Ralph Wilson Statue to be errected...

[Historian]

Bout time.

http://www.onebuffalo.com/

[OpIv37]

I bet it's going to be hollow to save money on construction materials.

[Night Train]

I bet it's going to be hollow to save money on construction materials.
LOL

[DetDannyWilliams]

I bet it's going to be hollow to save money on construction materials.

It will be like the French Connection statue that is in Alumni Plaza, which is located in front of FNC. the statue is made out of bronze

[OpIv37]

It will be like the French Connection statue that is in Alumni Plaza which is in front of FNC. Which is made out of bronze
On a completely unrelated note, Sabres fans are being asked to deposit old brass doorknobs, hinges and switch plates in the recycling bins located throughout First Niagara Center during all remaining Sabres home games.....

[Mr. Pink]

Ummm, there's allegedly going to be a new stadium soon.

Why waste the time, effort and money for this now?

What's the point?

[Dr. Lecter]

1. As long as they use private money, who cares?
2. Define "soon"
3. Statues can be moved.

[feldspar]

I don't mind the statue, but does it really have to be erect?

[Mr. Miyagi]

I don't mind the statue, but does it really have to be erect?
Well it's difficult to build a soft statue.

[feldspar]

Well it's difficult to build a soft statue.

You don't get the joke?

I wonder in what age bracket they are going to make Ralph. If it's old-man Ralph, it may take viagra for him to be erected.

[Zero]

Well it's difficult to build a soft statue.

you mean a flaccid statue? I dont imagine it would be very useful...

[swiper]

They can erect all the statues of Wilson they want. It still doesn't make him a good owner. He wasn't.

[YardRat]

Well deserved.

[Meathead]

ralph is looking down happy he will have a boner for the first time in eighty years

[Historian]

Supposedly it will mimic Ralph in from a 1990 game against the Jets, when he was standing on the sidelines next to Thurman.

I've yet to see the pic.

[JohnnyGold]

[QUOTE=Swiper;4077935]They can erect all the statues of Wilson they want. It still doesn't make him a good owner. He wasn't.[/QUOTE

There are certain reasons why this board is head and shoulders above twobillsdrive.com--and posts like this are one of them.

I read a thread on there yesterday about Ralph passing/this statue, and it was one of the most respectful things I've ever seen on the internet. It disgusted me.

I agree there should be a statue... hell, I think it would be in good taste to name the NEXT stadium after him as well, and keep his name affixed to the Bills for eternity. He was/IS their founder, and deserves to have his name attached to the team forever. They are HIS.

But just because theyre his toy, does not mean that the man, or more specifically, the man's legacy, is beyond reproach. There are reasons that the Bills are "cursed", that they are on the longest playoff drought in the NFL, and that free agents and coaches don't (but mostly didn't) want to come here: and it starts with the man at the top.

The last year has been the most exciting since 90... TWENTY FIVE YEARS. And this is how basically every team in the league has operated since the turn of the millenium!

Big name coordinators and coaches? What team in the league doesn't have those?
Spending almost to the cap? That's what you're supposed to do! That's why it's a "cap"!
Overpaying to keep someone away from a division rival? That's just a smart decision!

People like to say "he kept the team here when no one else would".

Hooey.

It's football in Buffalo, NY. I've said this since I was about 10 years old, and I'll say it til the day I die: If the Bills left Buffalo, there would be a line of teams waiting to lease our stadium. Jacksonville, SD, St Louis, Oakland, Minnesota, etc.

The Bills were the Buffalo Bills in spite of Ralph. He lived in Detroit.

Yes, extremely generous man. Great guy. Funny. Witty. Great business man. Smart. Great family. I respect him on many many different levels--what he did as an entrepreneur... there really isn't a better American success story than Ralph.

Terrible football owner though... I'll never get the last 20 falls back. I basically spent a quarter of my life watching AWFUL football. So, theres that.

[Meathead]

the fact that ralph managed to keep the team in a chronically economically depressed city made him a good owner. the charitable foundation he left in his legacy made him a good man. so no i cant agree with most of that

[Historian]

If Miami can put up a statue of Marino, we should be able to put one up of Mr Wilson....Jimbo too.

and perhaps that's the plan, as it will be put in an area near the new store that they are calling legends field, or something like that.

[OpIv37]

the fact that ralph managed to keep the team in a chronically economically depressed city made him a good owner. the charitable foundation he left in his legacy made him a good man. so no i cant agree with most of that
Disagree.

Ralph did one great thing. He brought a team to Buffalo.

After that, all he accomplished was managing to not undo the one great thing he did while the team struggled on the field. Buffalo was consistently WAY below the salary cap. Buffalo consistently had amongst the lowest paid head coaching and lowest coaching/staff payroll in the league. Those are two major reasons why they struggled, and it comes right back to Ralph.


And Buffalo isn't the only economically depressed area that managed to keep a team- Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincy come readily to mind. Cleveland retained a team for all but a few years as well.

[Historian]

Don't discount 1963-66 though either. That team was a juggernaut.

[Mr. Miyagi]

You don't get the joke? .
LOL. You didn't get mine?

[BertSquirtgum]

This should be the statue

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f4/6a/98/f46a981ed222e489590c710fe3be6902.jpg

[feldspar]

LOL. You didn't get mine?

Sometimes it's hard.

[Woodman]

I don't mind the statue, but does it really have to be erect?

Ralph Erectus!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BertSquirtgum]

Erect Ralph.

[YardRat]

Disagree.

Ralph did one great thing. He brought a team to Buffalo.

After that, all he accomplished was managing to not undo the one great thing he did while the team struggled on the field. Buffalo was consistently WAY below the salary cap. Buffalo consistently had amongst the lowest paid head coaching and lowest coaching/staff payroll in the league. Those are two major reasons why they struggled, and it comes right back to Ralph.


And Buffalo isn't the only economically depressed area that managed to keep a team- Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincy come readily to mind. Cleveland retained a team for all but a few years as well.

I still haven't seen anything that actually supports this argument. I have my doubts, considering the difference between Ryan's salary and Marrone's is about one million.