The big news of the week in Buffalo, aside from the string of some truly moronic suspensions, is the fact that dear old Ralph Wilson stadium has been renamed New Era Field, a move which New Era paid like $40M for. I love New Era as a company. I almost worked there in fact, for hardly any reason other than I got an unlimited supply of free hats, and all of the conference rooms had turf on the ground. A comfortable surface to remove one’s shoes in the workplace is vastly underrated. I digress.
I have a feeling that there is nothing in this world that will get in the way of Buffalo Bills fans and their passion for getting drunk, smashing things, and calling the Ralph the Ralph. Old habits die hard. For example, I hear older Buffalonians refer to the stadium as Rich Stadium still. New Era has some work to do to get their name out there as a stadium sponsor. I have an idea for New Era though, and I’m going to offer it up right here for free. They need to just sit out in the parking lot and give away free beer to fans who say “New Era Field.” It’s that simple. Like a Pavlov’s dog situation. If you train the fans that they’ll get free beer if they say the right name, I guarantee the stadium rights deal pays for itself by Week 5.
Regardless of what the stadium is called, there will be no stopping #BillsMafia this year. They have it in their heads that they’re the best drunkest fan base in the NFL, and now they have a reputation to live up to. You could have called it Kotex Field at Astroglide Stadium, and the fans would be there loud and proud week in and week out. That’s just how #BillsMafia rolls. Get with it, or get out of the way.