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1. by Matthew
   about 1 month ago

   Hey man, I just wanted to thank you for the feedback on my article. I took your point into consideration and after sleeping on it, I decided that you were right and it was a terrible title.

   Thanks for not being afraid to speak your mind!

   Matt

2. by Steve
   2 months ago

   Thanks for responding, Jarrod. I hope the Bills stay in Buffalo. What I don't understand is why the Bills need the Toronto/Southern Ontario market at all. 30,000 of the fans for every game come from Canada and of course they have "Canada Day" at Orchard Park once a year. But (and this is true for the Buffalo Sabres as well), Buffalo has the entire Northwest New York State to market in, stretching from Syracuse to Erie, PA. including Rochester. That's a market of 3-4 million people without any need to cross the border. Toronto is a more glamorous city that is hypnotized by the NFL, but with the size of the Western New York market, there is room for two teams.

   So what is the problem? Is it bad marketing in New York State? Or are New York fans outside the metropolitan Buffalo area indifferent or hate the Bills? Is it easier to market in Southern Ontario? This dependence on Canadian revenue has led to Toronto threatening to get the Bills for good plus the LA. threat. What is the matter with the New York State market?

3. by Steve
   2 months ago

   Thanks for reading and responding to my article, Jarrod. It seems far fetched but I have read comments from other BR readers that Buffalo is one of the cities that the LA group would target if they get approval to build their stadium. They have publicly stated they will not build it unless they have a commitment from a current NFL team to move there. I would prefer them to get an expansion team and the NFL move toward a 40 team league of eight divisions of five teams. I have written an article stating that currently there are enough cities to reach that point including Toronto. I have two questions for you. If the Bills had to move, would you prefer them to move to LA or Toronto? Would Wilson sell the team if LA made him an offer he couldn't refuse?

4. by JW
   5 months ago

   check this out

   I think you will like it

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/179496-herb-mul-key-better-than-invincible

5. by Brandon
   5 months ago

   Hey Thanks man. That was actually a first because I usually never get to write an opinion piece on the Bills for that paper. So I decided I'd put it on B/R, too. Thanks for reading.

6. by Tony
   5 months ago

   Hey Jarrod,

   I just finished the first half of the mother of all slide shows. I focused on the 100 greatest NFL players of the past 25 years who didn't attend a Division I college. This is part 1, give it a look and let me know what you think! Look out for part 2 coming soon! Thanks!

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/174612-from-small-time-to-prime-time-the-100-best-nfl-players-who-did-not-attend-a-division-i-school-of-the-past-25-years-100-52

7. by Ryan
   5 months ago

   The story of how Marc Bulger became the NFL's most underappreciated quarterback...

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/174695-the-story-of-how-marc-bulger-became-the-nfls-most-underappreciated-qb

   If you have a moment, I'd really like to hear your opinion and any feedback you could give would be of the utmost value.

   Hope you enjoy it,
   -Ryan Michael

8. by Danyel
   6 months ago

   Hi, just wanted to say thanks for the correction!!! I explained what happened on my page under your comment. Anyway, I really like your articles. Keep up the good work! And write some more....I want to read them!

9. by Steve
   6 months ago

   Hi Jarrod, Thanks for responding again. Yes, I agree with you that Rogers bears a heavy share of the responsibility. I don't have any sympathy for him in this matter. But I doubt when Ralph set his price that his intention was to fleece his friend Ted. Both of them were banking on the mindless NFL worship in Toronto and what they didn't expect was that Toronto fans would compare prices and get wise to what was going on. The only difference was that Ralph got off scott free while Ted had to pay. But regardless who has what responsibility, the intent was to fleece the fans in Toronto because they live in a different country. And the NFL sanctioned it. Who exactly did what doesn't change the unethical nature of this deal. It is an attempt to treat the fans in Canada like suckers with contempt and arrogance. It is a betrayal of the American fans in Buffalo who loyally supported the team. Wilson wasn't losing money in Buffalo, just not making as much as he was with this deal. Like I said, ask the fans in Oakland, Cleveland, St. Louis, Houston, and Baltimore who went through a similar situation with their owner and the NFL. The fact that Ralph made it known to Ted that he would consider transferring games from Buffalo to Toronto even when he was making money in Buffalo shows how he much he regards the loyalty of the fans in Western New York. He was well aware of the NFL worship in Toronto and already making money from a sizeable Canadian fan base, was just looking for way to tap into the Canadian market further. Rogers simply gave him that opportunity. Both concluded the deal to fleece the fans there. One is as unsavory as the other. And it is fair to compare the NFL with other leagues. The NFL is too big for its own good. Read that comment by "Captain" about how English fans now regard rich soccer teams and players in England.

10. by Steve
    6 months ago

    Hi Jarrod, Thanks for responding again. I guess this debate will never end until the Bills are moved or kept where they are which I favour. So let's go into round 2.

    1. I am not missing the point that the NFL is money driven, but when MLB and the NBA came to Toronto, there was no attempt made to sucker people with excessive prices. It's just the NFL that is arrogant enough to do it. If MLB, the NBA, the NHL, or the CFL decided to put a franchise next door to your area in Syracuse, they would not try such a ploy. They would realize that you have to win over fans and plant roots in a community. You don't do that by outrageous pricing.

    2. If anything, the NFL has lost fans in Toronto because of this. There are lots of fans of NFL fans in Toronto and a reasonably priced game would have sold out almost immediately last year without any controversy. It's not just me that is ranting about what is going on. There have been too many stories in the press about the ticket prices, and almost all are negative. The fact that last year's game did not sell out shows that fans are not willing to be suckers.

    3. Regardless of which city you live in, people want to be treated "equally". The proximity of Toronto to Buffalo allowed fans to compare what is being charged there with what was being charged in Toronto. When you buy a product or service, you don't want to pay extra for something that you can get at a cheaper price. Fans noticed the difference and stayed away from the game.

    4. Discussions were held behind closed doors between Rogers, Wilson and the NFL before the deal was signed about what to charge fans. The NFL and Wilson would never have done a deal with Rogers or any other business if they themselves weren't going to make a tidy profit. All three partners set the prices, not just Rogers.

    5. As far as expansion goes, the NFL has played with unbalanced divisions far longer than it has played with balanced ones so going back to unbalanced divisions won't be any problem. The NFL is not going let a minor point like that get in the way of making money. The NFL would probably like two teams in Los Angeles like MLB, the NHL, and the NBA so it's only a matter of time before the 32 team limit is surpassed. The next symetrical number is 40 but that shouldn't be a problem to reach because there are already over eight cities that could be awarded franchises (L.A 1, L.A. 2, San Antonio, Portland, Salt Lake CIty, Las Vegas, Toronto, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Hartford, Memphis, Orlando etc,) at different intervals over the next decade. What really is scummy is that the people who want to build a stadium in Los Angeles have said they won't try for an expansion franchise but want to steal one from another city. (People have mentioned Buffalo, Minnesota, San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco, Jacksonville.) So much for fan loyalty to the NFL. It's just another reason why I find them arrogant and contemptuous.

11. by Steve
    6 months ago

    HI Jarrod, Thanks for reading and commenting on my article. I agree that Rogers bears a lot of the blame for what is going on but that does not change the fact that the same product is being sold at monopolistic prices simply because it is in a different country. There are notable differences in this situation that smacks of contempt and arrogance.

    1. When baseball and basketball expanded to Toronto, none of this was done. The leagues knew they had to sell the game and attract fans. The NFL shows this contempt wherever they play outside the United States. One commentator from England mentioned the same thing about the London games.

    2. The proximity of Buffalo to Toronto means that comparisons can be made and this kind of thing can be seen up front. A sizeable number of the Bills' fans (estimated from 15,000-30,000) are Canadian. Why should they pay monopolistic prices for the same product simply because it is located in a different venue?

    3. Ralph Wilson and the NFL know what they are doing. No league has more owners who use blackmail to get their own way than the NFL.. St. Louis, Cleveland, Oakland, Baltimore, and Houston all lost their franchises, not because their teams were being not being supported like in the NHL, but because the owners believed they could get better deals elsewhere. The latest ploy is that of Los Angeles which will not build a new stadium unless it can steal a franchise away from another city, instead of applying for an expansion franchise. Buffalo is rumoured to be one of the cities that would consider moving there. If Los Angeles made Wilson an offer, he'd go.

    4. If Wilson really was devoted to Buffalo, there would be no games in Toronto at all. But he knows Toronto is a much wealthier city than Buffalo and wants to exploit the situation for all its worth. What if Wilson swiitched some of the games to Rochester? Would you complain then?

    5. Like the NHL, there is plenty of room for both a Toronto and Buffalo franchise. If the NFL wants Toronto in its league, why don't they schedule expansion talks and grant Toronto and Los Angeles franchises? They would still make a pile of money. But the NFL wants to exploit this situation for all its worth. It's a great way to blackmail fans and cities into building expensive stadiums for the rich by allowing situations to arise where a city can lose its franchise to another that is willing to cater to rich NFL owners.

    6. This situation is like the American Reconstruction period when Northern carpetbaggers (Wilson and the NFL) collaborated with Souther scalawags (Rogers) to exploit a situation. I'm just arguing that Canadian NFL fans should be treated equally with American fans and not be exploited like suckers. If the CFL tried to expand into the United States, they wouldn't dare try anything like this. Neither did baseball and basketball when they expanded to Toronto. If Canadians would set aside their mindless worship of the NFL, like Los Angeles did when they lost both their franchises, the NFL wouldn't dare try this ploy.

12. by Paul
    6 months ago

    Jarrod-
    Here is the follow-up piece to the poll I attempted late last week. Please check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/158496-top-ten-pro-franchises-of-the-past-25-years

13. by Mandy
    6 months ago

    Hey Jarrod. It said in my activity that you left me a note on my Bulletin Board, but there's nothing there. LOL Care to retype it to me? LOL

14. by JW
    7 months ago

    dude, read this and then spread the word of this noble cause

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/153474-bike-ride-of-love-joe-delamielleure-asks-you-to-get-on-board

15. by Mandy
    7 months ago

    Got another article I'd like you to check out. Let me know what you think. :)

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/152836-giving-terrell-owens-some-advice

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