58 replies to this topic

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

http://www.cbssports...two-bills-drive

Quote

--The Pro Football Hall of Fame will dedicate the Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center on Friday, Aug. 3. The 10,000-square-foot Center is named in honor of the Bills owner and Hall member, whose gift of $2.5 million dollars made the state-of-the-art facility possible. The center will house and preserve the more than 20 million document pages and three million photographic images in the Hall of Fame's collection and free up space to accommodate an ever-growing artifact collection. "Ralph Wilson's outstanding contributions to pro football over many decades are legendary," stated Steve Perry, president/executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "His generous gift has greatly enhanced our ability to preserve the Hall of Fame's rapidly growing collection of historic documents and artifacts."

[PromoTheRobot]

We all know Ralph likes stuff named after him.

PTR

[dwight in philly]

JÂy RÛßeÒ, on 01 August 2012 - 01:58 PM, said:

http://www.cbssports...two-bills-drive

a stopped clock is right twice a day. giving the hall of fame a gift is nice, i suppose, but having a succession plan in place to keep the team in buffalo is much more of a priority. all the ass-kissing on here for ralph amazes me. he has made a fortune in western new york and his constant  threats of moving the team since the 60's makes me not really like the man. if owning the team in "small market" buffalo was, and is,  so bad, why doesnt he just sell?

[marauderswr80]

Tax write off....he will get it all back when he files his W2 form at H&R Block.....

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

PromoTheRobot, on 01 August 2012 - 02:09 PM, said:

We all know Ralph likes stuff named after him.

PTR

Yeah I was thinking we should tattoo it on players we want him to sign

[nucci]

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 02:11 PM, said:

a stopped clock is right twice a day. giving the hall of fame a gift is nice, i suppose, but having a succession plan in place to keep the team in buffalo is much more of a priority. all the ass-kissing on here for ralph amazes me. he has made a fortune in western new york and his constant  threats of moving the team since the 60's makes me not really like the man. if owning the team in "small market" buffalo was, and is,  so bad, why doesnt he just sell?

Constant? I remember in the 60s when he wanted a new stadium he said he may have to consider leaving but constants threats for almost 50 years? Fact is Bills have never left!

[mrags]

Ralph is a great man. I truly hope he is able to experience holding the Lombardi trophy over his head before his time is up. Of course I also hope he secretly has some plan in place so that the Bills have a home in Buffalo for many years to come.

Long Live Ralph

[dwight in philly]

nucci, on 01 August 2012 - 02:20 PM, said:

Constant? I remember in the 60s when he wanted a new stadium he said he may have to consider leaving but constants threats for almost 50 years? Fact is Bills have never left!

well, just being a "victim" of living with the inferiority complex lots have due to  living or being from "buffalo" has made him a fortune! i do not begrudge him for playing on those emotions, but it sure doesnt make me like him, sure he has not moved the team, i wonder why?

[nucci]

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 02:32 PM, said:

well, just being a "victim" of living with the inferiority complex lots have due to  living or being from "buffalo" has made him a fortune! i do not begrudge him for playing on those emotions, but it sure doesnt make me like him, sure he has not moved the team, i wonder why?

Wilson has always said the ream is committed to Buffalo. He could have moved to LA at any time for guaranteed $$$. My only complaints are how he has run the team at times. Breaking up the '73-'75 teams causing Saban to quit a 2nd time. Messing up Knox's teams. And of course this stretch we're in now. No, I didn't forget '68-'71.

[dwight in philly]

nucci, on 01 August 2012 - 03:43 PM, said:

Wilson has always said the ream is committed to Buffalo. He could have moved to LA at any time for guaranteed $$$. My only complaints are how he has run the team at times. Breaking up the '73-'75 teams causing Saban to quit a 2nd time. Messing up Knox's teams. And of course this stretch we're in now. No, I didn't forget '68-'71.

i remember back when wilson had to have more seats in war memorial stadium, he strong armed the buffalo common council resulting in 7,200 seats. the threat was there. around 69-70, he is going to move to seattle unless he gets a new stadium resulting in the county building him the "ralph". there was a huge groundswell to build the stadium in buffalo, but wilson insisted on the suburbs. i am quite sure it was because the parking would be all his. he has done a great job of making the loyal fans beholden to him, for this, i dislike him, AND, the lack of not allowing a succession plan to be put into place just further pisses me off.

[Ed_Roch]

Just because he hasn't publicly announced a succession plan doesn't mean he doesn't have one in place.   I recall Larry Felser writing columns about how there's no plan in place.  To me all that means is Larry assumes since Ralph didn't inform him of his plans there can't be one.  For whatever reason, it may just be that RW doesn't want anyone to know his plans until he's dead.  I certainly can understand peoples argument that RW would be much more liked if he announced his plans now, while I totally agree, that doesn't mean he needs to do it.

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 02:11 PM, said:

a stopped clock is right twice a day. giving the hall of fame a gift is nice, i suppose, but having a succession plan in place to keep the team in buffalo is much more of a priority. all the ass-kissing on here for ralph amazes me. he has made a fortune in western new york and his constant  threats of moving the team since the 60's makes me not really like the man. if owning the team in "small market" buffalo was, and is,  so bad, why doesnt he just sell?

[PromoTheRobot]

If Ralph was not committed to Buffalo, the Bills would left decades ago.

PTR

[machine gun kelly]

The best thing for us in a preservation mose given the NFL's expansion plans is the toronto project.  Noone likes it, but if it increases regionalization like Green Bay did for so many years with Milwaukee, then do you care.  The easy question is a supportive league and owners of the Bills staying in Buffalo not only due to the history and a decent ownership group, but support from Toronto, and Rochester and Syracuse given the training camp, etc. is that so bad?

I'd rather have 7 home games, then none, or all in LA.

[dwight in philly]

PromoTheRobot, on 01 August 2012 - 06:06 PM, said:

If Ralph was not committed to Buffalo, the Bills would left decades ago.

PTR

why didnt he just leave then?.."commited to buffalo"??? that is such bullsh-t.. we , as a community having been taking it up the a$$ for this guy.. he didnt leave because he preyed upon our inferiority complex! used us like a bunch of fools..

Edited by dwight in philly, 01 August 2012 - 06:32 PM.

[chris heff]

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

i remember back when wilson had to have more seats in war memorial stadium, he strong armed the buffalo common council resulting in 7,200 seats. the threat was there. around 69-70, he is going to move to seattle unless he gets a new stadium resulting in the county building him the "ralph". there was a huge groundswell to build the stadium in buffalo, but wilson insisted on the suburbs. i am quite sure it was because the parking would be all his. he has done a great job of making the loyal fans beholden to him, for this, i dislike him, AND, the lack of not allowing a succession plan to be put into place just further pisses me off.

Wasn't the original plan in the late 1960s to build a domed stadium downtown? So much graft and corruption ensued that the plan was dumped. That is how the stadium ended up in Orchard Park.

[dwight in philly]

chris heff, on 01 August 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Wasn't the original plan in the late 1960s to build a domed stadium downtown? So much graft and corruption ensued that the plan was dumped. That is how the stadium ended up in Orchard Park.

there was a plan in place to build a stadium either in downtown or in the suburbs. by then, a dome was out. the buffalo news favored a suburban location because the original plan was for the stadium to be built right around the news bldg, the "crossroads" site. the courier express favored the city site. the news won out, but wilson was on record as wanting the suburban site. not much corruption, other than usual buffalo politics. the lancaster domed stadium was mired in poltical corruption, it was unrelated to the actual "ralph" being built.

[nucci]

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

why didnt he just leave then?.."commited to buffalo"??? that is such bullsh-t.. we , as a community having been taking it up the a$$ for this guy.. he didnt leave because he preyed upon our inferiority complex! used us like a bunch of fools..

You seem unusually angry, Dwight. While Ralph has been responsible for some very bad teams he could have made just as much if not more money in LA.Brand new stadium, boxes, PSLs...etc. Plus the team would be worth more if they were in LA. You tell me why he didn't leave. Also, Ralph wanted a stadium in the suburbs like his friend Lamar Hunt had in KC.

Edited by nucci, 01 August 2012 - 07:32 PM.

[dwight in philly]

nucci, on 01 August 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

You seem unusually angry, Dwight. While Ralph has been responsible for some very bad teams he could have made just as much if not more money in LA.Brand new stadium, boxes, PSLs...etc. Plus the team would be worth more if they were in LA. You tell me why he didn't leave. Also, Ralph wanted a stadium in the suburbs like his friend Lamar Hunt had in KC.

im not angry, just not into the "ralph worship", why he didnt leave?? easy, because he had the community by the balls and knew it. he made lots of money obviously in wny, so....you believe he stayed out of some un- dieing love he had for buffalo? i think it was easier for him to play the public against the politcos and stay here than to pick up stakes and head for , LA??? when would he have done that? while the rams were there , the raiders??, where would the team play.. that is a croc..

[BillnutinHouston]

dwight in philly, on 01 August 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

im not angry, just not into the "ralph worship", why he didnt leave?? easy, because he had the community by the balls and knew it. he made lots of money obviously in wny, so....you believe he stayed out of some un- dieing love he had for buffalo? i think it was easier for him to play the public against the politcos and stay here than to pick up stakes and head for , LA??? when would he have done that? while the rams were there , the raiders??, where would the team play.. that is a croc..

Yes, you're right, the other 31 owners are oozing with jealousy over Ralph's situation in Buffalo.  And why not, when Ralph enjoys:

1) vast revenues from Buffalo's huge season ticket base (as compared to the other teams)
2) mega-revenues from Buffalo's vast, high-rate corporate and club suite base
3) the exorbitant ticket prices Buffalo commands vs. other NFL markets
4) the generous advertising revenue available from the media "hub" that is Buffalo
5) Buffalo's exceptional media exposure vs. other NFL markets
6) Buffalo's sparkling new stadium replete with all the bells and whistles

It appears that you resent Ralph, but face it: the reason Buffalo has a disappointing team is the same reason Buffalo even HAS a team - Ralph Wilson.  Ralph is certainly an enigma and like many of us, is a complicated fellow who's management record is mixed.  Sure he knows how to turn a buck (welcome to capitalism!), but if he's all about money he'd be offering a team to LA, or asking for gold-plated stadium renovations, and/or we'd be tailgating on Sundays at "Weber's Mustard Stadium" instead of the Ralph.  Bottom line, I think you oversimplify his motives and don't give credit where it's due to an old-school businessman who despite his self-interested ways, gets the concept of what this team means to Buffalo.  If you think Ralph is heartless, just consider what the next owner might be like.

[spartacus]

chris heff, on 01 August 2012 - 06:55 PM, said:

Wasn't the original plan in the late 1960s to build a domed stadium downtown? So much graft and corruption ensued that the plan was dumped. That is how the stadium ended up in Orchard Park.

The county actually had to pay for land and signficant costs for teh Lancaster stadium project that crashed and burned


you can bete someone made money on that deal