Happy birthday Mr. Wilson

Last week the owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson, celebrated his 90th birthday. I hope he had a great day and spent it with his family and close friends.

I have tremendous respect for Ralph Wilson. This is not just because of the fact that I am a huge Buffalo Bills fan, but also the fantastic work he has done by playing a key part in the creation of the NFL, as we know it today; The best professional sports league in the world.

He has been probably the most outspoken owner, when it came to supporting the revenue sharing among the NFL franchises. I remember a few years ago, when Mr Wilson and the owner of the Bengals were the only owners voting against the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and Ralph Wilson said he simply did not understand the CBA. Once again, several people poked fun at Ralph Wilson and stated that he was overprotective of the small market teams. Some people in the media even dared to to suggest that he was getting senile. Today, it is a very realistic possibility that the NFL owners decide to opt out the CBA, showing that perhaps Ralph Wilson was the smarter one after all.

As mentioned, I and all other Buffalo Bills fans are forever grateful for Mr. Willsons’ decision to keep the Bills in Buffalo for so many years, especially the size of the market and the economic problems in Western New York taken into account. However, I cannot help but think about the future of the Buffalo Bills considering the age of Ralph Wilson and the fact that he has said so many times that the Bills will be sold after his death. His family will not inherit the team. The legendary, Hall of fame, Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly has stated earlier that there are plans in place to keep the Bills in Buffalo after Mr. Wilson passes on. However, No detailed plans have been revealed yet.

In this connection, I am unsure if there even is a local business man, who can afford to buy the Buffalo Bills. Western New York is not exactly Dallas or New York City, where you have loads of oil billionaires or real estate tycoons.

What I fear the most is that the team will be sold to a business man, who will eventually move the team to a bigger market, for example LA or perhaps Toronto. In my opinion it would be unbearable to see my beloved team moved to Southern California, just because it may make economically sense. It has been a constant topic over the last several years that the 2nd biggest TV market in North America has been without an NFL team since the mid nineties.

However, I seriously doubt that the people of LA would embrace an NFL team the same way the people of Buffalo, Western New York and even Southern Ontario have taken the Buffalo Bills into their hearts. If it was so fantastic to have an NFL team in LA, why would the Raiders and the Rams even consider moving away and instead play their home games in Oakland and St. Louis ??

On the other hand, I do fear for the long term stability of the franchise, even if the team is sold to a buyer, who wants to keep the team in Buffalo. The economic climate in Western New York has made it very difficult to sell the luxury boxes and club seats at Ralph Wilson stadium. Taking the global financial crisis into account, it is a bit difficult to see, why this should change in the future.

Furthermore, There are questions about how a potential new owner will finance buying the Buffalo Bills (According to Forbes Magazine valued at $ 821 mill.) and how it will affect the general running of the franchise. Will it result in a dramatic increase in ticket prices, a bit like the ticket prices for the Bills games to be played in Toronto, so the average Western New Yorker would struggle paying for a Bills game ticket ?

Luckily, these worries can be put on hold for at least a while, since Ralph Wilson is alive and well and the Bills have good chance of reaching the post season for the first time since THAT game almost 9 years ago in Tennessee with the lousy ending...



May god bless Ralph Wilson - and the NFL team he owns and loves.