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A big part a cities national perception is tied to the success of it's sports teams. In Major League Baseball the Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in the league, the Penguins went to the semi-finals in the NHL playoffs, and the Steelers went to the Super Bowl in 2010, made the playoffs in 2011 and were a semi-respectible 8-8 last year. Pittsburgh is the #1 rust belt city in my mind, if only from a sense-of-pride perspective.
It's inconceivable to some, but a cities self-esteem is not so indirectly tied to the success of it's sports teams. You just can't be nationally perceived as a city on the mend if your sports teams suck. Maybe it is male-centric view but I look at Seattle and Atlanta just a little more favorably now that their sports teams have had some success. Can you imagine if Green Bay sucked? People just look at a city differently when it's good enough for Aaron Rogers and a perennial playoff contender. What if the Raiders were a 12-4 team this year? (Oakland would still be ghetto as hell)
I don't know if Buffalo was that much better off in the early 90's when the Bills were going to four consecutive Super Bowls, but it sure FELT that way!
I agree there's something to it and it works the other way too... a city with a poor image like Buffalo has a harder time getting high quality coaches and players. It seems Pittsburgh is hot... its teams, its economy, its image, its rebirth. I think hockey is where Buffalo has the best chance to succeed with such a dedicated owner and maybe the best fans in the US, but hockey gets nowhere near the spotlight as the other pro sports.
Buffalo has suffered more than any other city in the US for professional sports. So, so close so many times (No Goal, Missed the field goal). It has to be frustrating. The first thing people think about when they hear "Buffalo" is snow. The second thing is four straight superbowl loses. That is insane.
Thanks for the replies. Those of us that lived the "glory days" of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Mark Kelso... the Bills were really was a source of pride for the city. Our players represented us well and I for one am impressed that Jim Kelly has stuck around the WNY area, as much as my dad used to trash talk Kelly, he has been a tremendous ambassador for the city beyond his playing years.
As much as people may question the EJ Manuel pick, I think character matters more coming to a place like Buffalo. Geno Smith would have been a colossal failure in WNY.
i agree there's something to it and it works the other way too... A city with a poor image like buffalo has a harder time getting high quality coaches and players. It seems pittsburgh is hot... Its teams, its economy, its image, its rebirth. i think hockey is where buffalo has the best chance to succeed with such a dedicated owner and maybe the best fans in the us, but hockey gets nowhere near the spotlight as the other pro sports.
I am not sure the friends I know from Pittsburgh would agree... but ok.
Pittsburgh looks good next to Buffalo for a couple of reasons. One, they were not just a rust belt city. While their steel industry was certainly their primary industry for a long time, they were also developing other great businesses too. Even with the loss of manufacturing, those corporations have remained and continue to anchor that region.
The other positive thing they did was to revitalize their steel plant areas. The Homestead plant has been turned into a sprawling shopping destination. Other areas have had corporations build offices, condos, etc. The land has been cleaned up and re-used.
Still, not all has been rosy in Pittsburgh. The city government has been teetering on bankruptcy for a decade. There is still plenty of poor, economically depressed, and crime riddled areas in and around Pittsburgh.
The thing is... none of this has anything to do with it's sports franchises.
If that is all it took, the Red Wings have won enough Stanley Cups to turn Detroit into a boom town.
The thing is... none of this has anything to do with it's sports franchises.
If that is all it took, the Red Wings have won enough Stanley Cups to turn Detroit into a boom town.
Sometimes I wonder if successful sports teams in a city are more of an effect rather than a cause. It "seems" up and coming or recovering cities have winning teams. (Wasn't it interesting the Saints won the Superbowl after recovering after Katrina? 100% coincidence?)
A big part a cities national perception is tied to the success of it's sports teams.
I think this is only true if you give a crap. The Bills don't define Buffalo as much as a faltering economy does (on the negitive side)or the generosity of WNY'ers does (on the postive side). If the Bills had won those 4 Superbowls twenty years ago would we be sitting any differently? Probably not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Checkered24
If that is all it took, the Red Wings have won enough Stanley Cups to turn Detroit into a boom town.
I am not sure the friends I know from Pittsburgh would agree... but ok.
Pittsburgh looks good next to Buffalo for a couple of reasons. One, they were not just a rust belt city. While their steel industry was certainly their primary industry for a long time, they were also developing other great businesses too. Even with the loss of manufacturing, those corporations have remained and continue to anchor that region.
The other positive thing they did was to revitalize their steel plant areas. The Homestead plant has been turned into a sprawling shopping destination. Other areas have had corporations build offices, condos, etc. The land has been cleaned up and re-used.
Still, not all has been rosy in Pittsburgh. The city government has been teetering on bankruptcy for a decade. There is still plenty of poor, economically depressed, and crime riddled areas in and around Pittsburgh.
The thing is... none of this has anything to do with it's sports franchises.
If that is all it took, the Red Wings have won enough Stanley Cups to turn Detroit into a boom town.
Again, very well said. I love the Bills, but I know their success or failure doesn't define the city or the region.
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