How Bills Fans REALLY Feel About “TAILGATE VILLAGE”
How Bills Fans REALLY Feel About “TAILGATE VILLAGE”
So far, 2019 has been a year of great promise for my Buffalo Bills. They had an excellent free agency period and followed that up with a draft class that appears to have been just as excellent. It appears the Bills may be ready to make a true run towards the summit of the NFL, the fans are excited. It's been a long time coming for Bills fans, many of us were either too young or not even alive when the Bills blew their fourth Straight Super Bowl. Many of us were too young to even remember that game down in Nashville.
The trip down to Jacksonville at the beginning of 2018 was fun but with three total points scored, we all knew it couldn't be sustained. This past season was a disappointment from the perspective of wins and losses but it did prove to have some bright spots. Now in 2019, fans finally have a reason to be excited again...and then the team decides to launch “Tailgate Village”.
Before I go any further, please understand that I get where the powers that be are coming from. We have, without question, the rowdiest fans in the world and at times, they do go overboard. Bills Vice-President Andy Major claims that “Tailgate Village” has been launched to “curb the rowdy fans and preserve fan safety”. He then went onto say that he knows the Bills have great fans, there are a few knuckleheads who ruin it.
Do you hear that? That's the sounds of the late Ralph Wilson turning in his grave.
Allow me to disagree. I hate Tailgate Village. I think it's a slap in the face to Bills fans and football fans all over the world. Fans are the most important asset to a team. Why would you intentionally irritate them? Tailgate Village appears to be nothing more than a daycare for adults. They're basically telling you, “you don't know how to behave, let us show you the way”. It's the Nanny-state in its purest form. The stadium already has alcohol free zones and those who don't want to partake in the festivities don't have to. It's their choice but this new policy appears to have done away with personal choice.
The only way that any fan, including myself, will be going into that dunghill is if its free. 15 dollars? Get the heck out of here with that. You keep your table and chairs, I'll save my money for the beer that's already way more than it should be. It costs a few more dollars to get a 30 pack from Speedway or the KK store across the street. Since when did the Buffalo Bills become an advocate for totalitarianism? Because this place sounds like a detention center for fans.
Not only do I expect Tailgate Village to be free, I expect that place to throw a better party than the Romans did. It's said that one could be arrested in Rome if the people were not falling over and puking in the streets. Those people continue to serve as an example as to what governments and societies all over the world should strive to be. Tailgate Village is yet one more castration to the people of America. It's despicable.
It's like they put this motion into effect to deliberately ruin the fan-experience of a Bills game. Drinking, grilling and partying have always been part of the experience but now the team decides to step in and say, “you can do this, over there”. Well, forgive me for saying so, but I can drink and party where I bloody-well want to. If it's that much of a problem, why do all of the players constantly refer to Bills fans as the “best fans in the world”.
Fans, forget about the atrocity that is Tailgate Village. I say you continue to jump through tables and cause mayhem as you have since the inception of the franchise. Personally, I get a buzz from knowing the festivities in Orchard Park will be as rowdy as they are. The politicians in this city and those who represent this team may feel embarrassed but if they're embarrassed by that, I feel a look in the mirror is needed by all of those involved.
One more thing. I understand there's going to be live music at this venue. I guess this means I can invite either Black Flag or Rage Against the Machine to perform, right? So, Mr. Rollins, Mr. Ginn, Mr. Morello, Mr. De La Roca, and all of those I haven't mentioned, come to Tailgate Village and show us the way because obviously, the politicians of Buffalo are not!
-By: Thomas P. Braun Jr.