We're not the only ones who want the Bills to stay forever

[FlyingDutchman]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...e=HP_spotlight


It'd be sad to see several small-market teams leave


More Columns >

Don Heupel / Associated Press

Buffalo Bills football means as much as anything in the lives of people in Western New York.

The NFL has a strong presence in several small markets where fans are especially passionate about their team. Think Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Buffalo, just to name a few. So we asked our experts: Which small-market team would you most hate to see relocated?

• 
• Jason La Canfora NFL Network
• Bills embody a 'true regional franchise'
  
  Let me start by saying I don't want to see any franchises move. This league is strong and proud enough that it shouldn't be necessary. I want to see teams in Los Angeles and Toronto -- and ultimately in London and Mexico City, too -- but not at the expense of others.
  
  

  Our experts debate the NFL's hot-button topics: » Is Romo worthy of 'Top 100' consideration? » Which free-agent RB most interests you? » Who would be a catch among free-agent WRs? » Where will Kolb eventually play in 2011? » Which 2011 rookie QB will have best career?

  Unfortunately, money talks and eventually the lure of L.A., especially if they get a downtown stadium constructed, will be too great. So I agree that someone will be losing a team there, and I tend to imagine the Chargers would be the most logical choice. But to this larger question, the Buffalo Bills are a unique entity.
  
  They are a true regional franchise. The way they suffered with four straight Super Bowl defeats, always fighting back for more, sums up the will of the people of Western New York.
  
  Maybe I am biased because I was attending Syracuse at the time of their string of Super Bowl runs. But it would be a shame to see the Bills elsewhere, even if it is Toronto.

Pat Kirwan NFL.com

Would hate to see Bills leave

Pittsburgh and Green Bay are both small-market teams, and I would hate to see either relocate, but I'm sure that will never happen with their great fan bases. I don't think the Bills or Jaguars can stay where they are if the structure of the NFL changed. I would be surprised if at least one of those teams is still in the same city five years from now, and the rich history of the Bills in Western New York makes them the team I would hate to see go.

Vic Carucci NFL.com

Bills 'a way of life' in Western New York

This is a no-brainer for me -- it's the Bills. Having spent nearly 18 seasons covering the team and 29 years living in the community, I know as well as anyone what the Bills mean to Western New York and how devastating their relocation would be to the area. The Bills represent Buffalo's greatest link to the big-time. They are far more than a diversion. They are a religion. They are a way of life. Besides the tremendous economic impact the Bills create with each home game, they also have an enormous emotional affect on Buffalonians. A study was once conducted that actually showed productivity at Western New York businesses was significantly stronger the day after a Bills victory than it was following a loss. Despite the fact it has been a very long time since their Super Bowl days, people in Buffalo can think of something much worse than complaining about the Bills: not having them around.

[mikemac2001]

Bills won't move as long as ralph is alive....so all the bashers who hate on ralph...he wants buffalo to see a SB

u can question what he has done but he wants the same thing you do....to win and to win in buffalo

[Michael82]

Thanks for sharing, but due to copyright reasons, you can't post the whole article.

[Buddo]

Thanks for sharing, but due to copyright reasons, you can't post the whole article.

He hasn't.

[trapezeus]

Sounds like NFL propaganda to get fans of cities on their side. Again, bills fans threatened with relocation. Can we band together and tell the NFL that if they take our team that we all will abandon their game?

[FlyingDutchman]

Thanks for sharing, but due to copyright reasons, you can't post the whole article.

na buddy I wouldnt do that, I just put the guys who said Buffalo to make it easier to read for people

[Northern Stampede]

The Bills are'nt going anywhere IMO...
I live an hour west of Toronto, and can tell you, that I have been a Bills fan since I was 11 years old, and I will never stop cheering for them. I'd never be a fan of an NFL team in Toronto... Buffalo is My home team!!! I fell in love with them from the moment I fell in love with the game of football.. I honestly could never see them moving, and I would be ABSOLUTELY DEVESTATED if they did. I'm a Bills fan for life, and have passed the love of the team on to my son, who is a dedicated fan now too... Go Bills!! Now and Forever... Or as long as there is a National Football League!!!

[Michael82]

na buddy I wouldnt do that, I just put the guys who said Buffalo to make it easier to read for people

That's fine. Next time, leave out the photos and all the other stuff and it wouldn't look like you took the whole article.

[Michael82]

Sounds like NFL propaganda to get fans of cities on their side. Again, bills fans threatened with relocation. Can we band together and tell the NFL that if they take our team that we all will abandon their game?

I would abandon it. Sure I watch some other games due to fantasy football, but if the Bills aren't playing, I usually don't watch the games. If they allow a team with as many diehard, rabid fans like Buffalo to be pulled from their city and moved to a big market, I'm definitely done with the NFL and will focus solely on the NHL and maybe start getting into college football more.

[Bangarang]

Bills won't move as long as ralph is alive....so all the bashers who hate on ralph...he wants buffalo to see a SB

u can question what he has done but he wants the same thing you do....to win and to win in buffalo

Ralph has another 92 years left in him right?

[trapezeus]

i really think the fact all their writers had to write this piece, suggests the NFL owners want to make fans think about moving. and they played their card perfectly.

it's just more bull****. i'm on the fence of giving up football if we lose more than 2 weeks of football.

The bills are my team. i've been with them for 30 years. no other team or than the sabres have earned that mcuh history and mean as much to me. if they take it away, i'm done with football. i won't watch a casual game. i will literally rally as many fans as humanly possible to walk away from the game. they might hate the average fan, but we are the ones who make that TV possible. and bills fan support the game when its good and bad. tell me which new england fans were there before the tuck rule? their stadium was empty in the 90's and they didn't even suck as badly as we do now.

[BillsFever21]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...e=HP_spotlight

Vic Carucci NFL.com

Bills 'a way of life' in Western New York

A study was once conducted that actually showed productivity at Western New York businesses was significantly stronger the day after a Bills victory than it was following a loss.

I

If this is truly the case then it's no wonder why most of the business in Buffalo have either closed down or moved in the past decade or so with all the losing we have done.

[Ed]

Why does Jason La Canfora want to ultimately see teams in Mexico City and London? I think it's a cool idea to have each team play an international game each year, but to actually expand the league to a few other foreign countries would just seem very odd. Plus, who wants to have to travel across the Atlantic every week to play football, or even worse, have to relocate to Mexico City?