NOT celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. So no worrys.


LOL...that's funny.

[RedEyE]

I think you are dead wrong here RE, it's the modern NFL rejecting teams like Mr. Wilson's who got them here. It's teams like the Bills and others that made this league hit every corner of our great country. Mr. Wilson doesn't want anyteam large or small to get left behind or one be greater than another. If they all share, all of the money that they earn on a more equal level than all the teams that are here now can share in the strength that the league has built. RW is trying to save his team for our area and the NFL is turning away at every chance. I think this "old guy" sees things the way the are and will not let people turn him away. Thank you again Ralph, all of us lifelong Bills fans will never forget you.

I agree that what Ralph has done makes him a corner stone of this league, but I don't at all condone the notion that teams should profit share. Like it or not this is a capitalist society and only the strong survive. Once upon a time that was Buffalo. Since then, unfortunately, there has been an obvious turn of events. And its the fans that made it this way.

If Ralph can't afford to maintain then team at the current NFL standard, then the bottom line is, as a corner stone of this league, as co-founder of professional football, he should stop being so selfish and sell to someone who can and will have the means to keep the Bills in Buffalo as well as have them contributing proportionately in a modernized NFL. Bottom line.

I do not agree with profit sharing to the degree that a team as lucrative as say Dallas, or Washington need share their wealth with a lowly downtrodden franchise like Buffalo. It's like your neighbor asking you to give him a portion of your annual salary because you make more then he and he can no longer keep up with the neighborhood. It's bull****, and it's business. Plain and simple.

[RedEyE]

From my understanding Wilson has always spent cash. I think a lot of FA's we missed out on just didnt want to come to Buffahole.

Havent we always spent to the cap, during the 90's runs wasnt Wilson one of the big spenders with Kelly, Thurman and Co.?

The past couple years we have offered great contracts to athletes who ended up taking other deals in larger market areas. TKO was signed for what 30-35 mil or something?

I know Ralph can be stingy at times, but I mean is his reputation that deserved?

I think that's true as well, but I think recently the cap has hit a level that he can no longer keep up with.

I may sound gruff in my statements but I just think it's time for a change for this franchise. Sometimes you have to shed your skin to grow.

[jamze132]

He needs to sell the team before he kicks the bucket. I just hope he has a plan stated in his will that will keep the Bills in Buffalo.

[Goobylal]

Again, WHO is going to cough-up the $800M to buy the team and keep the team in Buffalo after he/she finds out that he needs to dip into his own money to sign big-name FA's and keep the team competitive, much less pay for top-notch coaches?

Everyone talks about the $31M GROSS (i.e. before taxes and other stuff) operating income Ralph stands to make this year (which is more conjecture on Forbes' part than anything), but that's with a cheaper head coach and assistant coaching staff, spending $10M less than the cap, and having NO other debt whatsoever, much less $800M.

And the NFL is not capitalism per se. They're out to make money as a group, but a successful group is the sum of its parts. The NFL got to where it is because EVERY team had a level playing field and had a chance every year. And the old system where the cap was based on shared revenue was perfect, because every team DID have a level playing field (even though Snyder plays Steinbrenner by destroying the pay/bonus scale), while not making every team have to share their total revenue.

What is mind-boggling is that the owners are so willing to give more money to the players, but not to the other owners. You know why? Because they want to shift the balance of power in the NFL, and that will make it like MLB.

So keep dissing Ralph. But don't worry; in a few years you won't have a team, much less an owner, to complain about.

[RedEyE]

Again, WHO is going to cough-up the $800M to buy the team and keep the team in Buffalo after he/she finds out that he needs to dip into his own money to sign big-name FA's and keep the team competitive, much less pay for top-notch coaches?

When Ralph started whining last season, several big name investors already stepped up to the plate, including Golsiano. Ralph chose to ignore their advances.



And the NFL is not capitalism per se. They're out to make money as a group, but a successful group is the sum of its parts. The NFL got to where it is because EVERY team had a level playing field and had a chance every year. And the old system where the cap was based on shared revenue was perfect, because every team DID have a level playing field (even though Snyder plays Steinbrenner by destroying the pay/bonus scale), while not making every team have to share their total revenue.

Each team is individualy owned like a corporate subsidiary of sorts. Kind of like Hughes owning GM and DirecTV. Just like a a corporation, if a portion of the business is doing poorly, or not generating enough revenue, a fix will be put in place. That fix is never the distribution of funds from other contributing companies. It's common financial practice not to give sail to a sinking ship. Now the NFL is differnt becasue they are based on a bunch of idvidual companies competeting in different markets. Is it really a problem or for that matter the responsibility for an owner like Dan Snyder to respond if the Buffalo Bills aren't filling seats or having trouble meeting salary requirements? No. You're crazy if you think otherwise. The NFL might have some invested interest, but in all seriousness if a franchise like the Buffal oBills fails, then their are at least 10 other cities in line to quadruple profits and boost marketing. While it might effect the views of professional football fans in Western New York, ultimately it doesn't effest the other 31 teams (soon to be 32) in the NFL. Adding another team only increases demand elsewhere. Is it in the NFL's best interest to let a team like Buffalo leave? Probably not. But in short, it really doesn't make that big of a difference anyway.

And as I've said before, there are investors that can and will make this a modern NFL franchise. This can also happen while keeping the team in Buffalo. Ralph just needs to get a grasp on his emotions and realize that he just doens't have the means to continue to support this team in this league (said so himself). Thanks for all that you done, Ralph, but time to let someone else give it a try.



So keep dissing Ralph. But don't worry; in a few years you won't have a team, much less an owner, to complain about.

His "dissing" himself. 30-2. Who do you think will honestly win that battle?

[Goobylal]

Golisano was speculation, and after the new CBA was signed, I stopped hearing anything more about him as a possible owner. He knows it's a losing proposition now and will be loathe to dig into his pockets to field a competitive team, while having ZERO assurances that the fans will show up.

As for your 2nd paragraph, you've successfully outlined the reason why the Bills should be leaving Buffalo, not why Ralph should no longer be the owner; i.e. because they have a fickle and poor fanbase who don't sellout games despite them being the cheapest in the NFL, thus making them unable to support a new stadium, which is what every owner truly needs. So this has NOTHING to do with Ralph and more to do with fans who live close enough to go to games.

And just because you face long odds, it doesn't mean you shouldn't CONTINUE to fight (and just because most are in agreement doesn't make it right; just look at the Iraq debacle!). Again why the owners felt the need to gladly give more money to the players and not their fellow owners reveals a lot about them as a group. And sad to say that they're going to destroy the NFL in the process. And before they do, I hope the Bills leave so I won't care anymore. But more hopefully, it doesn't get to that point.