Why Buffalo Has An NFL Team…
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- Why the Bills Exist…
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Also keep in mind that the Buffalo Bills are the ONLY NFL team that actually plays ANY games in the state of New York.
NOT TRUE! All 31 other NFL teams also play games in the state of New York!! (When they play the Bills in Buffalo, New York!) Duh! 😏
@@jsivco3sivco785 Touche!
@@jsivco3sivco785Ray Lewis once said something along the lines of “I get paid Monday through Saturday. Sundays you get for free.” It made me wonder if they could construct the CBA so that NFL players could avoid weird taxes when they were on the road.
But they’re not considered a NY team because NY sports always refers to sports in NYC.
@@Not_Sal That perception is what we're trying to change - NYC is not the entire state
Thank you for including Syracuse, loads of Bills fans here that drive 3 hours down the thruway every week 👍🏻
Thanks for uploading about my home town. Appreciate the love!
As an aside, Buffalo's television stations reach deep into Canada and even into Northern Pennsylvania.
The excitement from sports, be it The Bills, The Blue Jays and The Raptors doesn't stop at the border.
Let's not forget The Blue Jays played some games in Buffalo last year.......
Exactly! Used to call them Buffalo Maple Leafs😂
CORRECTION: Bills only NFL team in 1990's go to 4 straight Super Bowls!!!
Awesome video, as a bills fan living near Rochester, ny; bills country certainly extends far beyond just the buffalo area. Bills mafia for life
Yep, extends as far out as Albany! Albany is mostly Bills fans and there are several different Bills Backers/Sabres bars in the Albany area. Sabres and Bills are in our TV market.
There was a reason why Toronto tried hard to get the Bills a few years ago
Glad they didn't. Toronto fans suck. Ask a Sabres fan.
Buffalo is a nice city that unfortunately got killed by the st lawrence riverway opening up, lost half its population since the team was founded, and still one of the biggest cities in NY. It’s full of beautiful buildings that unfortunately aren’t going to be maintained.
You haven't been to Buffalo recently, have you?
@@pyrexmaniaci have last summer. Couldve been a lot more impressive, but I liked it.
Buffalo is now a suburb of Toronto, Canada. Torontonians are always saying they deserve a second NHL team to challenge the inept Toronto Maple Leafs. What they fail to realize is that they do have a second NHL team called the "Buffalo Sabres" -- which is equally inept.
Nah, we’re our city. Quit claiming what isnt yours.
What you fail to realize in that part of the world in which you live, the population density is HUGE. It doesn't matter if Toronto is a suburb of Buffalo or visa versa. It's all the same place. @@cecilthecavetroll9743
add in the climate change. Buffalo winters are brutal but we never hit 100 degrees because of the big air conditioner to the West of the city. I have a neighbor that moved here from Arizona and he loves it. The population is actually trending up. Too bad we are in New York and have to deal with the high taxes.
Too bad Gov Hochul is building you a new stadium on the backs of NYS taxpayers…. I guess you complain about that, right?
It's trending up slightly, but the whole country is increasing in population. The state is its own worst enemy. As long as they continue to vote for big government politicians, New York State will never again be a success story.
@@peterjohnson1734 yah, the same big Gov politicians that are building you a stadium
@@Slo-ryde They're not building me a stadium, I escaped years ago.
Like many of the dying cities in upstate NY, Buffalo has stopped the population decline by filling empty houses with refugees. But those folks tend to be poor, so the median household income in Buffalo remains far below the national average. It's hard for poor people to buy nfl tickets/merch.
Give me a cold weather team who plays outside ANY time.
It's funny how the Buffalo bills exist but there's no more football team in San Diego for the population with imperial County and Mexico and San Diego combined it's around 6 million people and it's a large area including Southern Orange County and Southern Riverside and even toward Yuma Arizona it amazes me but it is what it is
I agree. I do not understand how San Diego doesn't have an NFL team. The NFL owners must want to keep it as an open bargaining chip on the board.
san diego turned down a vote to build a stadium for the chargers
The billionaire owner wanted a stadium built on the backs of the taxpayer…..the city said otherwise!
How about all the years when L.A. didn't have a team?
The Chargers wanted a large tract of land on the waterfront. The county of San Diego was willing to help build a new stadium on the same site of the old stadium a couple miles inland. The owner threatened to go to LA so the the voters said "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out". Roger Goddell held a rally to save the team but nobody showed up. Too many other things to do here to be bullied by the NFL.
When talking population there was also Erie, Pa - just down the road at a 90min drive - at 140k residents back then as well.
Yea, but that area sways more to the Steelers
Bills also have a lot of fans from Ontario and Toronto, yes they put up with the Bills as well as suffering with the Leafs and Jays, miserable I know.
Another reason we got the team is because of the strong attendance of the original buffalo bills in the nfl in 1946049
BUFFALO BILLS should never leave Buffalo along with the Sabres . That area is football and hockey land.
I'm from upstate NY, but now live in TX. There are High School teams in Texas that have nicer stadiums, and draw larger crowds, than Division I college teams have in NY.
@@libertarian4323 Cause Texas has its priorities backwards,
@@cecilthecavetroll9743 Texas is booming, upstate NY has been dying for decades. In the late 50s, Buffalo and San Antonio both had about 580,000 people. Today, SA has 1,472,909 people and Buffalo has shrunk to barely a city at 276,486 people. Texas must be doing something right!
@@libertarian4323 I mean in terms of high school funding. They spend so much money on sports but they don’t fund actual academics or teacher salaries well.
@@cecilthecavetroll9743 The schools that have those huge stadiums tend to be extremely wealthy. Not just the football stadium, but the entire school will be lavish. The teachers are well paid.
Buffalo does have a Metro Area.. Its called Toronto
Toronto is in a different country.
Nah, we’re our own city.
Yeah as someone mentioned aboved you missed the AAFC aspect of this. This was the rival league to the NFL from 46-49 and the original Buffalo Bills were a part. This was Buffalos first team and they drew very well. They were successful enough as when it came to the merger many thought they should have gotten third spot with 49ers and the Browns instead of the original Colts(who folded after 1 seasons, the current Colts were the remenents of the New York AAFC franchise long story). So when the AFL came calling while it was a top ten market it had a stadium ready to go (more than say oakland or Houston) and a history of supporting a pro team.
Everyone knows the Buffalo Bills exist in order to allow the NFC to score 139 points in Super Bowls against a single team without letting them have a win.
Green Bay is the 157th largest metro area.
Milwaukee?
Knew plenty of Bills/Sabers fans while living near Burlington,VT. Also there were bus trips available to take you to Orchard Park even when the Patriots weren't playing there etc. Tons of people from the North Country hate NYC and love Bufalo sports as well.
3:07 What happens if you can't afford the extra 50 cents?
Why does Buffalo still have an NFL team?
Because Toronto won't build a stadium to accommodate one.
Simple.
and now Toronto will never get the chance again
Buffalo used to host a game in Toronto every year.
It never occurred to me that Buffalo itself has that low of population. This was a very interesting video.
It's misleading, though. The 250k is just within the city limits. The area itself is over 1 mil people, and WNY is like 2 mil. Mind, it's not Boston or NYC, but it's still not bad
@@jayjack6299 That makes sense. I live just outside of Portland, Oregon. The city's population is around 6,000, but the metro population is over twice that.
Wow I always thought it must be a somewhat big city. Mind blown 🤯 but I like their old stadium i think it is cool and I like old stadiums like arrowhead and lambeu
airhead and rambo!
The stadium is really little more than a concrete structure with aluminum bleachers. Older fans will remember that one of the problems with having a stadium with the largest capacity is that home games didn't sell out, so those games weren't televised locally. While the stadium isn't pretty, it's always been functional. What, after all, is the purpose of a stadium? There was a time that the game was the most important thing about an NFL Sunday. Now, fans apparently demand an "experience" with loud rock music and Jumbotron replays and gourmet food concessions.
NFL considers the Toronto television market as blackout territory. During the drought years you could only watch Bills road games. As long as there is no NFL in Canada the Bills will live on as the Greater Toronto Team, hell they even played home games in Toronto during the drought seasons. CTV now shows the Bills coast to coast in Canada and one of their playoff games beat Hockey Night in Canada in the ratings. While not Canada's team, they share it with the Minnesota Vikings in the prairies, Seattle Seahawks'on the west coast and maybe the New England Patriots in the Maritimes, they are pretty close. Living in Toronto I would be torn if we got an expansion franchise, if the CFL folded it would be enviable.
Go Bills !
Great video man
interest history of Buffalo's decline since 1959
LET’S GO BUFFALO!!!
When you drive into buffalo the sign with the slogan literally said "An All America City"... Is not an all american city mind you... So I always joke that somebody must have asked "is any of this city part of Canada? It's so close, are you sure??"... And they must have gotten sick of answering this question... So they just put it on a sign, like This city is all america every last piece of it!, It's "an all-america city!"...
But (considering the fact that they likely mean united states, it actual america) That's probably because there were so many canameans at the Bills games!... I mean who are we kidding it's a cheat code, To tap the canadian market but Still keep all teams in america proper, It's an all america league! 😂😂... ( Are you sure 1 Bills Drive is ALL AMERICA?? shhhh its a secret)
They are the only NFL team in New York
You need to understand something....if the Greater Horshoe Region/Greater Toronto (6.2 million people) actually supported the Bills they would be one of the top teams in the NFL, they would have one of the largest fan bases in thr NFL...they are neither.
Because it turns out Canadians don't support America.
Wild thought but Canadians don't care about America, patriotic Canadians don't support American cities....
Just like people in Detroit don't support Hamilton sports teams...why would Toronto downgrade and support a worse city.
Truthfully Buffalo Bills would be worth BILLIONS more if they relocated to Canada. FACTS.
I think the very simple solution to the "my region doesn't have a team" problem is simply making sure no city has more than 1 team (or neighboring) I think it was a great move having the raiders move to LV, and think the NFL would really stand to gain from doing something about NYC and LA. Obviously I understand they simply have such vastly larger markets than anywhere else in the country, but just imo, I think there wou,d be so much to gain from moving stuff around. Personally I think Omaha could really use a team, I think people forget how large that city is, and even just moving the Jets officially to NJ, I feel would do a lot. Idk, obviously there is always problems with moving teams, but I feel the fact that there are regions, know for their talent, that still don't have NFL teams is baffling. The fact there isn't a single team in Alabama, Mississippi, or Arkansas blows my mind when we have two in NYC alone.
Buffalo has a team because they have a rabid fan base and make tons of $$ for the NFL & ownership, like Green Bay
Personnel wealth dah
The most entitled fan base that has never won anything. As of late their fans have gotten so annoying and there are so many of them
You hit it directly on the point. The Bills represent Western New York and the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario. I live in Rochester and the Bills are part of our culture, just like in Buffalo. There isn’t as much respect for Western New York because everything is all about NYC. That’s the sad reality of the big sports leagues. I think that if the Rochester Red Wings were an MLB team, we’d still have them and they’d represent all of Western New York.
My 585 Brother 🫱🏾🫲🏽
Honestly Buffalo could use an MLB team, their AAA field was designed to be expanded for MLB expansion
@@coastaku1954 I wish Buffalo had an MLB team, but unfortunately, it’s too close to Toronto. And MLB is going to most likely only at the Buffalo-Niagara Region and not the entirety of Western New York.
@@MrT8599 I mean theres an NHL team in both Buffalo and Toronto, with pushes for one in Hamilton too, more than 1 team in the same league can exist in the same market, just look at the Mets and the Yankees, the White Sox and the Cubs, the Angels and the Dodgers, the A's and the Giants, or in other leagues the Islanders and the Rangers and the Devils, the Kings and the Ducks
@@coastaku1954 Hamilton will most likely never get an NHL team sadly. I wouldn’t mind an NHL team in Hamilton but I don’t likely ever see it happen due to the Maple Leafs and Sabres claiming territory in the Golden Horseshoe. Also the two teams in one city thing is more of an older thing when travel was a lot more difficult.
Ralph Wilson was a minority owner of the Detroit Lions in the 1950s. When the formation of the AFL was announced, Wilson contacted Lamar Hunt and got a franchise. Wilson's original plan was to put the franchise in Miami, where he owned a winter home. The city and U of Miami denied Wilson the use of the Orange Bowl, so Wilson had to look somewhere else. Hunt told him to consider Buffalo, Cincinnati or Louisville. Wilson came to Buffalo and met with the sports editor of the Buffalo News, who told Wilson he would have an article about the team every day. After other discussions, Wilson decided to put his team in Buffalo. He never went to Cincinnati or Louisville.
And the rest....is HISTORY! Great information and thank you! Long Live the AFL!
Damn. What could've been for Louisville.
A big influence was Ralph’s WW2 Navy commander, George Schaff, a lifelong Buffalo resident.
Yes!! People don't know that, But I do, And any true bills fan knows that the lions are our daddy... I don't even think that's a metaphor, We literally go there any time. There's a blizzard, just the Lake. Come home from college and do our laundry? L o l.... There would be no buffalo bills without the detroit lions... I don't ever forget that! Go Bills! Go lions!
@@theduckfromthejoke152 two games have been moved to Detroit, ever. Pump the brakes champ.
As a Canadian living in Ontario, I’ve done the pilgrimage to see the bills play. It is a regional team and the region it represents is diverse and vibrant. Go Bills!
I live in Rochester, and I see a TON of cars in the parking lot at One Bills Drive with Ontario license plates! Labbatt and Molson (Canadian) beers are also fan favorites! Go Bills and thanks for your support from Canada!
Yeah thanks to both of you... At stadium they're building half a mile from my house, Wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for you guys support, Go Bills
The Buffalo-Niagara airport is known to many Ontarians as "Toronto's second major airport." I know that prior to covid, at least 40% of the passengers arriving and departing were Canadian citizens living in Ontario. People who have never been to WNY have no clue that the region is truly much larger than the NFL market statistics purport it to be.
For over 20 years I lived in the Minneapolis,st Paul,area with Wisconsin being right on the border across the river. Of course in Minnesota you have the Vikings, but once you cross that River into Wisconsin the whole state of Wisconsin was Green Bay packer territory. So it is possible for an NFL team to survive in a small small city.
Upstate NY was prime market in mid 1900s. At one point Buffalo Braves (LA Clippers), Rochester Royals (Sacramento Kings), and the Syracuse Nationals (76ers) all called it home. Can you imagine Rochester let alone Syracuse having a NBA team now?
The royals are the only team in a major league to win a major championship Outside of new york city in the state... I was just telling my son about that.... Can you imagine that? " Rochester! This is for you!!!
you forgpt bout the kc kings
I mean yeah I can..... since OKC and SLC have an NBA team.
Hopefully Boise can one day land an NBA team
Thats where basketball was founded so they had a team before Philadelphia which was a baseball dominated city
Syracuse won an NBA Championship in 1954-1955 the year the 24 second shot clock came into the league. It was “invented” in Syracuse, by the way.
Western NY has a very strong blue collar fan base, and there aren’t a lot of other sports vying for the fans’ dollars. There’s also an underdog loyalty, and a local pride in the many surrounding towns. Go Bills!
Also, western New York, and even parts of Southern Ontario have a very strong, close-knit community feel to it. If one travels to Buffalo, Rochester, or Erie County, there's a palpable feeling of shared struggle, genuine feelings of community relations, social solidarity and that mostly everyone looks out for everyone. My father spent some time in Buffalo in the Air Force in the late 60's for a year and he said the people living there and in the surrounding regions could not have been nicer, friendlier, hospitable, and one has to keep in mind that 50-60 years ago, Buffalo's population was a lot bigger then what it is now. In fact, in the late 19th century, Buffalo had one of the top ten populated cities in the US, and of course, many educated, local Buffolinians will know that President William F. McKinley was shot and killed by a would-be anarchist at the Pan-American Exhibition at Buffalo's Fairgrounds in IIRC, 1901. There is even a very old, black-and-white short film footage of McKinley making an outdoor speech at the Exposition's Fairgrounds several hours before his assassination.
@basdfef4775 Hey cut it out you’re killin’ us buddy!
been living in Buffalo since 2011....only place where practically every person in the area is an avid football fan....if you venture out to the supermarket during a bills game you will be one of a very few people on the road or in the store...
@@basdfef4775 Stuck in a time warp with bad humor
This definitely describes the Packers too. Small region, but almost everyone is a hardcore fan.
I have a fond appreciation for these small market teams! Wish there was more of them.
My pal is a massive Bills fan. I'm a Raider. We're from Glasgow. Going to London October 8th to watch the Bills Jaguars game
Los Angeles has been the USA's second largest city for 40 years, and it couldn't maintain NFL teams at least twice.
Buffalo, NY was a candidate for MLB expansion in the past. Buffalo does have the AAA team of the Blue Jays.
Even though it's a smaller area, they'd probably support an MLB team better than many of the existing MLB expansion franchises.
Buffalo never was seriously in contention for an MLB franchise because of territorial claims of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and later, Toronto.
I often wonder about that. How often was the stadium sold out for Blue Jays home games? As much as I'd love to see it, I rarely see even The Bisons sell out like they used to in the 90's (or at least come close quite often)
I'm a Bills fan in Niagara, Ontario. There are LOTS of Bills fans in this part of Ontario, probably close to a home team, there are still some as you head toward Toronto but it gets less and less as a percentage of football fans. I think it's usually about 15% of people at Bills games are from Ontario every week.
When I read that story about the Buffalo Jills cheerleading squad, I was disgusted. Those girls were practically slaves.
If you're a Leaf fan also, may God have mercy on your soul.
@@a17yearoldonyoutubeluigi It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.
Toronto Has its own Team in the CFL if, I am not wrong? and they take people away, also there is Detroit that is closer to Ontario as is Clevland.
Detroit and Buffalo both border Ontario...Cleveland 3 hrs from border
They are the only NFL team located in New York State. That is except for people who consider East Rutherford NJ to be part of New York.
The Giants' headquarters is in Manhattan. They play in NJ.
Actually, the NY Giants offices are in the Quest Training facility on the Sports Complex grounds next to MetLife Stadium. These offices are about 7 miles west of NYC.
Even as late as 1970, Buffalo was still considered a prime city for sports teams, so much so that both the NHL and the NBA expanded into it (though the basketball Braves moved out in 1978, eventually becoming the LA Clippers).
Buffalo has lost 250,000 residents since they got an NFL team. That’s crazy.
half of that is people moving out of the city limits to the suburbs
Ever been there in the dead of winter?
Buffalo lost half it's population, but Erie County has flatlined around a million since the 1950s. All that Buffalo population spread out to growing surrounding suburbs. Buffalo's square mile area isn't large like other cities. The metro area has stagnated while smaller cities in the Southwest grew from nothing in the past 50 years. ie Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose
All the cities in upstate NY have been shrinking for decades. NY isn't a business friendly state (high taxes/regulation), so once thriving cities like Rochester, Buffalo, Utica, Syracuse have lost jobs and people while states like FL, AZ, and TX have boomed.
Thirty years of being a Bills supporter despite being an Aussie who has never set foot in America, let alone Buffalo.
Let’s go
Your not missing much. Buffalo sucks
The bills have a very strong fan base not unlike green bay. In fact, the difference in fan base makes Buffalo a much more deserving community for an NFL team than miami
I could be wrong, but the Bills have played in more Super Bowls than the fish. The Bills just needed the same players Don Shula had to work with.
No, Miami played in five Super Bowls between 72 and 85.
I think the Browns, Bills, Steelers, Bengals, and Lions should be in the same division. P.S. This Clevelander really enjoys Western NY, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls area.
When the NFL realigned all the divisions to be divisions with 4 teams, I thought divisions (no conferences) based on proximity would have been amazing for fans and rivalries. Giants, Jets Patriots and Eagles.....Bills, Steelers, Browns, and Cinci or Detroit, etc
@@WhydoIsuddenlyhaveahandle The other rule was that if a state had two teams, then one had to be in AFC and the other in NFC. If 3 then they had the smaller one forced newest one into the division that needs a team at the time.
A Rust Belt Division is a great idea.
Yeah alot of great football fans in Cleveland too
Bills and their fans always hold a special place in my heart. They were one of the original AFL teams and played in the Eastern Division with my Jets, the Patriots, and the Houston Oilers. Yes, the Oilers were in the Eastern Conference. After the Jets won SBIII, the first team they played the following year was the Bills. The fans in Buffalo were so proud and grateful that the AFL Jets beat the NFL Colts that they gave the Jets a standing ovation when they took the field.
Having said that, how can you post a history of the Buffalo Bills and have no photos or videos of their first venue, War Memorial Stadium...which was also used as the Knights home field in "The Natural".
Kinda did with Johnnie B wiley....... Kinda.
As a jets fan, I can’t help but also love you guys up in western NY. Division rivalries be damned we’re brothers
@thomascroke798 Saw a few AAA Bisons games at WMS maaannnnyyy years ago when they were the Phillies’ affiliate.
Imagine if Scott Norwood didn't botch that crucial FG attempt.
What am I missing here? The natural was filmed at bison stadium. Because it's baseball... And the bills used to play the rockpile... The aud wasn't even the same sport... I never actually saw the natural, Was there a shot of different sports in that movie? I'm not saying you're wrong. I just don't know why they would have a football stadium in a baseball Movie... Cause that would be a really weird mistake to make. So I'm assuming I'm just missing something.
Around the same time, Buffalo was going to be a city in the Continental League for baseball. Unlike the other big 3, MLB did not want the competition and acquiesced and expanded. All the cities of the CL would get MLB franchises... except Buffalo.
Why not talk about Green Bay? Talk about a small market! They pull in a lot of fans around the country but doubt they’re buying tickets!
its a legacy market. buffalo used to be a bigger market
It's not just Western NY, but much of upstate NY. You will see tons of Bills and Giants paraphernalia in the Albany area as well...
I grew up in Poughkeepsie, not far from Albany at all. I thought I knew about Albany, but then I lived there 6 years, and was shocked that the Jets were so far behind as a third fiddle. Heck, fourth fiddle because there's a lot of Pats fans, too.
Yep! Several Bills Backers bars in Albany and Sabres have a decent amount of fans in the Capital District too. If you're walking around Albany on Sundays during the season and bar hopping there will be mostly Bills gear to be seen. Especially among fans 30ish years and younger, in the Capital District they're mostly Bills/Sabres fans.
Part of it is the TV market for both teams has extended into the area. I think the other aspect is Upstate doesn't really want anything to do with NYC any longer & we identify more with a WNY team than a NYC one. To many of us NYC is a different planet and it's one we don't have a connection with. As someone from Albany who has been to both Buffalo (many times) and NYC (a couple of times) I 100% have a better time and more of a connection to Buffalo than NYC.
I really don't see many Rangers, Islanders, Giants, Jets, Mets, Knicks, Nets fans in Upstate anymore- Yankees I do, but their fans are worldwide.
still lots of Giant fans here in the Albany area!@@markdebark5248
I'm a bills fan from Brazil and the bills have by far the most loyal fan base in thr NFL. I had the opportunity to go to London to watch the bills game this year and let me tell you that they brought the whole metro. More than 12k bills fans travelled across the ocean to see the game. One more thing that you maybe forgot to mention is that even though buffalo became smaller, the population which moved out still are massive bills fans. I met people from FL, NC, TX and so on that are massive bills and actually travel to go to games
Buffalo native here: If you ever get to come here, absolutely jump at the chance. The city itself is on the upswing - the population is growing, downtown isn't abandoned anymore, and it's actually a charming place, in its own Rust Belt (i.e., the cities along the southern side of the Great Lakes - Rochester, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, etc) way. People are friendly, doubly so if you're a Bills fan, we have the best worst-for-you food in the world, and summers here are pleasant and comfortable.
OTOH, being from Brazil, you should experience how awful our winters are once. I spent a number of years living in much warmer parts of the US, and I did not miss snow one bit, and when I moved back, I was not thrilled about having to own things with "snow" in the name again (snow tires, snow shovels, snowblower)
There’s nothing in this video that doesn’t apply to a dozen other NFL teams. The actual city of Buffalo has a relatively small population, but the fan base covers an area with a large population? See also Cincinnati, Cleveland, Green Bay, Miami, Kansas City, New Orleans, etc, etc.
Not the same, other than new orleans, buffalo is a much smaller metro and csa than those cities, go to a city like cleveland or cincy and populated areas continue for many miles around, buffalos populated areas run out quick
yeah at least buffalo has other cities in the region and new orleans has a lot of fans in mississippi + has the state of louisiana
Metro Toronto is the 4th largest metropolis in North America. Only 90 minutes away. Rochester 1 million, 1 hour away. @@forgottenplaces9780
It may have already been mentioned but the “handout” is tagged at $600 million in state funds. Recently $418 million of withheld local casino revenue was retrieved by the state. The new governor even highlights these numbers as a local reinvestment therefore the 4th largest state in the country is on the hook for $182 million. And as the top comment points out, the team is the only professional football team in New York State. The team is an important part of the local economy. Lose the team, lose the jobs and the jobs from many dependent businesses that will go under.
What governor in his/her first term wants to be known for losing the states’ only team and help create the depressions that follow?
You should do a segment on why New Orleans has an NFL team.
exactly...its a very small declining area and folks are leaving there in droves the next big hurricane could really deplete the population
I think the history of the area is why New Orleans has an NFL team.
The Buffalo metro area population is nearly as large as those of Cincinnati, New Orleans and Indianapolis. And as you noted the Canadian fan base from the massive Southern Ontario population. Another reason for the Bills' stability in Buffalo is the community's passionate support for football. The sport is 2nd to baseball in Cincy and second to basketball in Indy. Buffalo for the last 35 years has had no NBA or major league baseball team. The Bills are the thing.
Cincinnati and New Orleans are well known us major cities and I don't think Indianapolis is a major city because it's kind of a small city.Buffulo use to be a major city all the way till 2000 it was considered a small city.I think Buffulo and Indianapolis are medium sized cities and Buffulo is maybe bigger than Indianapolis.Sometimes I wish the Buffulo Braves came back to the NBA but it will never happened unless Buffulo pushes its population to 400,000-500,000 people but that will never happen.
The Buffalo MSA is about half of either Cincy or Indy. It is slightly larger than that of New Orleans.
@@rodneygarner9055 I was born in Indianapolis and its MSA boundaries are complex. If you exclude the still rural parts of outflung counties, then for Buffalo add in Ft. Erie and St. Catherines, Ontario, the urban/suburban populations of Buffalo and Indianapolis are about the same.
The bills fan base is almost if not the best in the entire NFL.. they take their football seriously up there
I have read that the Bills do not like night games as they make it harder for Canadian fans to attend games.
Plus it’s colder at night!
Western NY is a great place..Mi Famigla on my Dad's side comes from a small town outside of Batavia..The disrespect from many New Yorkers is appalling for this region..Beautiful in April-Oct..Brytal drom Nov-March but the weather toughened up folks who live there..Too bad the Bills have never won the Super Bowl..Go Bills..
As a fellow buffalonian. All I’ve got to say is: #GoBills
I'm from Hamilton, Ontario and have been a Bills fan and going to the games since 1976. GO BILLS!
I'm originally from WNY and while visiting from the South last month crossed the border to see my first CFL game in Hamiliton (vs Ottawa). It was a very Blue-Collar experience!
The Buffalo Bills are New York State's only team. The Jets and Giants play in New Jersey.
First video I've seen where Canada and Syracuse were considered in the Bills market (Nice!). Now, 9 million Canadians on the peninsula and lake doesn't mean 9 million Bills fans, but there's a lot of love for the Bills and Sabres between Hamilton and Niagara Falls (talking 1 mil people in that area). Including everybody who is actually in the market, so not leaving out non-US fans and CNY, the Bills cover more population than each Ohio teams and than Pittsburgh. It's rather big for a smaller city.
I haven't lived there for a long time but I grew up in Canandaigua, which is only 24 miles from Rochester. The simple fact is, the Buffalo Bills are really the only professional sports team (minor leagues exempted) in the Western NY area and it's the NFL so of course the people in that area are crazy for the team. Would be nice to see them finally win a Super Bowl. That would be pretty cool for Buffalo.
What about the Sabres? I'd say the NHL is a major league.
@@tygrkhat4087 slipped my mind, like I said, I haven't lived there for a long long time.
Somewhere around the turn of the 20th century Buffalo was a top 10 city in the US. It was a BIG DEAL back then. The "metropolitan area" defined herein doesn't include a vast, heavily populated section of Southern Ontario. Both the Bills and the Sabres depend on this neighboring area for fan support, seasons ticket sales and overall gate revenue. On top of that the Bills supporters are intensely loyal, more so than the Sou Cal teams who stay away in droves unless the team is competitive.. Every year every game year in year out Bills fans personify undying support and loyalty.
Interesting history as I remember well watching the Buffalo Bills during their years in the AFL and it is most unfortunate they have never won a Super Bowl but remember them winning an AFL title. Like Buffaflo I have seen most of the population of St. Louis city move away to the county and now beyond making for a well spread out region. Fan support in St. Louis has never an issue seen by last year's support of an XFL minor league team called the Battle Hawks. St. Louis was prepared to abandon a 20 year old Dome stadium to build yet another new stadium for the Rams still needing owner contribution but Stan Kroenke wanted the large TV market of L.A.. When the Cardinals left for Phoenix in 1988 it was because the city and county government did not agree on the location of a new stadium, butit took 18 years for funding of a new stadium there so they played at Arizona State. It was from a St. Louis lawsuit of the NFL that it learned it took an indemnification agreement with Stan Kroenke willi ng to pay any St. Louis lawsuuit expenses to all owners. that they were approved to be moved. Buffalo is very forunate to have a team.
Going to add to the conversation, it amazes me how popular the Bills are so far away from Buffalo. I just moved near Albany from Pennsylvania, most people around here seem to be Bills fans as far as I can tell. The Giants, Jets, Patriots, and even the Eagles (go birds) are all closer than the Bills, and yet they are so popular that I know people who make the I-90 pilgrimage across the entire state to see some of their games. Bills fans around here have my utmost respect for being willing to do that.
I live in Oakland, CA. Native Californian never even been to Buffalo but I love the Bills. Best energy in the NFL.
Buffalo and WNY best kept secret in the country, affordable housing, great restaurants,arts, 2 pro sports teams,20 minutes to everything,no insane traffic.Snow goes away,homes dont float or blow away, people actually returning,priced out of everything.
I was driving through WNY in March and it was snowing and the roads were not clear so it wasn’t safe to drive up a hill on the road that was covered with snow in WNY until the plow came and it took at least 15 minutes for the plow to come clear the road
@@David-rt3yd 15 minutes and your complaining lol you have no clue what winter is about,as Bill Clinton said need to be tough to live in wny
SNOW TIRES and AWD...... Wuss@@David-rt3yd
Yep. Born and raised in Houston…still here. Big time traffic and crime chithole now. They could not pay me to see games anymore. I wouldn’t have a truck to find in the parking lot if I drove down. Wall to walk traffic, crime, and idiots. I’d rather fly to Buffalo to watch a game than deal with the Houston BS.
@@David-rt3yd I guess WNY winters are only for the rugged
For those wondering, Buffalo by statistics is what the US considers a major city. A major city is considered at least 250k in the city proper and a 1 million metro. Buffalo doesn't count some of what could be its suburbs, not to mention it's the same land sq mileage as San Francisco. The city is bigger than the numbers state even tho those numbers are still big lol, not to forget everything you mentioned in this video lol. New Orleans has 1.2 million metro too,,, so basically Buffalo's population is the almost the same as New Orleans and land size of San Francisco, its pretty large haha it is by no means a small city at all and is actually growing, 17k population gain in the city limits, its a great place with tons to offer and a lot of new jobs, things to do etc. It's a big city with big city amenities!
Not a Costco until recently lol
@@forgottenplaces9780 Okay, CLEVELAND 🤣🤣🤣 Detroit's lil bro lollll
@@marcolojacono2451 pssh, Cleveland has way more to do than Buffalo thats for sure…
@@forgottenplaces9780 Lot of talk from the 3rd best city in OHIO 😭😭😭 also just looked up: “things to do in cleveland” and immediately saw “boring downtown.” well just leave it at that hahaha
@@forgottenplaces9780you are wrong. The best thing about Cleveland is Cleveland Clinic. Without the clinic, Cleveland might as well lock the doors and turn off the lights. Buffalo has far more to do in the city than "the mistake on the lake." Buffalo is what Cleveland strives to be. Maybe in 20 years? All the things to do in Cleveland are in the far-out suburbs....every place of interest is an hour's drive from every other. In Buffalo, all the places to see and things to do are concentrated in the city itself. Nothing is more than 20 minutes away. Even Niagara Falls is less than a 30 minute drive from downtown....there's even more to do if you cross the Peace Bridge into Canada. Western New York is packed with incredible places of interest and activities. The region atttracts 22.5 million tourists every year, ranking Western New York 5th in the US in number of tourists per year.
Some fan bases are just more passionate about their teams. The Bills mafia is top 3 fan bases for sure, thats how they keep their team. Their fans are LOYAL. I'm not a Bills fan for full transparency, but to me, the Bills are like the "every mans" team, not many people hate them, unless you're in the AFC East.
You can say what you want about Bill's management, but they are not constantly threatening to leave just to line their own pockets like so many big league owners of sports teams. Good for them. Yes they are getting a new stadium, but they could have left decades ago.
Older fans will remember that Ralph Wilson threatened more than once to move his team. And don't kid yourself: if the state didn't agree to provide funding, the Pegulas would have either moved this team or sold it to someone who would move it.
And the stadium is owned by Erie County and is funded primarily by The State of New York. The Bills ain't going anywhere......there will always be an NFL team in Buffalo.
Buffalo and Denver are the only AFL teams never to have changed their nickname, or location (the Patriots were originally branded as from Boston).
Miami Dolphins? Cincinnati Bengals? Unless you meant out of the original eight teams
@@DJVexillum yes the original eight. The Jets were first known as the Titans.
@@ricknibert6417 Fair enough, have a good day!
The Broncos have always played in the city of Denver. Buffalo started out playing in town but then built a stadium in suburban Orchard Park. Bonus points to Denver.
In 2002 one of the Bills players commuted from Toronto
I've been hoping this channel would make a video on Buffalo in general, but to get one on the Bills is amazing too!
As someone who has only lived in the south, Buffalo is one of my favorite places to visit in the country. For nearly 30 years I was the only Bills fan in pretty much any place I lived, but now that they're finally competitive again, that's starting to change.
let's keep Buffalo (West Seneca) our little secret. nicest people who speak English, no traffic, affordable housing, mild summers, good schools,
No mention that the city had a team in the AAFC that wasn't absorbed into the NFL in 1950 because George Halas didn't want it.
Because this is about the bills…
Their success in the AAFC is related to them getting an AFL team.
@@forgottenplaces9780 The AAFC team was also called the Bills
And what about Canadian fanbase
3:43 He showing love for y'all Canucks 👍🇨🇦
Ralph Wilson initially wanted his AFL franchise in Miami but couldn’t secure the rights to the Orange Bowl.
Second largest city in New York state. Go bills go Erie County Buffalo strong talking proud Buffalo and an NHL team team
ralph wilson wanted to put his team in miami and owned an interest in the lions. he also loaned the raiders 400k after their first year so they would not go bankrupt. one mistake bills were given a completely free billion dollar stadium just like they give the rest of the owners.do a video on the 100 k people who left buffalo and where each one of them went. Wilson was a Detroit businessman when he founded the Bills as an original American Football League franchise in 1959 for $25,000
The stadiums not free, ownership/nfl are paying for about 1/3rd
Nah I needa know why the jaguars exist and have a team in jacksonville
The late Tim Russert needed something to cheer for besides The Democrats.
Bills are basically the Canadian team of the NFL.
No, they have the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts. The Red, White, and Blue of the Buffalo Bills is an All-American team, but it's okay if Canadians want to follow them too!
And here, I thought they exist to bring me pain and suffering. When asked what team I follow, I answer: I don't follow any professional football team...I'm a Bills fan.
Didn’t even watch this video, but I can tell you why Buffalo has a NFL franchise: Lamar Hunt & the AFL.
The AFL, of which Bills owner Ralph Wilson was a founding member.
And the Buffalo bills has the best tail gateing in the league
Uncomfortable truth for why the Bills are in Buffalo: OJ Simpson. He, alone, put them on the map until the Thurman Thomas/Jim Kelly teams came about.
What malarkey. The Bills won two AFL titles in the mid-1960s. The NFL-AFL merger put all teams on the map. Simpson did draw attention to Buffalo and they started winning again.
The Bills were pretty bad when oj was there
Absolutely not, the bills were an established team way before OJ 😂😂😂🤦🏼♂️
New York's only NFL team. Jet's and Giants play in New Jersey. Both of those teams refused NY's money for a new stadium and took NJ's money.
I’m a Bills fan located in Ontario. Been a Bills fan for over 30 years. Love them and I love visiting the stadium. We can’t legally do the same tailgating if the team moved to Toronto which is partially why that move option failed. Soooo many Bills fans are here in Ontario and I’ll get a very large % of season ticket holders live in Canada
You could go back even further to the 40s in the AAFC when the Buffalo had another Buffalo Bills team, unrelated to the current Buffalo Bills however, they were unfairly not allowed to be put into the NFL league once the AAFC disbanded as only 3 teams were allowed to go into the NFL. After that Buffalo Bills team disbanded, there was a big push for the next couple of years to bring a Buffalo team back into American football which led to them being put into the new AFC league coincidently picking the same team name as the AAFC team was.
I live in Buffalo and all this is true. We love our bills and have some of the best fans in the NFL. It's not that small. The metro has 1.2 million, and the region is growing.
It’s got that Midwest feel to it which I really miss. Born and raised in Amherst, but moved to metro NYC for work reasons. Talk about fast-paced culture shock!!
The area is growing because it is big area with a small town places nearby to move to from NYC that do not feel like a 100% night and day difference as the city is not that big compaied to NYC and Long Island/other nearby western cites to NYC.
I'm happy to hear Buffalo is actually growing again. It's long overdue for such a wonderful area.
@@caseysmith544 and it's more affordable that a lot of the country
@@renroxhrd The taxes aren't
you could say the same thing about small market new orleans as it declines and folks are moving away from it in droves
NO has a regional fan base of the whole state of LA, plus parts of Mississippi, SE Alabama.
Why does Buffalo have an NFL team, and San Antonio doesn’t? Oh yeah, Hispanics are too poor to buy tickets! That’s the NFL reasoning.