Bills/Dolphins game will be blacked out

[Uncle Jesse]

16,000 tickets left for this one....Mike Rodak of ESPN reports, and that the game will be blacked out.


http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/5369/report-bills-dolphins-game-blacked-out

[stuckincincy]

I recently learned that an owner can buy up tix at 34% of face value to avoid a blackout.

[BuffRanger]

Russ Brandon is driving this franchise even deeper into the ground. What a ****up.

[SpikedLemonade]

We have known this one would be for a while.

No big charitable move by Ralph to buy the tickets and give them to away in some fashion?

[TacklingDummy]

Shocker, next year our last home game will be against New England. They are more of a rivalry now than Miami which should cause the last game to sell more tickets seeing how the Bills probably will have 5 or 6 wins going into that game.

[sukie]

Is the anger above because of the blackout? The fact the owner won't buy up the fanless seats? or the crappy product makin fans stay home? or the apathy of Bills fans ?, or the old man smell of mothballs, tooth plaque and urine coming from the owner's box?, or the fact that a sellout in JAX worth of tix still remain?

[Ed]

If the Bills had beaten Atlanta and Tampa they would be in position to take the 6th seed with a win over Miami since they would hold head to head tie-breakers over both Miami and Baltimore. I bet they wouldn't have had any issues selling out the game under that scenario. It wouldn't take much for this team to be able to sell a lot more tickets fairly easily.

[black N yellow]

this situation aside, the entire blackout rule is a crock of ****.

[Historian]

this situation aside, the entire blackout rule is a crock of ****.

Brian Higgins, our Congressman sent a letter to Goodell a few weeks ago requesting an end to blackouts.

I don't know how far it will go, but the logic is, in essence, that blackouts really have become moot in the day and age of 500 channels and sports subsidies.

[Historian]

http://higgins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/higgins-calls-for-end-to-nfl-blackout-policy

[better days]

Well, I expect many more fans at this game in Buffalo than the amount of fans that were in Jax on a cool day last Sunday.

If you live in the Buffalo Area & you want to see the game, go to it.

[G Wolly]

If you live in the Buffalo Area & you want to see the game, go to it.

Perfect reiteration of the blackout rule.

[SpikedLemonade]

I recently learned that an owner can buy up tix at 34% of face value to avoid a blackout.

OK, let's do some math...

The 2013 average per game price for a non-premium individual game ticket is $74.51 .

Assuming another 1,000 get sold before Thursday leaving 15,000 tickets left.

$74.51 * 15,000 * 34% = $380,000.

The Bills must lose some local TV advertising if the game is blacked out.

The 15,000 used tickets will generate additional concession sales and parking lot sales.

If the Bills give the tickets to a charity, they may also get a tax write-off at the face value rather than the 34%.

In other words, it would seem to be cheap advertising for the Bills needing to sell tickets next year and future years to simply buy these tickets to remove the black out. After all, as Russ said they manufactured all of the sell outs this year except one or two games.

Ralph won't do it on principle. He voted against lowering the % of tickets needing to be sold to lift a blackout.

Why?

Because Ralph Wilson believes in his mind that he is THE pioneer that created the AFL and he should make as much money as teams in Dallas, Washington and New York. He resents the City of Buffalo and always has.

He did not move the team because he missed his window to do it before the Superbowl years and at an older age did not have the energy to go through the hassle of moving them after the Superbowl years. That plus not too many cities wanted him with his poor record from 1960 - 1990.

Not lifting the blackout is Ralph's way of saying FU to the City of Buffalo -- "those ungrateful losers of a city".

[BillsFever21]

No real big surprise here. We've had trouble selling out games all season and there wasn't a chance this one would with a 5-9 record the weekend before Christmas.

We bring in a new coaching staff and a 1st round rookie QB and we still can't legitimately sell out most of our games. That is usually the thing to spur ticket sales. The only thing that will work is winning. We start winning and we will have better ticket sales once again. Each year the average fan is finding it a waste of money to spend hundreds of dollars to attend a game to watch a losing team.

[DolfanTom]

OK, let's do some math...

The 2013 average per game price for a non-premium individual game ticket is $74.51 .

Assuming another 1,000 get sold before Thursday leaving 15,000 tickets left.

$74.51 * 15,000 * 34% = $380,000.

The Bills must lose some local TV advertising if the game is blacked out.

The 15,000 used tickets will generate additional concession sales and parking lot sales.

If the Bills give the tickets to a charity, they may also get a tax write-off at the face value rather than the 34%.

In other words, it would seem to be cheap advertising for the Bills needing to sell tickets next year and future years to simply buy these tickets to remove the black out. After all, as Russ said they manufactured all of the sell outs this year except one or two games.

Ralph won't do it on principle. He voted against lowering the % of tickets needing to be sold to lift a blackout.

Why?

Because Ralph Wilson believes in his mind that he is THE pioneer that created the AFL and he should make as much money as teams in Dallas, Washington and New York. He resents the City of Buffalo and always has.

He did not move the team because he missed his window to do it before the Superbowl years and at an older age did not have the energy to go through the hassle of moving them after the Superbowl years. That plus not too many cities wanted him with his poor record from 1960 - 1990.

Not lifting the blackout is Ralph's way of saying FU to the City of Buffalo -- "those ungrateful losers of a city".

I highly doubt he did in the early 90's.

[DraftBoy]

http://higgins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/higgins-calls-for-end-to-nfl-blackout-policy

Unless Higgins gets a spot on Judiciary where he could raise problems for the NFL's tax exempt status this will likely get a canned response.

[SpikedLemonade]

I highly doubt he did in the early 90's.

I agree.

You have to remember that Ralph wanted this team in Miami rather than Buffalo.

Once he got the Buffalo team and professional football exploded, he did very well on his initial $25K investment.

Nonetheless, the City of Buffalo was much more of a city relative to other US cities in 1960 compared to what it became in 1990.

The individual fans in Buffalo have been loyal but the business community to purchase suites at anywhere near the average NFL prices simply disappeared. However, Ralph had to charge almost the lowest average NFL price for seats and suites to obtain attendance.

[Mace]

Don't support them if they upset you and get used to blackouts.

Or support them in the middle of open air winter even if they upset you.

Or, I'll just stay warm, upset, and watching them on the interwebs with an evil combination of both, because it's how I am.

[YardRat]

Hell, this team had trouble selling out December games even when they were successful.

The Comeback was blacked out, for chrissakes, and that was a playoff game, obviously.

Don't give me that **** that the only difference in selling out or not in Buffalo is dependent on winning.

[Skooby]

When the December schedule was released.

[better days]

Hell, this team had trouble selling out December games even when they were successful.

The Comeback was blacked out, for chrissakes, and that was a playoff game, obviously.

Don't give me that **** that the only difference in selling out or not in Buffalo is dependent on winning.

While the comeback was a playoff game, the Bills did not play well that season.

And they played worse as the season progressed. Kelly was injured.

EVERYONE knew Reich would be the Bills QB for that game.

NOBODY expected the Bills to win that game against the Oilers!

I watched the game at my brothers Condo in Sarasota & he wanted to watch golf instead.

WE watched the game at his place because he just got a new state of the art 27" TV (the biggest TV you could buy) from Sound Advice (long out of business).

And had it hooked up to his stereo.

I told him I did not come over here to watch golf, we are going to watch the Bills.

At half time he turned on the golf game & he wanted to leave it on.

I made him turn the Bills game back on just as the 3rd Qtr started so we both got to see the COMEBACK.

YES I am telling you & everyone else, if Bills fans THINK the Bills have a CHANCE to win, selling out will not be a problem.

[imbondz]

Hell, this team had trouble selling out December games even when they were successful.

The Comeback was blacked out, for chrissakes, and that was a playoff game, obviously.

Don't give me that **** that the only difference in selling out or not in Buffalo is dependent on winning.

Yep. I remember in the 3rd n 4th SB run there were games that struggled to sell out. Not to mention that playoff game.

[imbondz]

I will say tho that the NFL has changed since the early 90's. I can't imagine a Bills playoff game not selling out now.

The Oilers killed us the week before that game, that contributed to people not going too.

[better days]

I will say tho that the NFL has changed since the early 90's. I can't imagine a Bills playoff game not selling out now.

The Oilers killed us the week before that game, that contributed to people not going too.

Along with Kelly being injured.

NOBODY gave the Bills a chance to win that playoff game.

[jamze132]

I highly doubt that in today's NFL, we won't sellout a playoff game. In Buffalo. Come on.

[TacklingDummy]

Hell, this team had trouble selling out December games even when they were successful.

The Comeback was blacked out, for chrissakes, and that was a playoff game, obviously.

Don't give me that **** that the only difference in selling out or not in Buffalo is dependent on winning.
300,000 people stayed for the whole game.

[Historian]

The Wild Card against the Jags was blacked out too.

I remember listening to it on the radio the Saturday that I picked up my daughter's crib.

She was born in February.....seventeen years ago!

[Uncle Jesse]

I'm pro blackouts for non sellouts. This doesn't bother me.

[Turf]

Is the anger above because of the blackout? The fact the owner won't buy up the fanless seats? or the crappy product makin fans stay home? or the apathy of Bills fans ?, or the old man smell of mothballs, tooth plaque and urine coming from the owner's box?, or the fact that a sellout in JAX worth of tix still remain?

For me to sit on a metal seat in 15 degree weather and freeze my ass off three days before Christmas, the team better be playing for first place. The NFL should consider starting in August, wrapping the season up before Christmas, and have the Super Bowl after the holidays in early January. And Buffalo need to get a dome to survive.

[Dr. Lecter]

For me to sit on a metal seat in 15 degree weather and freeze my ass off three days before Christmas, the team better be playing for first place. The NFL should consider starting in August, wrapping the season up before Christmas, and have the Super Bowl after the holidays in early January. And Buffalo need to get a dome to survive.

that would be great for Buffalo, but could be problematic for Arizona, Dallas, Miami, etc.

And they do not need a dome to survive.

They need to win. And get a corporate base, which will not happen.

[Albany,n.y.]

While the comeback was a playoff game, the Bills did not play well that season.

And they played worse as the season progressed. Kelly was injured.

EVERYONE knew Reich would be the Bills QB for that game.

NOBODY expected the Bills to win that game against the Oilers!

I watched the game at my brothers Condo in Sarasota & he wanted to watch golf instead.

WE watched the game at his place because he just got a new state of the art 27" TV (the biggest TV you could buy) from Sound Advice (long out of business).

And had it hooked up to his stereo.

I told him I did not come over here to watch golf, we are going to watch the Bills.

At half time he turned on the golf game & he wanted to leave it on.

I made him turn the Bills game back on just as the 3rd Qtr started so we both got to see the COMEBACK.

YES I am telling you & everyone else, if Bills fans THINK the Bills have a CHANCE to win, selling out will not be a problem.

A little bit of revisionist history there:

The Bills were tied for the best record in the AFC. They couldn't have played as badly as you think if they were among the 4 teams with the best conference record. Unfortunately, all 5 losses were in the conference & Miami won the division on a tie breaker.

Fans had a lot of faith in Frank Reich. He won big games, including a division decider in 1990 earlier in his career.

Maybe in Florida you thought the Bills had no chance, but I didn't see anyone going into Rich Stadium expecting the Bills to lose. I went to the game expecting a win as did just about everybody else who went to the game that day. Now by halftime we weren't thinking that the Bills would win the game, but the crowd was optimistic going into the stadium.

I think the main reason the game didn't sell out was because after getting a bye and not being in the wild card game the prior 2 years, I believe some fans thought a wild card game was beneath them. It was more complacency than fans expecting the Bills to lose, and it wasn't like the stadium was empty, the attendance was 75,141.

[IAG]

The Congressman has no chance...lol.

[Historian]

I think the main reason the game didn't sell out was because after getting a bye and not being in the wild card game the prior 2 years, I believe some fans thought a wild card game was beneath them. It was more complacency than fans expecting the Bills to lose, and it wasn't like the stadium was empty, the attendance was 75,141.

A lot of winning did breed a bit of complacency.

Just the way losing has recently.

Ironic, no?

If I remember correctly, after the back to back losses to the Colts and Jets, I figured they were a long shot for the Division Crown, so I never sent my playoff voucher back in.

[better days]

A little bit of revisionist history there:

The Bills were tied for the best record in the AFC. They couldn't have played as badly as you think if they were among the 4 teams with the best conference record. Unfortunately, all 5 losses were in the conference & Miami won the division on a tie breaker.

Fans had a lot of faith in Frank Reich. He won big games, including a division decider in 1990 earlier in his career.

Maybe in Florida you thought the Bills had no chance, but I didn't see anyone going into Rich Stadium expecting the Bills to lose. I went to the game expecting a win as did just about everybody else who went to the game that day. Now by halftime we weren't thinking that the Bills would win the game, but the crowd was optimistic going into the stadium.

I think the main reason the game didn't sell out was because after getting a bye and not being in the wild card game the prior 2 years, I believe some fans thought a wild card game was beneath them. It was more complacency than fans expecting the Bills to lose, and it wasn't like the stadium was empty, the attendance was 75,141.

BS The Bills were playing TERRIBLE. The Oilers JUST beat them & now they were playing the OILERS again.

People went to that game HOPING the Bills would win, but you were probably the only person in that Stadium that expected the Bills to win.

I would bet the VAST majority of Bills fans did not expect the Bills to win that game.

[DynaPaul]

Who wants to pay to see this pile of crap in the freezing cold? I'll watch from my Laz-E-Boy. Thanks.

[SaviorEdwards]

I'm glad I can see it...just move out of the state. :chuckle:

[Albany,n.y.]

BS The Bills were playing TERRIBLE. The Oilers JUST beat them & now they were playing the OILERS again.

People went to that game HOPING the Bills would win, but you were probably the only person in that Stadium that expected the Bills to win.

I would bet the VAST majority of Bills fans did not expect the Bills to win that game.

You were in Florida for the game, I was in Orchard Park for the game. I know what the attitude was better than you do. Unless you were listening to the local radio, reading the papers, or were magically transported to WNY that morning & returned to Florida for the game, you cannot be serious calling BS on someone who was there.
The Oilers beat the Bills in a dome & were now playing outside. The attitude was home field changes everything.
You're as wet as the weather was at times during the game.
I'd bet the vast majority of Bills fans in Florida didn't know jack about what the attitude was in WNY because you weren't there.

[Albany,n.y.]

A lot of winning did breed a bit of complacency.

Just the way losing has recently.

Ironic, no?

If I remember correctly, after the back to back losses to the Colts and Jets, I figured they were a long shot for the Division Crown, so I never sent my playoff voucher back in.

Did you send in your Super Bowl lottery money? When the vouchers came my friend who I pooled my chances with & I both sent in our money. He won, I lost, so we went on his tickets. That was the cheapest SB I got to go to, brought the whole thing in with flight, motel & rental car for about $750 (we spilt the cost on the car & motel room). Now the face value on the ticket is around that price.

[Historian]

We tried for tix to the first SB, not the following three, as I recall.

It was so long ago, I barely remember it.

[TacklingDummy]

I heard a rumor that if the Bills make the playoffs and its a home game, the Toronto agreement states it will be in Toronto.

[Historian]

Well then at least it will be on tv...

:couch:

[Skooby]

Well then at least it will be on tv...

:couch:

Pandora's box right here.

[Turf]

I heard a rumor that if the Bills make the playoffs and its a home game, the Toronto agreement states it will be in Toronto.


That better not be true. People would lost their minds.

[better days]

You were in Florida for the game, I was in Orchard Park for the game. I know what the attitude was better than you do. Unless you were listening to the local radio, reading the papers, or were magically transported to WNY that morning & returned to Florida for the game, you cannot be serious calling BS on someone who was there.
The Oilers beat the Bills in a dome & were now playing outside. The attitude was home field changes everything.
You're as wet as the weather was at times during the game.
I'd bet the vast majority of Bills fans in Florida didn't know jack about what the attitude was in WNY because you weren't there.

Well, true I was not there, but the same as on this board, a Bills fan is a Bills fan no matter where they are located.

If there were a board back then, there would have been MANY threads about how the Bills have no chance to win that game, with a FEW people like you posting in those threads saying the Bills would win because of home field advantage.

[better days]

I heard a rumor that if the Bills make the playoffs and its a home game, the Toronto agreement states it will be in Toronto.

Where 30,000 people would show up for it.

[Albany,n.y.]

Well, true I was not there, but the same as on this board, a Bills fan is a Bills fan no matter where they are located.

If there were a board back then, there would have been MANY threads about how the Bills have no chance to win that game, with a FEW people like you posting in those threads saying the Bills would win because of home field advantage.

1st paragraph-very true
2nd paragraph-there are always many threads that the Bills can't win, because you get some pretty negative posters who expect doom. The types where if Publisher's Clearing House came to their door, they'd shoot them & end up in jail as a self fulfilling prophecy and never be able to use their millions except on legal fees. Bottom line is there was no board & your premise is based on pure speculation because of your personal opinion of what you expected. I just didn't see any of that negativity at the stadium, so at least I have my observation rather than just a personal opinion.

[stuckincincy]

Fait accompli - game is blacked out:

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Bills-Dolphins-game-to-be-blacked-out/663331e9-b073-4f5c-8b8f-094b07da4c00

AFAIK, they didn't apply for the 27-hour extension.

[better days]

1st paragraph-very true
2nd paragraph-there are always many threads that the Bills can't win, because you get some pretty negative posters who expect doom. The types where if Publisher's Clearing House came to their door, they'd shoot them & end up in jail as a self fulfilling prophecy and never be able to use their millions except on legal fees. Bottom line is there was no board & your premise is based on pure speculation because of your personal opinion of what you expected. I just didn't see any of that negativity at the stadium, so at least I have my observation rather than just a personal opinion.

Well, I have my observation from the Bills fans in Fla I talked to. I doubt it would be much different than it is today. Pessimists like Op & Optimists like me.

And as big an optimist as I am, having been called HOMER MANY times, I did not expect the Bills would win that game.

I was hopeful they would win, but I did not expect it.

I do not buy your premise that Bills fans in Buffalo thought different than Bills fans in Fla did.

Hell, many of the Bills fans in Fla were down on vacation from Buffalo & snowbirds that Winter in Fla.

From the late 80's on, Bills fans in Sarasota would go watch the games at The Cabana Inn on US 41 in Sarasota.

I saw every game there that year so I know the Bills were playing TERRIBLE at the end of the season.

And the overwhelming consensus among Bills fans I talked to at the Cabana was there was a snowballs chance in hell the Bills would win the playoff game against the Oilers.

I talked to HUNDREDS of people at the Cabana because it was a fluid crowd with a number of TV's all showing Bills games, Inside the bar & ouside at the TIKI bar by the pool. You probably talked to a handful of people you sat next to or tailgated with.

Just as I do not believe that Bills fans in Buffalo thought different about this game than Bills fans in Fla, I don't believe the sentiment at the Stadium was that the Bills were expected to win.

[better days]

Well, I just read on profootballtalk.com that the Bengals have not sold out their game Sunday against the Vikings.

They still have 3,500 tickets to sell & were given an extension until 4PM Friday to sell out.

The Bengals are in the thick of the playoff race & have not lost a home game this season.

I don't want to hear anymore crap about the Bills failure to sell out!

[stuckincincy]

Well, I just read on profootballtalk.com that the Bengals have not sold out their game Sunday against the Vikings.

They still have 3,500 tickets to sell & were given an extension until 4PM Friday to sell out.

The Bengals are in the thick of the playoff race & have not lost a home game this season.

I don't want to hear anymore crap about the Bills failure to sell out!

Only idiots go to CIN games. Mike Brown, Marvin Lewis, Jay Gruden, etc. The Bengals organization can be in the thick of whatever, but when the game is big, they come up small.

If you think I support that collection of avaricious charlatans, you are WRONG.

[better days]

Only idiots go to CIN games. Mike Brown, Marvin Lewis, Jay Gruden, etc. The Bengals organization can be in the thick of whatever, but when the game is big, they come up small.

If you think I support that collection of avaricious charlatans, you are WRONG.

Well, obviously you are joined by MANY other people in Cinci that don't support the Bengals.

That is my point. Despite 14 years without being in the playoffs, the Bills have better support than MANY teams including the Bengals.

[better days]

And now I see the Chargers have not sold out yet either. And like the Bengals will get an extension to sell out the remaining tickets.

The Chargers are the only team so far this year to have had a game blacked out.

[Historian]

From the late 80's on, Bills fans in Sarasota would go watch the games at The Cabana Inn on US 41 in Sarasota.

.

I always thought that place was a dump.

We found a little place on Cortez Ave in Bradenton that used to put the Bills on their Big screen. Good food too.

I watched the Comeback game at Neighbors in Cheektowaga. It was mobbed because of the blackout, so we stood in the back.

As the Oiler lead grew, the place began to empty out.

At halftime, the place was vacant, and my buddy asks what do I wanna do?

I said, **** it, lets sit at the bar and order wings. There's still half a game left.

Then the Bills began to come back. After each score, people began shuffling back in.

By OT the bar was as packed as it was at noon, lol.

True story.

[better days]

Yeah it was a dump. a 1950's motel. But it had a huge bar/restaurant, TIKI bar, beautiful pool & cheap rooms if you got too drunk to drive or hooked up with somebody.

In the 80's & 90's it was the Bills bar in Sarasota & a lot of pretty women would show up for the game.

It had good food, beef on weck on game day. And the drinks weren't overpriced.

A HUGE satellite on the roof (before Directv) A HUGE projection TV which like all big screen TV's back then was blurry & had to be watched in the dark.

Like I said there were many regular 27" TV's throughout the bar & outside at the Tiki bar. There were probably about 8 TV's outside alone.

And every TV had the Bills game on except a couple that had the Bucs on.

So what was your take on the game? Do you agree with me that the Bills were not expected to win that game or do you agree with Albany & think Bills fans in Buffalo expected to win the game?

[Historian]

Personally, I felt the Bills were the better team and would win the game. (Even without Jimbo and TT)

We always had trouble in the Astrodome, but in OP, we usually beat them, as we did in the 88 playoffs.

I think most felt that the Bills were having an "off" year, by "only" earning a WC berth.

Long shot for a 3rd SB, but should beat the Oilers.

[Historian]

And the ironic thing is that if Houston had lost the last week, they would have hosted that WC game, against somebody else I believe.

[Skooby]

I watched the Comeback game at Neighbors in Cheektowaga. It was mobbed because of the blackout, so we stood in the back.

As the Oiler lead grew, the place began to empty out.

At halftime, the place was vacant, and my buddy asks what do I wanna do?

I said, **** it, lets sit at the bar and order wings. There's still half a game left.

Then the Bills began to come back. After each score, people began shuffling back in.

By OT the bar was as packed as it was at noon, lol.

True story.

I went to Club KC on Kensington to watch it, Rick owned it & I wasn't of age but we played for his hockey team / drank there anyways. I don't think there wasn't a place we didn't drink.

[BertSquirtgum]

I'm not going to sit in pouring rain to watch this ****ty ass team.

[Skooby]

I'm not going to sit in COLD pouring rain to watch this ****ty ass team.
Fixed it.

[tampabay25690]

Well, I expect many more fans at this game in Buffalo than the amount of fans that were in Jax on a cool day last Sunday.

If you live in the Buffalo Area & you want to see the game, go to it.

I agree!!!!
The out of town bills fans gave show up what about the in town fans?!!