Friday Night Rant: I Found The Buffalo of New York

The reasoning is sound if you were cryogenically frozen in 1958 and awoke from a cold slumber in 2013 only to be ushered directly to UB Football's media day.

If you were not frozen, and you have seen UB's progression since 1999, there are a few things wrong with that arguement:

1) The support from Buffalo has not exactly been diehard

2) Buffalo has never looked to the Bulls to define themselves...because the Bulls for the most part have lost. They lack the history of the Bills, which make the Bills still loved despite losing. Our citizens have spent much more time distancing themselves from UB than the opposite.

3) Buffalo is in the State of New York, and not a subway ride away from Brooklyn...The "New York" rebrand, ripe for parody as it may be (I have a parody scheduled for early September) might actually help educate the nation about Buffalo, it's Queen City status in the State of New York and it's vast difference from New York City.

4) Our heroes overwhelmingly represent Buffalo. From Jamestown's Aaron Leeper, the only UB Football Athlete to win a MAC postseason award, to Niagara Falls' James Starks and Buffalo's Naaman Roosevelt and Domonic Cook.

Really, having a team that represents our local talent is more important than the logo on the front of the jersey. When David Fluellen ran all over UB with a Rocket on his shirt, I was proud that Lockport was able to produce such an impact player (and upset that we didn't have him). When James Starks won his Super Bowl, he was not wearing a Bills jersey, his jersey read Green Bay. He still carried the support of Buffalo and made us proud.

This year, the "New York" Bulls will be led by eight Buffalonians in the starting lineup:

1) Derek Brim from Canisius

2) Boomer Brock from Iroquois

3) Jasen Carlson from Southwestern

4) Andre Davis from Maryvale

5) Najja Johnson born in Buffalo

6) Joe Licata from Williamsville South

7) Alex Neutz from Grand Island

8) Adam Redden from St. Francis

With a third of the team's starters from Buffalo, there should be no question as to what city this team plays for. UB, the only FBS state school in New York, provides athletes with a way of staying in-state while still pursuing their goal of playing FBS football. As a result UB has been able to retain local stars and prepare them for the NFL.

At a time when most kids growing up in Western New York come to the realization that they may have to move to New York City (or out-of-state) to accomplish their goals, AD White's rebrand has the potential to reverse the situation for New York athletes; Making Buffalo a place where kids across the State (like Jimmy Gordon & Marcus McGill) will pursue their athletic dreams representing their State at Buffalo.