Well Espn got a hold of it

[Turf]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2401015

I'm sure Ralph's ears are burning right now. He's got to be in the owners doghouse across most of the NFL.

But give the old guy credit. He had guts and backbone to stand up and fight these guys. and he did get what he wanted, national media attention draw to the story to fight the big guys trying to dominate the sport.

Good for Ralph. Possibly good for us, more likely catastrophic.

[Night Train]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2401015

I'm sure Ralph's ears are burning right now. He's got to be in the owners doghouse across most of the NFL.

But give the old guy credit. He had guts and backbone to stand up and fight these guys. and he did get what he wanted, national media attention draw to the story to fight the big guys trying to dominate the sport.

Good for Ralph. Possibly good for us, more likely catastrophic.


Hopefully, Mike Brown of Cinci will come out and say the same thing.

Anything that makes Jones,Snyder and Co. squirm is good ! :up:

[Drive 4 Five]

Pretty feisty for an elder or the elder I should say. I have alot of respect for Ol' Ralphy. I can't believe how much dissrespect he gets on this board.

Singling out Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins and Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, Wilson said: "They, to me, and this is just my opinion, don't have the same values about the league as the old guard did."

I don't know if I agree with those comments even though I can't stand any of the three but it is interesting that two of these three were chosen by the COMMISH to find his succesor. Where was Ralph? Sorry ass biased bastard. Any good leader would have included at least one owner who opposed the direction he is leading the flock. Coward. You can learn alot from people who do not agree with your politics.

How can someone so intelligent be so ignorant at the same time? Kind of like George Bush.

[Drive 4 Five]

Wilson spoke after meeting with Erie County executive Joel Giambra, who implored Bills fans "to get active, to get angry" and write to Tagliabue, the league and elected officials on the team's behalf.

Anyone know how we can do just that?

[ICE74129]

Hopefully, Mike Brown of Cinci will come out and say the same thing.

Anything that makes Jones,Snyder and Co. squirm is good ! :up:

It doesn't make Jones and co look like scum, it makes ralph look like an old whiny, *****y fool.

[TigerJ]

Unfortunately, I think money speaks louder than anything else in the new NFL and the money is centered on the owners who have the least interest in the continued viability of teams like Buffalo.

[justasportsfan]

It doesn't make Jones and co look like scum, it makes ralph look like an old whiny, *****y fool.you can interpret it any way you want. The old fool has legitimate concerns. The NFl wouldn't be where it's at today is it weren't for owners like him.

[socalfan]

Good find turf! A well written article that genuinely tries to give the Bill's side of the story. No pot shots at Ralph, just plain factual reporting.

[ICE74129]

you can interpret it any way you want. The old fool has legitimate concerns. The NFl wouldn't be where it's at today is it weren't for owners like him.

I am interpreting it correctly. All he did was make sh@! worse. We got his view on the CBA about a month ago when he *****ed in the press about it. Then again a couple days later. Yeah Ralph you can't afford the team, you hate the CBA...we got it.

For him to do this today wasn't brave, it wasn't smart, it was fuggin stupid. He looks like a friggin moron.

I don't care his concerns are legit, there is nothing that can be done. The CBA is DONE! That's it. *****ing now does nothing. It is more than apperant no one but maybe a team or two will side with him.

Here is the reality of it, the NFL has grown past Ralphs ability to compete. he doesn't have the resources. Not only that he can't grasp the concepts of how to compete in this new NFL. I don't give a damn he doesnt' like it, and I don't give a damn if he is right.

As a fan of this team I give a damn about having a competant owner that can do what needs to be done to compete. We don't have that in Ralph wilson

[ICE74129]

Good find turf! A well written article that genuinely tries to give the Bill's side of the story. No pot shots at Ralph, just plain factual reporting.

Facts are this, CBA is done. ***** in 2011 when something can be done. In the mean time deal with the other facts, Ralph cant afford to keep the Bills but is too damn stuborn to sell. Oh and that fact that ralph pulled a really fuggin stupid move by calling this PC And calling out other owners. He looks cheap, bitter and like a jealous old woman.

It was embarrassing.

[shelby]

Wilson spoke after meeting with Erie County executive Joel Giambra, who implored Bills fans "to get active, to get angry" and write to Tagliabue, the league and elected officials on the team's behalf.

Anyone know how we can do just that?

i'm not 100% positive, but this may be Tagliabue's correct addy:
Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Taken from here (http://www.fromtheroots.org/story/2006/3/27/113832/571)

Hope it helps.

[RedEyE]

i'm not 100% positive, but this may be Tagliabue's correct addy:
Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Taken from here (http://www.fromtheroots.org/story/2006/3/27/113832/571)

Hope it helps.

:hi5:

[EDS]

i'm not 100% positive, but this may be Tagliabue's correct addy:
Paul Tagliabue
Commissioner
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Taken from here (http://www.fromtheroots.org/story/2006/3/27/113832/571)

Hope it helps.


That is a few blocks from where I work - maybe I will try stopping by during lunch. : )

[Jan Reimers]

If Ralph is so unhappy with the CBA, the new NFL, and the Bills' place in it, he should - for the sake of the long suffering fans who have supported this franchise so loyally - consider selling to Golisano.

When all you can do is ***** and whine about the present, while longing for the "good old days," it's time to go.

Ralph - with the help of all of us Bills' fans and NFL management - has turned a $100,000 investment into a $600-700 Million asset. We should all be so lucky.

I think, as a tribute to the fans who have helped make him so rich, Ralph should begin making plans for him, or his estate, to sell to Golisano.

[G. Host]

Ralph CAN'T sell now. If he does new revenue rules apply to new owner.

If he wants to keep Bills in Buffalo post departure, he needs to have rules change unless he can find someone who wants to stay for nostogilia.

[The_Philster]

Ralph CAN'T sell now. If he does new revenue rules apply to new owner.

If he wants to keep Bills in Buffalo post departure, he needs to have rules change unless he can find someone who wants to stay for nostogilia.
and then the Bills will be mired in mediocrity
There are 2 choices
Get the CBA fixed
or put Ralph in cryogenic sleep ensuring he stays alive

[Historian]

Pretty feisty for an elder or the elder I should say. I have alot of respect for Ol' Ralphy. I can't believe how much dissrespect he gets on this board.



Very true. And keep in mind, the guy was a multi-millionaire before the other three were crapping in their diapers.


Giambra added he was rooting for Roger Goodell, the NFL's chief operating officer and a western New York native, to succeed commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Perhaps it's not a bad thing having a native WNYer as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court either.

You just never know what it may come to.

[YardRat]

You beat me to the point, Hist :D

If Goodell, from Jamestown, gets the top job, it sure as hell couldn't hurt any chances of keeping the team in WNY.

[don137]

I have to give Ralph some credit though. He knows without some changes the Bills will not to exist in Buffalo down the road. He knows it hurts the value of the franchise by him saying what he did. He did it with the best interests of western New York in mind.
He is right about Jones, Snyder and Snyder. Those guys IMO are businessmen first and football fans second. I feel Ralph is the opposite.
I don't remember the specifics but the Raiders almost folded back in the 60's I believe but Ralph loaned Davis some money to keep the Raiders franchise afloat. He did this for the well being of the league. I think Ralph is expecting the same courtesy today by having some of the higher revenue teams help the lower revenue teams for the well being of the league. Problem is Jones, Snyder, Kraft, Lorie, etc care more about there pocket books than the well being of the league.

[superbills]

The problem here is that owners do not want a team in Buffalo. The "new guard" would love to see this team moved because it means that they do not have to subsidize our poor selves and can move the team to a location that will sustain itself, without helpfrom revenue sharing.

I sounds to me like Ralph's chief concern was the qualifiers that were built into the CBA at the last minute that he is concerned the Bills will not meet. If an economically challenged team like the Bills fails to meet the qualifiers for revenue sharing then, in his mind, the whole system is moot.

If the qualifiers are based on attendance, then why don't the Bills raise ticekt prices? If attendance falls, then the qualifier kicks in and they get their money. If attendance does not fall, then they get their money through increased ticket revenue. I know Ralph is looking out for the "poor Western New Yorkers", but like I said in another thread, if you want to have an NFL franchise, then you have to be willing to pay market prices for the team.

[superbills]

You beat me to the point, Hist :D

If Goodell, from Jamestown, gets the top job, it sure as hell couldn't hurt any chances of keeping the team in WNY.

And if he doesn't then we could be in a heap of trouble. The problem is that even if Galisano wants to buy the team, chances are the owners will not approve him. The problem is not finding a suitor for the team but the fact that the rich owners, and possibly their new commissioner, do not want the Bills to stay in Buffalo. We're up against the power-mongers of the league, not our government or lack of potential buyers.

[The_Philster]

If attendance falls, the Bills will move

[superbills]

If attendance falls, the Bills will move

That's a misconception. It's about revenue, not attendance. If the Bills can secure more revenue with slightly less attendance, then their chances of staying improve.

[Dozerdog]

If the Bills built a new Stadium- I can guarantee they won't go above 65,000-70,000 seats.

RWS is wayyyy to big for the size of the market.

[Michael82]

If Ralph is so unhappy with the CBA, the new NFL, and the Bills' place in it, he should - for the sake of the long suffering fans who have supported this franchise so loyally - consider selling to Golisano.

When all you can do is ***** and whine about the present, while longing for the "good old days," it's time to go.

Ralph - with the help of all of us Bills' fans and NFL management - has turned a $100,000 investment into a $600-700 Million asset. We should all be so lucky.

I think, as a tribute to the fans who have helped make him so rich, Ralph should begin making plans for him, or his estate, to sell to Golisano.
Excellent post!!! :bf1:

:posrep:

[Billsrock4life]

good article, i agree with Ralph u cant possibly tell me that Paul Allen owner of the Seahawks actually cares about whether or not his team succeeds

[socalfan]

If the Bills built a new Stadium- I can guarantee they won't go above 65,000-70,000 seats.

RWS is wayyyy to big for the size of the market.

Ralph said the same thing in his press conference yesterday.