I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

[DesertFox24]

Look I will be honest I have never lived in NY State, I have relatives near Albany and in the City but I myself have never lived in the state. Spent a lot of summers there with my grandparents and such but my dad was military so we moved a lot.

I make no bones about why I am a bills fan, I was young, they were awesome, and I loved their uniforms and the personalities on the team. Bruce Smith is my favorite Bill of all time, and Stevie was/is my favorite bill since the glory days finished. I am not putting in the same class as our HOFs, just saying since they left/retired I have not liked a Bills player as much as Stevie.

That being said I lived in South Carolina since I graduated college and now live in Nevada. I have no attachments to the city of Buffalo and this is the point of the first two paragraphs.

That being said if the Bills move from Buffalo to ANYWHERE Toronto or even LA (which is close to me 8 or 9 hour drive) I will not be a fan of the team. Even if they somehow keep the name Bills I will not be a fan of them anymore and will probably not be a fan of pro football in general.

I will watch pro football but it will never be the same it will be equivalent to how I watch college football - I will jsut watch the big games and if I have other plans oh well. (I went to an FCS school in the south and route for them but they are never on TV, even when I lived in the same city never on TV).

Anyway I know this is something none of us want to talk about but if that jack A$$ jovi buys the team and moves to LA or TO what will you do. What if they keep the Bills name and all the history or if they have to change it. When the Ravens moved they lost all the history, when the Cardinals moved they kept all their history that is what is meant by that.

[OpIv37]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I grew up in Rochester and started watching football during the Bills' heyday. Bruce Smith is also my all-time favorite player, although pretty much everyone on the team was likeable back then.

When the Bills were winning, it engulfed the entire region. When the Bills won, it was a weeklong party. When the Bills lost, it was this wave of melancholy that just hung in the air until Thursday, when people started thinking about the next game. And it's not just the locals who feel it. Greg "Opie" Hughes, from the Opie and Anthony show, grew up in Long Island but went to Geneseo and did radio in Buffalo and Rochester before making it on his own. He said the exact same thing from his time in the region.

The Bills meant a lot to the region, and while it was more exciting when they were winning, they still do. I haven't lived in WNY since 2001 and likely never will again, as my brothers and parents have also moved out and my extended family isn't from the area. I've remained a Bills fan all that time, at great inconvenience and expense, despite all the struggles. The only thing that will ever make me cease being a fan is if they move (and by that I mean leaving the area- I really don't care if they move downtown or to NF or Batavia as long as it's still close enough to be the Buffalo Bills).

I'm in Baltimore now, so if that ever happens, I'll be a half-assed Ravens fan because I can watch them for free. I won't buy any merch or follow the team through the whole off-season like I do now. And I'll curse whatever team the Bills become and root for them to lose every game, even against the Patriots and Fish.

[swiper]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I grew up in Niagara County. I had a great childhood there. Wouldn't trade it in for anything. Picked up as a Bills fan around age 8 or so. One of my very first memories of football was the 1972 Superbowl - the Dolphins beat the Redskins to have a perfect season.

If the Bills left Buffalo I would be heartbroken. So many good people there. So many loyal Bills fans. Wouldn't be right. I always hoped I'd see a Super Bowl victory parade down Main Street in Buffalo before I died. Can't imagine in on Yonge Street.

[BADTHINGSMAN]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I'm a Bills fan because they are the home team. Take them from Buffalo and they become nothing to me. The history of the franchise IMO will mean nothing if the Bills are not the Buffalo Bills. I was 8-11 years old during the 90's Bills success. Watching with my Dad, not understanding much of the game but knowing the Bills were the home team, the good guys. Those memories will last, but wont be the same if the Bills move.

[better days]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I seriously doubt Bills fans have to worry about the Bills moving.

Toronto has a much bigger population, but it is composed of many immigrants which have no love of the NFL.

Even long time Canadians have no real passion for the NFL, Hockey is their sport.

The NFL would be a DISTANT 2nd in Toronto to the Leafs.

[LVGrown]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I was born, raised and still live in Vegas and have zero ties to Buffalo, NY with the exception of my love for the Bills. I've never been within a thousand miles of NY for that matter. I became a fan during the Redskins Superbowl, everyone else was rooting for the Skins and me being the little rebel I was rooted for the underdog. So began my love hate relationship with a team I had no business falling in love with. I learned everything I know about football from my uncle a die-hard LA Rams fan. I watched him go through the devastation of his boys moving and admired the way he stuck with them. I've often wondered if I could be as faithful as he has been and I've realized the answer is yes, I might even smile if they moved to LA because I would buy season tickets as quick as I could enter my debit card info. I'd never wish or want for that though because I put myself in the shoes of all of you locals and can only imagine how scary it must be to think of your city without the Bills. I want my Bills to stay in Buffalo and have all the confidence that they will.

[Oaf]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

The Bills moving might be a good thing for my sanity. I'd still be interested, but probably in a more detached way. Might be good if we stay a perennial 6-10'er.

[Beebe]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I'm born and raised in Los Angeles I became a BILLS fan in 1988 I was 8, I loved their uniforms, and everybody in my family is either a Raiders fan or Cowboys fan. So you can imagine the 4 superbowls, I even have a tattoo of the my BILLS on my right arm to show my love for my BILLS and I got the tattoo so that I could never change teams. I've never been to Buffalo the closest I've been there is when I was in Chicago and that's when my grandmother past away,everybody here tells me hey what if the BILLS come here wouldn't you be happy? And I say I don't know, but the truth of the matter is that L.A. deserves a new team not a team that has a great history and great fans and no I don't want them to move keep them there.This year we win the Superbowl, I say that every year no matter who we have, and I will always say it.Let's go BUFFALO!!!

[Beebe]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that everybody in my family calls me (Beebe) because I would always talk about him and his speed and every time we played football that's what they would call me because I was the fastest guy in our team and funny thing is that when I was 14 I got shot on my left eye with a BB gun and I'm half blind from that eye so everybody said I was meant for that nick name. LOL

[swiper]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

Don Beebe = white lightning

[ghz in pittsburgh]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I'm not sure Toronto is a serious threat. LA might be.

Big time sports have a unique common theme: television driven. Look around: soccer (globally), #1 TV ratings. NFL, MLB, MBA are proof. Soccer in US is not big time because people don't watch it on TV enough.

Unfortunately for Toronto, NFL TV ratings won't be included. It's still US domestic driven. Yes NFL is still trying to get into the international market, but until other countries start to play the same sports and have serious following of the sports, it's not going to work very well.

[coastal]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I'd be done with the NFL period. Close to that decision anyways.

[Turf]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I grew up throwing a football to myself and diving for it on my bed, pretending I was Albert Dubenion, or Lamonica, or Kemp. No, there's only one Buffalo Bills.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I grew up in Los Angeles, live about 90 miles away, and I still wouldn't want the Bills there.

[bleve]

Re: I live in Nevada and have been a Bills fan since 8

I grew up throwing a football to myself and diving for it on my bed, pretending I was Albert Dubenion, or Lamonica, or Kemp. No, there's only one Buffalo Bills.

When I was a kid, when I used to play pick-up football wearing a white T-shirt with a "44" stuck on it with electrical tape. (By the way, it's Elbert :-) )

As, yes, I would stop watching NFL period should the Bills ever leave.