Tweet
Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Years ago after his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I wrote an article for this site stating that Ralph Wilson was not qualified to be induced into the Hall of Fame as an owner. He did many things to save the AFL and grow pro football into the mega industry that it is today but at that time it appeared that he didn't ensure the future of the Bills in Buffalo. I retract that statement. It appears that the trust was designed to assure that the sale of the Bills means the team stays here. Thank you, Hall of Fame Owner Ralph Wilson of the Buffalo Bills. This is a great day in Buffalo and I am one very happy fan.
-
For all the education and practice each of us undergoes, the achievment of mastery is ultimately the outcome of a personal quest for understanding. -
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Amen! Good to see you out of hibernation! -
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
i still don't think he is. he is getting credit for having along term plan to keep the team in buffalo.
yet if it wasn't for the lease and the emergce of pegula as a big monied players, i don't know if his plan was as rock solid as people say. he left the bills in the lurch when he was in his late 80's then.
as for football, he was a kind guy and lent AL davis money, and he's been very charitable, but he put his cronies ahead of really good football guys.
i still think he could have done more earlier to ensure the bills stayed, but it's played out how we would prefer so there is no reason to harp on it. but it's also no reason to make him into something more than he was.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Who are you?
J/K, hi Eb.
Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
He gave us a team. It was the one great thing he did. Allowing us to keep the team is simply not undoing the one great thing he did.
In the meantime, he gave us 54 years of football that was generally awful. We are arguably the worst team in the league over the last 14 years.
If he deserves in, then every original owner of every team deserves in.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
I have no words for what a POS the post above is to denigrate the deceased, a man who was beyond generous, kind, and honest. A man that helped keep the AFL afloat, a legend. What have you done with your life?Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Nothing but I really wish I could sign up for the Ralph Wilson plan: do one great thing then be mediocre for the rest my life while getting rich and having people heap praises on me.Originally posted by HAMMER View Post
I don't know why people like you refuse to see that Ralph is solely responsible for a ll the awful football we've had to endure.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
You can be such an unbelievable douche sometimes.Originally posted by OpIv37 View PostComment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
There's more to life than winning football. Ralph donated mega bucks to charity throughout his life, including many Buffalo based groups.Originally posted by OpIv37 View Post
End of reply to you, now a general thought:
I was fortunate in that I trusted Ralph all along and never worried that he didn't have some plan to keep the team in Buffalo after his death and never wasted any time thinking up paranoid scenarios where the Bills would be leaving in the middle of the night. I'm sure some of those same people will now start to worry what would happen if the Pegulas start hating each other and get divorced before a new stadium is built. There will always be some people who can't live without misery and thoughts of what if miseries in their lives.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Wonder why Ralph didn't want to sell the team to the Pegula's or anybody else during his lifetime.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Ralph signing that lease was the greatest single event he could of done before his passing, it virtually eliminated the team moving on any reasonable level in the near future.Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
It's the truth. He gave us YEARS of **** football but many of you won't stop kissing his ass just because we have a team (and one that's frustrated us a lot more than it's made us happy).Originally posted by Don't Panic View PostComment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Lots of people give a lot of money to charity. That doesn't make them worthy of the NFL HOF.Originally posted by Albany,n.y. View PostComment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
Eb shows up stirs the pot. Drops the mic and walks off.I remember that one fateful day when Coach took me aside. I knew what was coming. "You don't have to tell me," I said. "I'm off the team, aren't I?"
"Well," said Coach, "you never were really ON the team. You made that uniform you're wearing out of rags and towels, and your helmet is a toy space helmet.
You show up at practice and then either steal the ball and make us chase you to get it back, or you try to tackle people at inappropriate times."
It was all true what he was saying. And yet, I thought something is brewing inside the head of this Coach.
He sees something in me, some kind of raw talent that he can mold. But that's when I felt the handcuffs go on.
Comment
-
Re: Mae Culpa to Ralph Wilson
I have read OP's posts for years and I will say that for the most part he's usually right to some degree.Originally posted by OpIv37 View Post
However, Ralph's support of the AFL and the merger is why we have a football team in Buffalo annd in what we know as the NFL. He was a pioneer. Anybody who buys a team today knows what they are getting into. Ralph had vision and for that he should be commended for and I beleive why he is in the HOF.
Now as an owner lets be honest. He was cheap and if not for Bill Polian this franchise would be one of the worst in any sport.
Here is the bottom line. If Ralph had it in his trust/will that the team needed to stay in Buffalo than he deserves nothing but praise and respect even if he didn't do everything right. End of story. However, if he left it open to the highest bidder with no provision for the community than I would take his name off the Stadium tomorrow and put Pegula's up there. It's really that simple.Comment
Comment