Mr. Sylor, I hope you realize what a fool you have made of yourself by writing this article ("Remembering the glory days," Feb. 8) and also how you have inaccurately portrayed the Buffalo Bills organization in a negative light. Anyone who pays any attention to the Buffalo Bills will know that what you've written about Ralph Wilson, Jr. is not accurate and is undeserving.
Being a Bills fan certainly is a blinding devotion and your allusions to drinking away our sorrows while sitting on the couch wearing Zubaz pants is not far from the truth. However, this is not at all a result of deception from Mr. Wilson. You seem to forget that Mr. Wilson built this organization himself from the ground up. From its inaugural season in 1960 right on through to today, Ralph Wilson has supported the Bills franchise with an undying devotion. Unlike what other NFL franchise owners have done in the past, Wilson decided to keep the team in the town it belongs in. How is this an example of not caring about the fans?
Of course there were some embarrassing times in franchise history, but you seem to ignore the cyclical nature of professional sports, particularly the National Football League. This current funk in Bills success is no less embarrassing than previous streaks without playoff appearances, but your article has failed to offer evidence of this being Wilson's fault, but you do not halt in blaming him.
Remember Wilson has had some great hires in his past. General Managers Bill Polian and John Butler worked wonders to bring this organization the success it has seen in past years. Wilson made one poor hire in Tom Donahoe, and you are ready to crucify him for it? I fail to see where this warrants comparing Wilson to Mr. Burns of the Simpsons television show. This past season, after Donahoe ran wild banning protest signs in the Bills games and alienating the fans, Mr. Wilson promptly after firing Donahoe, publicly apologized to the fans, citing direct references. Maybe you see this as "pulling the red and blue wool over our eyes," but I certainly don't.
Mike Habberfield
