Buffalo Bills: Same team, new home?

Out of Buffalo’s two major professional sports franchises, they share zero championships past the year 1964 which was before the Superbowl era, proving that Buffalo is a town that’s not in it for the silverware, but rather the culture and tradition.

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Ask any Buffalo Sports fan why they support their local teams and you’ll hear a variety of answers, but one theme will remain constant between most — They have pride in their city and want the best to represent it.

Buffalo is also a bit different of a city when it comes to sports, namely, the Bills. We’re not like New York City or Seattle where you can be hanging around downtown or at work, and 30 minutes later be at the stadium to “catch a game”. For Bills’ fans, gameday is strictly gameday.

If you’re not getting up with the sun to head to Ralph Wilson Stadium to tailgate for hours before the game and coming home after dinner with no voice, you’re doing it all wrong. It’s what makes going to a game in Buffalo such a unique experience, and its one reason the discussion of getting a new stadium in Buffalo is splitting some fans.

Recently, NFL owners met as they do every year to discuss the upcoming season and the state of each franchise. There was excitement for the Bills as the organization seems as if it is being urged to start the process of building a new stadium. This starts a massive conversation throughout Western New York — Are we ready to leave the Ralph?

There are basically two schools of thought for this question. Either yes, the Bills are ready and deserve to move to a state of the art stadium, or no, the Ralph and all of its traditions are irreplaceable, not to mention it’s in fantastic shape considering it was built in 1973.

Regardless of what Kim and Terry Pegula — the owners of the franchise decide to do — the biggest challenge and task for them to achieve is to keep and preserve the atmosphere and culture which is what sets the team apart from the rest of the 31 franchises in the NFL.

Of those in favor of staying at the Ralph in Orchard Park, I expected to find more seasoned fans who have been loyal to the team for many years, and that’s just what I found when I was contacted by Sean Dunnam, a Bills’ fan of 25 years to lend his opinion on the matter.

Sean made a thorough argument from an almost purely economic standpoint for the Bills to stay put which is fair considering that money talks in the NFL. And while he made multiple points as to why building a new stadium may be economically unjust considering the nature of government support and the amount of corporate support there is in the Buffalo market, he ends by making sure to mention the condition of Ralph Wilson Stadium and why that should play a role in the decision making.

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“A stadium like Ralph Wilson Stadium is neither broken nor obsolete. The sight lines are amazing, regardless of where you sit… Currently the Ralph is one of the most fan friendly stadiums in the league”. As a fan on many years, Sean knows the Buffalo fan base, and because of that he understands why the Ralph is a great representation of the people in the area. No, it’s not the biggest or flashiest stadium in the league, but for the people it holds and the traditions it carries, the Ralph may just be the best stadium for the job.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, reaching out to those who would be in favor of a new stadium meant looking to a more fresh generation of Bills’ fans with a different perspective. Eric Daggett, a Bills’ fan of three years had an entirely different opinion for this issue, while understanding the heritage it would leave behind.

“Even though going to a Bills game at Orchard Park is one of the best experiences a person can have, being close to the beautiful downtown Buffalo area will create a new atmosphere for an emerging Bills team”. This perspective is interesting to me mainly because of how the atmosphere would be altered and how that could potentially change the fan base on game days.

Being closer to the urban area would drastically change Buffalo traditions that have been in place for upwards of 40 years, although some of those traditions don’t earn Buffalo any positive media attention.

As a sports fan in general, I see advantages and disadvantages in both options. For one, the Orchard park area will be desolated if the Bills were to leave while the City of Buffalo would gain yet another aspect to its current state of rebirth and urban boom the city has been experiencing in recent years.

Secondly, Considering the Pegula’s invested $130 million into the Ralph in 2014, is it time to move on already? Local food venders and recognizable brands were brought in to be included in the game-day experience, adding to the already pro-buffalo feeling you cannot avoid while being in Orchard Park on a game day.

Finally, we come to the question that everyone even slightly close to the situation should be asked, Where would YOU rather attend a game? A fancy corporate-friendly stadium downtown that blends in to rival the best stadiums across the country, or a smaller and more antiquated stadium with history and character that defines the character and identity of the region just by stepping past the ticket gate.

The Buffalo Bills 2016 marketing campaign that was recently released has a slogan saying “Bills run deep”, inspired by the fans, players, coaches, and bonds throughout the city that have lasted decades. It appears that the team values it’s painfully loyal fan base, which begs the answer as to whether the fans are ready to move away from their home and all its memories.

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