[metzelaars_lives]

I live out of town and I go to a few games a year (I'm going on Sunday), but my brothers and a bunch of my friends have seasons and I enjoy hearing their stories of a particular type of fan. How prevalent is the following type of dude at the stadium:

Either a McGahee or a Lynch jersey
chinstrap beard
smokes cigarettes (probably menthols)
early 20's
rolls up in a crew of similar dudes and blasts R&B out of an SUV
funnels beers
maybe pukes
talks s*** to opposing fans and willing to fight, but couldn't tell you anything about the Bills pre-Bledsoe

Folks, are Bills tickets too cheap? These Buffalo lifers who went to ECC for a semester before retiring the books for good and work at a hardware store in Lancaster, while living with their parents and crashing high school parties on the weekends should not be able to afford season tickets in an NFL city. If the Bills are going to stay here, we have to show that we can sell out even if tickets aren't by far the cheapest in the league.

Side note: My boys were forced to park next to a crew like this at the Miami game and they immediately pulled back out of the parking lot and told the guy to park them somewhere else and he said they couldn't do that. Then my brother said, look at these d-bags, we're not parking next to them for the next four hours and the attendant looked at them and said, OK you may have a point and moved them.

[Glass To The Arson]

Bills tickets are incredibly cheap

I would pay an extra $10 a ticket if they raised the price

Anything to keep the Bills in Buffalo

[Brimley's Stache]

I can't really speak to this through experience as the last game I was at was 9/30/90 (amazing comeback against Broncos) and I was 9 years old. One very fond memory was walking down a tunnel into the stadium and watching a guy leaning against the wall puking all over. This Sunday will be my first game since then.

That being said, I don't think an extra 10 or 20 dollars per ticket is going to keep the D-bag level down that much though.

[May Day 10]

One of the strengths we have is that any Joe can afford season tickets to the Bills. With this crap product over the last 10 years, if they raise ticket prices I dont think we would have too many sellouts, especially in the 2nd half of the season.


If the team were decent, they absolutely have room to raise prices. I remember with the 5-1 start, people were hounding me to try to get extra tickets. I would look on the secondary ticketing sites and prices were through the roof.

[metzelaars_lives]

May Day 10, on Dec 18 2009, 10:29 AM, said:

One of the strengths we have is that any Joe can afford season tickets to the Bills. With this crap product over the last 10 years, if they raise ticket prices I dont think we would have too many sellouts, especially in the 2nd half of the season.


If the team were decent, they absolutely have room to raise prices. I remember with the 5-1 start, people were hounding me to try to get extra tickets. I would look on the secondary ticketing sites and prices were through the roof.

Good call. If the Bills were good, they could raise ticket prices and I think MOST Bills fans would view it as a necessity and not complain (if they had even a rudimentary understanding of football economics).

[Stussy109]

If the bills could put together a winning season or two, they would have a chance. When die hard fans are throwing in the towel, what do u think that does to fair weather fans?

[mchammer]

This is like the chicken or the egg. I think they need to raise prices so they could offer better pay to players who know how to win games. I think if they bite the bullet and raise ticket prices they may suffer in the short run but make up for it later down the road. I have been a season ticket holder for six years now and I would much rather pay $10 -$20 more per seat than waste my time seeing a crappy team on the cheap. :lol:

[DarthICE]

metzelaars_lives, on Dec 18 2009, 09:07 AM, said:

I live out of town and I go to a few games a year (I'm going on Sunday), but my brothers and a bunch of my friends have seasons and I enjoy hearing their stories of a particular type of fan. How prevalent is the following type of dude at the stadium:

Either a McGahee or a Lynch jersey
chinstrap beard
smokes cigarettes (probably menthols)
early 20's
rolls up in a crew of similar dudes and blasts R&B out of an SUV
funnels beers
maybe pukes
talks s*** to opposing fans and willing to fight, but couldn't tell you anything about the Bills pre-Bledsoe

Folks, are Bills tickets too cheap? These Buffalo lifers who went to ECC for a semester before retiring the books for good and work at a hardware store in Lancaster, while living with their parents and crashing high school parties on the weekends should not be able to afford season tickets in an NFL city. If the Bills are going to stay here, we have to show that we can sell out even if tickets aren't by far the cheapest in the league.

Side note: My boys were forced to park next to a crew like this at the Miami game and they immediately pulled back out of the parking lot and told the guy to park them somewhere else and he said they couldn't do that. Then my brother said, look at these d-bags, we're not parking next to them for the next four hours and the attendant looked at them and said, OK you may have a point and moved them.

I would say that sums it up pretty well

[Gary M]

Fred D J, on Dec 18 2009, 10:21 AM, said:

I can't really speak to this through experience as the last game I was at was 9/30/90 (amazing comeback against Broncos) and I was 9 years old. One very fond memory was walking down a tunnel into the stadium and watching a guy leaning against the wall puking all over. This Sunday will be my first game since then.

That being said, I don't think an extra 10 or 20 dollars per ticket is going to keep the D-bag level down that much though.

That might have been me. :lol:

JK

I have seen people passed out before the game started. I always wonder if their friends sold their ticket?

[mugginns12]

When we went to the Dolphins game this year a guy walked up to me (I'm on the aisle) and goes "Hey... I don't know where I am... I'm just going to sit here" He sat two seats down from my wife which were empty and proceeded to fall asleep in the 2nd quarter, with everyone around him yelling. He was blasted out of his mind, wearing carhartts and stuff. I drive over from MI so it isn't cheap for me to go see a game, and it just makes me sad that people don't appreciate it as much as I do.

[Beebe's Kid]

metzelaars_lives, on Dec 18 2009, 10:07 AM, said:

I live out of town and I go to a few games a year (I'm going on Sunday), but my brothers and a bunch of my friends have seasons and I enjoy hearing their stories of a particular type of fan. How prevalent is the following type of dude at the stadium:

Either a McGahee or a Lynch jersey
chinstrap beard
smokes cigarettes (probably menthols)
early 20's
rolls up in a crew of similar dudes and blasts R&B out of an SUV
funnels beers
maybe pukes
talks s*** to opposing fans and willing to fight, but couldn't tell you anything about the Bills pre-Bledsoe

Folks, are Bills tickets too cheap? These Buffalo lifers who went to ECC for a semester before retiring the books for good and work at a hardware store in Lancaster, while living with their parents and crashing high school parties on the weekends should not be able to afford season tickets in an NFL city. If the Bills are going to stay here, we have to show that we can sell out even if tickets aren't by far the cheapest in the league.

Side note: like this at the Miami game and they immediately pulled back out of the parking lot and told the guy to park them somewhere else and he said they couldn't do that. Then my brother said, look at these d-bags, we're not parking next to them for the next four hours and the attendant looked at them and said, OK you may have a point and moved them.

My boys were forced to park next to a crew

It's an age thing... You are obviously getting older, and with getting older comes certain resentments of youth. I am not condoning the actions of today's youth, but this "crew" was what young people are doing...they are young, a little crazy, have been partying all weekend....I don't know about you, but I can relate. I have gotten older, and used my semester at ECC and now have a job in management at a 9-5, and a mortgage, and a son, with another on the way...Ob la di, Ob la da.

I am 30. I listen to hip hop, and whether it is Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, or Charles Mingus, I play it loud. You can almost assure that I will be listening to something a little loud on gameday... I wouldn't blast you for listening to Genesis (Phil Collins era) or your favorite Yes album...it's your thing, do what you want to do.

I do not have a chinstrap beard, just a full manly sort of beard, but I do have a Lynch jersey, actually two. They go with my 2 Poz, Whitner, Edwards, Milloy, 2 Kelly, Thomas, B. Smith, TO, 2 Lee, Jackson and Maybin jerseys. I could wear my Lacoste or Polo to the Ralph, but it is a football game, so I go for a jersey.

Funnels beers.... Now, I personally don't drink....this makes some of the obnoxious drunks more obnoxious, but it's their thing.... as much as you would like to think that crew wanted to "hang" with you...probably not. They were partying with their friends...I am sure somebody had to have partied at Yale when you were there.

You did say that they were in their early 20's, and while they may not be as sophisticated as you were in your 20's, I for one find it refreshing that the youth is into the Bills.

The Ralph is not an exclusive club, and when it is, it will lose it's charm. You could go to the Yacht club, sip on an aged scoth eat some humus, all while enjoying the game in a quiet, sophisticated, smoke free environment. The best part is, they can charge you as much as you would like!!!!

I think the Bills being such an integrated part of the community is great. Even as I get older, and realize I am not going to bring my 2 year old to a game for quite a while, I think it is nice to see youth embracing the Bills. It would be a lot easier to like the Pats* or Steelers or whatever, especially in this age of information, where you can watch all the games anywhere, but they suffer with us... At the end of the day, if you're a Bills fan, we are on the same team. I am in Erie, and the Bills following here has all but disappeared. We need to stick together, not get petty.

If raising the price of tickets helps us get better players, let's do it, but if you think $10-$20/ ticket keeps out the youth, rething this plan. Also realize what it would do to the displaced worker who is your age, or older, that once was firmly entrenched int he middle class, that has been laid off, and now one of their only joys is putting on their Zubaz and coming to the Ralph....

I am sure you will bash this post, as that is where you are coming from. I hope that you at least take one second and realize YOU were kind of being the d-bag here... I am sure you wouldn't admit it, but I hope for 1 second this message reaches you up there in your perch above all of the commoners...

Thanks for your time, I know it is valuable, and I am flattered that you could check into TBD between phone calls from The President, and The Pope.

[Gordio]

mugginns12, on Dec 18 2009, 11:32 AM, said:

When we went to the Dolphins game this year a guy walked up to me (I'm on the aisle) and goes "Hey... I don't know where I am... I'm just going to sit here" He sat two seats down from my wife which were empty and proceeded to fall asleep in the 2nd quarter, with everyone around him yelling. He was blasted out of his mind, wearing carhartts and stuff. I drive over from MI so it isn't cheap for me to go see a game, and it just makes me sad that people don't appreciate it as much as I do.

The guy was wearing Carharts to the Miami game this year? It was like 60 degrees that day. What an idiot.

[RkFast]

metzelaars_lives, on Dec 18 2009, 10:07 AM, said:

Either a McGahee or a Lynch jersey
chinstrap beard
smokes cigarettes (probably menthols)
early 20's
rolls up in a crew of similar dudes and blasts R&B out of an SUV
funnels beers
maybe pukes
talks s*** to opposing fans and willing to fight, but couldn't tell you anything about the Bills pre-Bledsoe

Congratulations...you just described about 95% of football fans, in general.

[Gordio]

Beebe's Kid, on Dec 18 2009, 11:56 AM, said:

My boys were forced to park next to a crew

It's an age thing... You are obviously getting older, and with getting older comes certain resentments of youth. I am not condoning the actions of today's youth, but this "crew" was what young people are doing...they are young, a little crazy, have been partying all weekend....I don't know about you, but I can relate. I have gotten older, and used my semester at ECC and now have a job in management at a 9-5, and a mortgage, and a son, with another on the way...Ob la di, Ob la da.

I am 30. I listen to hip hop, and whether it is Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, or Charles Mingus, I play it loud. You can almost assure that I will be listening to something a little loud on gameday... I wouldn't blast you for listening to Genesis (Phil Collins era) or your favorite Yes album...it's your thing, do what you want to do.

I do not have a chinstrap beard, just a full manly sort of beard, but I do have a Lynch jersey, actually two. They go with my 2 Poz, Whitner, Edwards, Milloy, 2 Kelly, Thomas, B. Smith, TO, 2 Lee, Jackson and Maybin jerseys. I could wear my Lacoste or Polo to the Ralph, but it is a football game, so I go for a jersey.

Funnels beers.... Now, I personally don't drink....this makes some of the obnoxious drunks more obnoxious, but it's their thing.... as much as you would like to think that crew wanted to "hang" with you...probably not. They were partying with their friends...I am sure somebody had to have partied at Yale when you were there.

You did say that they were in their early 20's, and while they may not be as sophisticated as you were in your 20's, I for one find it refreshing that the youth is into the Bills.

The Ralph is not an exclusive club, and when it is, it will lose it's charm. You could go to the Yacht club, sip on an aged scoth eat some humus, all while enjoying the game in a quiet, sophisticated, smoke free environment. The best part is, they can charge you as much as you would like!!!!

I think the Bills being such an integrated part of the community is great. Even as I get older, and realize I am not going to bring my 2 year old to a game for quite a while, I think it is nice to see youth embracing the Bills. It would be a lot easier to like the Pats* or Steelers or whatever, especially in this age of information, where you can watch all the games anywhere, but they suffer with us... At the end of the day, if you're a Bills fan, we are on the same team. I am in Erie, and the Bills following here has all but disappeared. We need to stick together, not get petty.

If raising the price of tickets helps us get better players, let's do it, but if you think $10-$20/ ticket keeps out the youth, rething this plan. Also realize what it would do to the displaced worker who is your age, or older, that once was firmly entrenched int he middle class, that has been laid off, and now one of their only joys is putting on their Zubaz and coming to the Ralph....

I am sure you will bash this post, as that is where you are coming from. I hope that you at least take one second and realize YOU were kind of being the d-bag here... I am sure you wouldn't admit it, but I hope for 1 second this message reaches you up there in your perch above all of the commoners...

Thanks for your time, I know it is valuable, and I am flattered that you could check into TBD between phone calls from The President, and The Pope.

You sound like a real loser.

[Beebe's Kid]

I am not old enough to have been there, but I have seen videos of the "Talkin' Proud" team, and remember the Kelly days...The 12th man didn't make Rich Stadium the toughest place to play because they were all rattling their jewelry too loud....and the videos I have seen of the Rockpile must have been the cheap seats, because they all looked pretty blue-collar and loaded.

It was appalling when I thought about the high society patrons that ripped the goal post from the endzone to deliver it to the owner.

We need to remember, that the crowd will not always be the same as church, but to some of us, it is church.

[Beebe's Kid]

Gordio, on Dec 18 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

You sound like a real loser.

Dead on assessment. Trust me, I've spilled more than you've drank.

[Fatty McButterpants]

I had a chance to sit in the Jim Kelly Club for the Miami game (and it was fantastic). Halfway through the first quarter I ran out for beer and peanuts. There was a guy at the end of the tunnel, just inside the door on all fours barfing his brains out.

I'm not sure raising the ticket prices will do much to prevent this kinda crap . . .

[Gordio]

Beebe's Kid, on Dec 18 2009, 12:03 PM, said:

Dead on assessment. Trust me, I've spilled more than you've drank.

Although I highly doubt that, if you did color me impressed.

[metzelaars_lives]

Beebe's Kid, on Dec 18 2009, 11:56 AM, said:

My boys were forced to park next to a crew

It's an age thing... You are obviously getting older, and with getting older comes certain resentments of youth. I am not condoning the actions of today's youth, but this "crew" was what young people are doing...they are young, a little crazy, have been partying all weekend....I don't know about you, but I can relate. I have gotten older, and used my semester at ECC and now have a job in management at a 9-5, and a mortgage, and a son, with another on the way...Ob la di, Ob la da.

I am 30. I listen to hip hop, and whether it is Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, or Charles Mingus, I play it loud. You can almost assure that I will be listening to something a little loud on gameday... I wouldn't blast you for listening to Genesis (Phil Collins era) or your favorite Yes album...it's your thing, do what you want to do.

I do not have a chinstrap beard, just a full manly sort of beard, but I do have a Lynch jersey, actually two. They go with my 2 Poz, Whitner, Edwards, Milloy, 2 Kelly, Thomas, B. Smith, TO, 2 Lee, Jackson and Maybin jerseys. I could wear my Lacoste or Polo to the Ralph, but it is a football game, so I go for a jersey.

Funnels beers.... Now, I personally don't drink....this makes some of the obnoxious drunks more obnoxious, but it's their thing.... as much as you would like to think that crew wanted to "hang" with you...probably not. They were partying with their friends...I am sure somebody had to have partied at Yale when you were there.

You did say that they were in their early 20's, and while they may not be as sophisticated as you were in your 20's, I for one find it refreshing that the youth is into the Bills.

The Ralph is not an exclusive club, and when it is, it will lose it's charm. You could go to the Yacht club, sip on an aged scoth eat some humus, all while enjoying the game in a quiet, sophisticated, smoke free environment. The best part is, they can charge you as much as you would like!!!!

I think the Bills being such an integrated part of the community is great. Even as I get older, and realize I am not going to bring my 2 year old to a game for quite a while, I think it is nice to see youth embracing the Bills. It would be a lot easier to like the Pats* or Steelers or whatever, especially in this age of information, where you can watch all the games anywhere, but they suffer with us... At the end of the day, if you're a Bills fan, we are on the same team. I am in Erie, and the Bills following here has all but disappeared. We need to stick together, not get petty.

If raising the price of tickets helps us get better players, let's do it, but if you think $10-$20/ ticket keeps out the youth, rething this plan. Also realize what it would do to the displaced worker who is your age, or older, that once was firmly entrenched int he middle class, that has been laid off, and now one of their only joys is putting on their Zubaz and coming to the Ralph....

I am sure you will bash this post, as that is where you are coming from. I hope that you at least take one second and realize YOU were kind of being the d-bag here... I am sure you wouldn't admit it, but I hope for 1 second this message reaches you up there in your perch above all of the commoners...

Thanks for your time, I know it is valuable, and I am flattered that you could check into TBD between phone calls from The President, and The Pope.

Dude, you have the wrong idea- I wasn't condemning partying, but there is a respectful way to do it. You think I'm not getting absolutely destroyed on Sunday? Crank some VH, hook up a nice grill scene and do it right. If an opposing fan walks by, if you're gonna call him out, you better be ready to back it up (ie. I saw Bruce Smith knock out Bledsoe in his first game). I am also 30, and when I was a kid, you had the dudes in stone-washed jeans, maybe zubas, mustaches and mullets, getting wasted and crankin classic rock. That's cool. If you don't see the distinction between that and what I'm talking about, I don't know what to tell ya.

[MarkyMannn]

mchammer, on Dec 18 2009, 10:48 AM, said:

This is like the chicken or the egg. I think they need to raise prices so they could offer better pay to players who know how to win games. I think if they bite the bullet and raise ticket prices they may suffer in the short run but make up for it later down the road. I have been a season ticket holder for six years now and I would much rather pay $10 -$20 more per seat than waste my time seeing a crappy team on the cheap. :lol:

$10 more per ticket per game for a season is like $7,000,000 which is like another TO. Hardly enough to put the Bills into a Super Bowl. Now if you doubled or tripled them, that MAY put them in the playoffs, are you willing to pay that?