Once the Bills leave (if they do), there will be no ressurection of the franchise in this town...UNLESS...this town comes out of it's economic depression and the politicians get their heads out of their asses because this is a declining city with plenty to offer but too many *******s at the top not making the right decisions and only do things that benefit only themselves and their political pals.
This city is a lot like Pittsburgh in that the population is shrinking, but Pittsburgh is ahead of Buffalo in the fact that taxes arent that high and property taxes arent either. And theyre adding to their waterfront and cleaning up the property along the rivers meanwhile Buffalos massive expanse of lake front property is a trash heap. Buffalo has all the opportunity to be a beautiful city with plenty to offer, it's just the people in charge and the fact that NYC sucks the life out of the rest of NY...it's unfortunate because Buffalo has just as much culture, pride, and importance as any other city represented in the NFL... If the Sabres can make a lot of money in a lesser league such as the NHL, then I think if someone who knew what they were doing was in charge of the Bills and built us to be relevant in the league as we once were in the 90s, then we'd see plenty of more fans in that respect.
I wonder what the ratio of Bills fans to Sabres fans is...
I mean you see how popular a team is when they do well...look at the list of top 20 hockey jerseys sold last season:
1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres
3. Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
4. Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo Sabres
5. Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
6. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
7. Chris Drury, Buffalo Sabres
8. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
9. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
10. Peter Forsberg, Nashville Predators/Philadelphia Flyers
11. Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres
12. Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
13. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
14. Mike Modano, Dallas Stars
15. Jaromir Jagr, New York Rangers
16. Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers
17. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
18. Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres
19. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
20. Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
8 players from the Sabres were popular enough to be on that list...whens the last time one of the Bills were popular enough to be on a top 20 list? I know it's a stupid thing to be pointing out but hell, winning breeds popularity and popularity breeds more fans (although some may be bandwagon jumpers), but more fans = more revenue. The Sabres play in the same tiny market as the Bills but people like to root for the winner, and the Sabres have been winners for the most part (and I believe they will be next season).
In conclusion...if we just had the Bills be good for any of the past 8 years....I doubt this whole Toronto thing would have ever been forced to happen. Although we do sell out our stadium, NFL teams make money from merchandise sales and advertising also...and when your team stinks you lose our on both those big revenue streams.
So Ralphy, you have only yourself to blame for your unsuccessful tenure as president of the Bills...and I think youre time is running out to witness a Superbowl...but apparently you being able to sell a team for massive amounts of money to Toronto is your own personal Superbowl, huh?
This city is a lot like Pittsburgh in that the population is shrinking, but Pittsburgh is ahead of Buffalo in the fact that taxes arent that high and property taxes arent either. And theyre adding to their waterfront and cleaning up the property along the rivers meanwhile Buffalos massive expanse of lake front property is a trash heap. Buffalo has all the opportunity to be a beautiful city with plenty to offer, it's just the people in charge and the fact that NYC sucks the life out of the rest of NY...it's unfortunate because Buffalo has just as much culture, pride, and importance as any other city represented in the NFL... If the Sabres can make a lot of money in a lesser league such as the NHL, then I think if someone who knew what they were doing was in charge of the Bills and built us to be relevant in the league as we once were in the 90s, then we'd see plenty of more fans in that respect.
I wonder what the ratio of Bills fans to Sabres fans is...
I mean you see how popular a team is when they do well...look at the list of top 20 hockey jerseys sold last season:
1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres
3. Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
4. Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo Sabres
5. Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
6. Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
7. Chris Drury, Buffalo Sabres
8. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
9. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
10. Peter Forsberg, Nashville Predators/Philadelphia Flyers
11. Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres
12. Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
13. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
14. Mike Modano, Dallas Stars
15. Jaromir Jagr, New York Rangers
16. Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers
17. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
18. Derek Roy, Buffalo Sabres
19. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
20. Teemu Selanne, Anaheim Ducks
8 players from the Sabres were popular enough to be on that list...whens the last time one of the Bills were popular enough to be on a top 20 list? I know it's a stupid thing to be pointing out but hell, winning breeds popularity and popularity breeds more fans (although some may be bandwagon jumpers), but more fans = more revenue. The Sabres play in the same tiny market as the Bills but people like to root for the winner, and the Sabres have been winners for the most part (and I believe they will be next season).
In conclusion...if we just had the Bills be good for any of the past 8 years....I doubt this whole Toronto thing would have ever been forced to happen. Although we do sell out our stadium, NFL teams make money from merchandise sales and advertising also...and when your team stinks you lose our on both those big revenue streams.
So Ralphy, you have only yourself to blame for your unsuccessful tenure as president of the Bills...and I think youre time is running out to witness a Superbowl...but apparently you being able to sell a team for massive amounts of money to Toronto is your own personal Superbowl, huh?
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