Mitchy moo
12-19-2005, 04:05 PM
First off, let me begin by saying that some of you, maybe most of you here are too young to remember what the city of Buffalo was like 50 years ago, or really thought about the kind of immigrants who first settled in the Buffalo area were like. In the great immigration days at the turn of the 20th century, most people from Europe immigrated to the United States by way of Ellis Island and New York City. Many people stayed there, and NYC grew to become the ICON GOTHAM CITY metropolis that it is today. It explains some of the "bad blood" that remains as NYC became the gemstone of NY state, while WNY continues to be all but forgotten. Yet another long standing "battle" for recognition and respect.
At the turn of the 20th century, there was VERY little settlement in the Rocky Mountain region. Denver was a small town and many desperados and vigilantes settled in this part of the country to escape the law or find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. California and the west coast was barely settled. Las Vegas hardly existed.
The immigrants who were considered "pseudo pioneers" and mid-level risk takers found jobs were available in the burgeoning young steel industry developing along the Great Lakes. Buffalo was seen as the wild "west", and those who took their families and moved there were of a certain "ilk" who weren't afraid to move away from closely knit neighborhoods and the safety in numbers of New York City ethnic villages.
So Buffalo became populated by "out of box" thinkers and those driven to succeed but weren't afraid to break away from the umbilical cord of being surrounded by their "own people". Buffalo developed its own enclaves of cultural diversity... segregating itself into neighborhoods of people from similar backgrounds. The ancestors of most who settled WNY were STILL somewhat more independent renegade types than those who remained behind in NYC to find their way in the New Land of Freedom.
That said, the industries that flourished in WNY consisted mostly of hard working steel workers and manufacturing industries that provided good jobs and a stable income for those willing to work their BUTTS off to feed their families. They were drawn to the Bethlehem Steels and companies like them who promised decent wages, a comfortable RETIREMENT for those who paid their dues. Our ancestors WERE unique in some ways from the rest of the immigrants who chose to settle in NYC and go the "safe route".
Out of box thinkers and those not afraid to "speak their mind" and "go their own way" are the genetic forefathers of those who remain in WNY and whose families have long term ties to the area. How many of you on this message board had fathers, uncles, grandfathers or other relatives that worked at Bethlehem Steel, or other manufacturing industries? How many of you still see the remnants of the ethnic neighborhoods that flourished 80-100 years ago in the WNY region?
Fast forward to today. The steel mills are gone. Lake Erie is cleaner, yet the city of Buffalo still bares evidence of the ethnic segregation that existed long ago. Many have left and moved on to other parts of the country, but what remains in great part are the descendents of those hard working courageous "out of box" thinkers who carved out a city from those who chose to leave the comfort and security of their families and friends in New York City.
Enter the Buffalo Bills in 1959-60. Ralph Wilson having wanted to purchase the Miami Dolphins ends up with the Buffalo Bills instead. Obviously an astute businessman makes what would turn out to be the lottery of all investments for $25,000 (I'm pretty sure that was his initial investment) to bring a professional football team to Buffalo. At that time Buffalo was a burgeoning city of growth, relatively good paying jobs, and the right demographics for a "blue collared" city that would probably embrace and support a professional football franchise.
The Rockpile and Buffalo Bills of the early years were famous for the dirt and grime of a gritty city that liked it's players tough and hard nosed. Initially they were quite successful. A younger Ralph Wilson realiZed a dream and lined his pockets happily with the cash spent to support this ICON of a team that seemed to enmesh well with its people.... hard working, opinionated, beer drinking, swash buckling fans who enjoyed their entertainment as much as they worked hard to earn the money that allowed them to do so.
I remember my uncles and father who tried desperately to get the little girl out of the "men's room"...... the living room at my Uncle's house..... where the black and white television was THE center of Sunday afternoons. Aunts and grandmother gave up trying to keep me out of where "all the fun was", and told me to just close my ears to all the cussing and swearing. I was transfixed by watching my father and uncles as they argued over Kemp and Lamonica. And so the tradition of QB controversies began...
Mr. Wilson continued to make a lot of money, didn't necessarily invest in the team, as he lined his pockets with lots of coinage. Anyone old enough to remember those early years, remember that he was duly criticiZed for making himself rich at the expense of the steelworkers who supported his team through thick and thin. The thin years started in the 70's, and I remember like it was yesterday a friend of mine who said that she and her husband would ALWAYS shell out what was very hard earned cash to keep their season tix on the 50 yard line because "someday the BILLS would be good" and they would be glad they did. Lost track of them years ago, but still wonder if they have their season tix....
Decades of decay, the cesspool that became Lake Erie, and the mass exodus of those who were educated by the dollars of the hard working Bethlehem Steel workers fled WNY for warmer climates, better white collar jobs, and the independence that was in their genes already. Buffalo became known nationally as "the armpit of the east". The place where if they United States needed an enema they would stick the tube in Buffalo. "The last one out of Buffalo, turn out the lights". Some of the older members of this message board probably remember those EXACT phrases that described the national "embarassment" of being a Buffalonian.
Mind you, this is all the while Buffalo was (?is) a cultural gemstone... Kleinhan's (sp?) Music Hall (one of the few "acoustically perfect" music halls), the Zoo, the Art Galleries, the architecture, a medical center (Roswell Park <!--emo&:)-->http://boards.buffalobills.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif<!--endemo--> that rivaled cities like Boston..... that was all ignored by the nation while we became the metaphor of all that was "NOT TRENDY". The unique "accent" that evolved from a strong Polish and Slavik influence that separated from the hard core east coast 'New Yawkers' and people from places like Bahhhhston, Philly and other "east coast" regions made way for the national assessment of us as a bunch of "dummies".
The city and region languished while mired in a separation of political beliefs that became a significant chasm. That OPINIONATED SPLIT expressed itself through the BILLS by a passion of differing views about what caused the Buffalo Bills to take on role of "LOSER". The nation grew to pigeon hole WNYers as a bunch of blithering uneducated dumb bells that didn't know what "class" was all about..... those of us alive at the time remember all too well the heat we took for "Talking Proud" about our "mistake on the lake".
Like many others, being a fiercely independent "alpha witch" and black sheep of my family, I (like many others for their own reasons) decided it was time to move away and be on my own. It was a tough decision to leave Buffalo, Roswell Park, and my family but decided it was time to escape my childhood demons. I followed the BILLS as much as I could during the 80's when there was no Internet, nor any ability to find out much more than the scores to games living in the mountain west.
Then there came the bitter-sweetness that was the great success for the BILLS during the 90's. Talent, recognition on the national level, and dominance that commanded respect from the rest of the nation, even though most people outside of WNY really grew to hate the BILLS, as they basically became the ICON OF CHOKERS. Wide right, the label of ultimate chokers, once again the butt end of being nationally recogniZed as LOSERS. Once again the lowly step-sister of NYC and a place that people used as an example of the WORST place in the nation to live.
The Sabres came along and gave the good people of WNY another option. "NO GOAL" and here the good people of WNY STILL SIT waiting for that day of reckoning to come along, and finally lift that burden of being a 'labled' a WNYer.
BILLS fans who lived through it all knew an owner who was getting on in years and finally decided to give back to the people who made him "successful". Now the wisdom of his last years, KNOWING what a championship would do for the economic viability and mental psyche of WNYers gives freely and compassionately to bring something back to the people of WNY to bolster their fragile collective self esteem. Is it too little, too late?
Continued below:
At the turn of the 20th century, there was VERY little settlement in the Rocky Mountain region. Denver was a small town and many desperados and vigilantes settled in this part of the country to escape the law or find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. California and the west coast was barely settled. Las Vegas hardly existed.
The immigrants who were considered "pseudo pioneers" and mid-level risk takers found jobs were available in the burgeoning young steel industry developing along the Great Lakes. Buffalo was seen as the wild "west", and those who took their families and moved there were of a certain "ilk" who weren't afraid to move away from closely knit neighborhoods and the safety in numbers of New York City ethnic villages.
So Buffalo became populated by "out of box" thinkers and those driven to succeed but weren't afraid to break away from the umbilical cord of being surrounded by their "own people". Buffalo developed its own enclaves of cultural diversity... segregating itself into neighborhoods of people from similar backgrounds. The ancestors of most who settled WNY were STILL somewhat more independent renegade types than those who remained behind in NYC to find their way in the New Land of Freedom.
That said, the industries that flourished in WNY consisted mostly of hard working steel workers and manufacturing industries that provided good jobs and a stable income for those willing to work their BUTTS off to feed their families. They were drawn to the Bethlehem Steels and companies like them who promised decent wages, a comfortable RETIREMENT for those who paid their dues. Our ancestors WERE unique in some ways from the rest of the immigrants who chose to settle in NYC and go the "safe route".
Out of box thinkers and those not afraid to "speak their mind" and "go their own way" are the genetic forefathers of those who remain in WNY and whose families have long term ties to the area. How many of you on this message board had fathers, uncles, grandfathers or other relatives that worked at Bethlehem Steel, or other manufacturing industries? How many of you still see the remnants of the ethnic neighborhoods that flourished 80-100 years ago in the WNY region?
Fast forward to today. The steel mills are gone. Lake Erie is cleaner, yet the city of Buffalo still bares evidence of the ethnic segregation that existed long ago. Many have left and moved on to other parts of the country, but what remains in great part are the descendents of those hard working courageous "out of box" thinkers who carved out a city from those who chose to leave the comfort and security of their families and friends in New York City.
Enter the Buffalo Bills in 1959-60. Ralph Wilson having wanted to purchase the Miami Dolphins ends up with the Buffalo Bills instead. Obviously an astute businessman makes what would turn out to be the lottery of all investments for $25,000 (I'm pretty sure that was his initial investment) to bring a professional football team to Buffalo. At that time Buffalo was a burgeoning city of growth, relatively good paying jobs, and the right demographics for a "blue collared" city that would probably embrace and support a professional football franchise.
The Rockpile and Buffalo Bills of the early years were famous for the dirt and grime of a gritty city that liked it's players tough and hard nosed. Initially they were quite successful. A younger Ralph Wilson realiZed a dream and lined his pockets happily with the cash spent to support this ICON of a team that seemed to enmesh well with its people.... hard working, opinionated, beer drinking, swash buckling fans who enjoyed their entertainment as much as they worked hard to earn the money that allowed them to do so.
I remember my uncles and father who tried desperately to get the little girl out of the "men's room"...... the living room at my Uncle's house..... where the black and white television was THE center of Sunday afternoons. Aunts and grandmother gave up trying to keep me out of where "all the fun was", and told me to just close my ears to all the cussing and swearing. I was transfixed by watching my father and uncles as they argued over Kemp and Lamonica. And so the tradition of QB controversies began...
Mr. Wilson continued to make a lot of money, didn't necessarily invest in the team, as he lined his pockets with lots of coinage. Anyone old enough to remember those early years, remember that he was duly criticiZed for making himself rich at the expense of the steelworkers who supported his team through thick and thin. The thin years started in the 70's, and I remember like it was yesterday a friend of mine who said that she and her husband would ALWAYS shell out what was very hard earned cash to keep their season tix on the 50 yard line because "someday the BILLS would be good" and they would be glad they did. Lost track of them years ago, but still wonder if they have their season tix....
Decades of decay, the cesspool that became Lake Erie, and the mass exodus of those who were educated by the dollars of the hard working Bethlehem Steel workers fled WNY for warmer climates, better white collar jobs, and the independence that was in their genes already. Buffalo became known nationally as "the armpit of the east". The place where if they United States needed an enema they would stick the tube in Buffalo. "The last one out of Buffalo, turn out the lights". Some of the older members of this message board probably remember those EXACT phrases that described the national "embarassment" of being a Buffalonian.
Mind you, this is all the while Buffalo was (?is) a cultural gemstone... Kleinhan's (sp?) Music Hall (one of the few "acoustically perfect" music halls), the Zoo, the Art Galleries, the architecture, a medical center (Roswell Park <!--emo&:)-->http://boards.buffalobills.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif<!--endemo--> that rivaled cities like Boston..... that was all ignored by the nation while we became the metaphor of all that was "NOT TRENDY". The unique "accent" that evolved from a strong Polish and Slavik influence that separated from the hard core east coast 'New Yawkers' and people from places like Bahhhhston, Philly and other "east coast" regions made way for the national assessment of us as a bunch of "dummies".
The city and region languished while mired in a separation of political beliefs that became a significant chasm. That OPINIONATED SPLIT expressed itself through the BILLS by a passion of differing views about what caused the Buffalo Bills to take on role of "LOSER". The nation grew to pigeon hole WNYers as a bunch of blithering uneducated dumb bells that didn't know what "class" was all about..... those of us alive at the time remember all too well the heat we took for "Talking Proud" about our "mistake on the lake".
Like many others, being a fiercely independent "alpha witch" and black sheep of my family, I (like many others for their own reasons) decided it was time to move away and be on my own. It was a tough decision to leave Buffalo, Roswell Park, and my family but decided it was time to escape my childhood demons. I followed the BILLS as much as I could during the 80's when there was no Internet, nor any ability to find out much more than the scores to games living in the mountain west.
Then there came the bitter-sweetness that was the great success for the BILLS during the 90's. Talent, recognition on the national level, and dominance that commanded respect from the rest of the nation, even though most people outside of WNY really grew to hate the BILLS, as they basically became the ICON OF CHOKERS. Wide right, the label of ultimate chokers, once again the butt end of being nationally recogniZed as LOSERS. Once again the lowly step-sister of NYC and a place that people used as an example of the WORST place in the nation to live.
The Sabres came along and gave the good people of WNY another option. "NO GOAL" and here the good people of WNY STILL SIT waiting for that day of reckoning to come along, and finally lift that burden of being a 'labled' a WNYer.
BILLS fans who lived through it all knew an owner who was getting on in years and finally decided to give back to the people who made him "successful". Now the wisdom of his last years, KNOWING what a championship would do for the economic viability and mental psyche of WNYers gives freely and compassionately to bring something back to the people of WNY to bolster their fragile collective self esteem. Is it too little, too late?
Continued below: