It’s time for Buffalo to become a two football team town

I’ve been wracking my brains for days trying to put together a “Buffalo needs to wake up to UB” article which didn’t sound like verbal diarrhea....

After writing about four versions of this piece, and torching the first three, I think I have something worth your time. It’s not nearly as deep as I wanted to go, but for now I hope it’s enough.

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For years I have chided the people who fatalistically tout Buffalo as being only a “pro sports town”. It was my number one beef with the tone coming out of the Buffalo News sports columnist, and the twitter sphere populated by their followers.

It’s not that I disagreed with the existing problem, I merely don’t think it’s an existential issue. While UB will never draw like the Bills, there is no reason they can’t draw like a respectable mid major. There is no reason why they shouldn’t be putting 20-30 thousand butts in the seats.

So why aren’t they?

It’s not all UB’s fault and it’s not all Buffalo’s fault. The two have just never really connected.

Truth be known UB has a lot to offer a Buffalo sports fan.

Consider for a moment that a single game ticket for the next Bills home game will run you about 100$. For that same amount of money you can buy 10 UB football tickets through the MoBull program. Those 10 tickets can be divided however you like.

Got a kid at home who loves football? Well that 100$ can get you two tickets to every remaining UB home game this season.

This is where UB is failing, because I would bet that few people in Buffalo realize you can do this. Most get stuck on the UB football “single game” price of $30, because the Bulls have never been good about selling their program.

Why are there not bulletin boards all over Buffalo which clearly spell out that you can get ticket packages for 10$ per ticket?

So where is Buffalo failing?

Well for starters you’ve had one good Bills season over about the last 20 years, and this season is looking like it might be one of the more painful ones.

UB has not been lighting up the world since they joined the Bowl Subdivision but they have had a couple of good seasons, and some great players. This season UB looks to be heading towards a bowl game as they are carried by three or more future NFL stars.

But Buffalo has settled, settled for a Bills team that has been mismanaged for almost two decades.

When Khalil Mack was playing in your backyard did you go out to watch him play? Will you also miss out on Anthony Johnson?

How many people in Buffalo have to split season ticket packages with a friend because it’s too expensive to buy their own.

How many parents in Buffalo don’t take all their kids to a football game because it’s too expensive to buy three or four tickets?

I’d bet there are at least 5,000 people out there that fit these roles. UB needs to somehow get their attention, and they need to accept the fact that Buffalo is, and should be, a two football team town.

Let’s try to do our part as a UB fan community, print some of these up and hand them out to the sports fans in your life.

MoBull.doc.docx