National headlines have been celebrating that “New York Football is back!” It is true. The Giants haven’t made the playoffs in six years nor have the Jets in twelve. But, they’ve each risen from the bottom of their respective divisions to secure sole possession of 2nd place and are now breathing down the necks of the Eagles and Bills (whom we’ll get to in a moment).
The Giants appear to have wholly bought into their new Head Coach and former Bills Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll. Fortunately for the Bills, Daboll’s departure has not been a zero-sum loss as their offense continues to hum without him.
Likewise, 2nd year Head Coach Robert Saleh has the Jets embracing his hard-nosed defensive style, a strong running game, and they may have found their future Quarterback in 2nd-year slinger, Zach Wilson. While they’ve likely earned more of the Bills’ attention, they don’t appear ready to threaten Buffalo’s reign on the AFC East just yet.
If anyone thinks the Giants or Jets are a fluke, ask Aaron Rodgers whose Packers lost to each in consecutive games. Both teams are clearly improved. Maybe by a lot. It’s reasonable to concede this point during this Week Six snapshot of the 2022 NFL season.
My contention as a Buffalonian lies in the definition of ‘New York Football.’
My contention as a Buffalonian lies in the definition of “New York Football.” While both are surnamed, “New York,” the Jets are headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey and the Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The two teams share Met Life Stadium which is likewise, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With my startup company, I’ve been to both beautiful facilities where the New York City skyline is visible on the horizon, but the state lines determine that the tax revenue they generate is paid to…New Jersey.
Let’s face it. The term “New York Football” refers to New York City. Most of the national media is located in or near Gotham. The League Office sits at 345 Park Avenue. Employees of both are professionals who draw the line between their fanships of their hometown team and their jobs which require impartiality. But they are human beings too who get a little more excited when their hometown teams are winning.
As a former member of the Bills Front Office for many years, I got to know several executives at the League Headquarters which included visits to their Park Avenue offices. They’d often say, “Hey, should be a good game this weekend between your Bills and my Jets or Giants.” This was speaking from their own personal, not professional, capacities. Never once during my career did I witness the slightest bias toward the New York teams or against the rest of the league when it came to official NFL business, including contract negotiation questions. However, when they took off their suits and ties on Friday evenings, they threw on their Jets or Giants jerseys to mow their lawns on Saturday (well, they don’t really have lawns, but you know what I mean).
For the record, I love NYC…at least to visit. Growing up with family in River Vale, New Jersey, I cherished attending Yankees and Knicks games. Later, I proudly took my own family to Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, and the 9/11 Museum. All world-class.
Buffalonians who attended Super Bowl XXV vs. the Giants shared this same experience. Every establishment we went to in the evenings during the week of the game were bursting with Bills fans. We translated that into believing that the stadium on Super Bowl Sunday would feel the same in terms of fan support. At first, visually, given that both teams’ fans were wearing red, white, and blue, it seemed that way. However, when the Giants players were announced, the roar was considerably louder. Indeed, with so many corporate sponsors from NYC in attendance, we still felt significant and plenty loud, but nowhere near that of the thousands more Giant fans in attendance.
A funny thing happened more than once regarding the Big Apple during my days at One Bills Drive. I was responsible for working with rookie players in their very first days in Buffalo. Inevitably, in a response to my asking what their weekend plans were, one would reply, “Not sure, was thinking of going to ‘the city’ one of these weekends. How far away is it?” When I told them that NYC was a seven-hour drive they were blown away (and rightfully a little embarrassed). But this is Buffalo, New York, right?
Yes, we are in the same state, but (for perspective) you could drive to Pittsburgh AND BACK, or Cleveland AND BACK in the same time you could drive one way to NYC. Heads just shook. “But the city of Buffalo, right there, has some good stuff going on there too and it won’t cost you over $100 in gas!” You also won’t get stuck on the George Washington Bridge for 90 minutes.
It feels like to those who live in NYC, we in Buffalo may as well be Cleveland or Pittsburgh.
Maybe this reference goes to the crux of my head scratching over the “New York Football” term. It feels like to those who live in NYC, we in Buffalo may as well be Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Our Senate and Gubernatorial candidates are the same, but “upstate” to them is just up the road in Poughkeepsie. We aren’t even on their weather maps.
If the term, “Florida Football” was adopted, one would not expect such a disparity in terms of association with the state. Perhaps Miami and Tampa would be thought of first with Jacksonville solidly behind, but with Jacksonville still “in the picture.” Likewise, “California Football” would likely include the Niners, Rams, and Chargers almost equally.
None of this is to imply that the national media, including that based in NYC, has been anything but bullish about the Bills this year. Not since 1990 has the national hype, including the Vegas betting odds, been framed as Super Bowl or bust. So far, our Bills are living up to those expectations despite the number of injuries that they haven’t suffered in previous years, which, as a silver lining, has accelerated the growth of backups who will now provide the team even more depth. Personally, I’ve even embarked on a podcast, “If the Walls Could Talk in Buffalo,” dedicated primarily to the comparison of these (1990 and 2022) teams.
This is all mostly hyperbole, semantics, and admittedly not super important. All that Bills fans care about is that it’s settled on the field. And in 2022, there’s no doubt which fan base I’d rather be a part of – even if being left out of “New York Football.”
Don Purdy is a Former Bills Front Office Executive, Co-host of Podcast, “If the Walls Could Talk in Buffalo,” and Author of Thunder Snow of Buffalo: The October Surprise Storm
Lead image courtesy Therese Forton Barnes of the The Royal Order of the Buffalo Bills Water Buffalo Club (Lodge #716).
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