Now that the Buffalo Bills are 2-0, some in the local media seemed concerned with what the national media has to say about the Bills. Even Doug Marrone has been asked the question as to whether he feels the Bills are getting respect from the nationals? My question is why?

Sure, I’m listening is I’m watching ESPN or one of the national sports shows and they bring up the Bills, but I’m not upset if they don’t. I mean there is plenty of local coverage on TV and radio and of course the Buffalo News and local web sites like allsportswny.com. Most of the time the national guys know far less about what is going on in Buffalo than the locals and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

I go back to the 1970’s and 80’s when Monday Night Football was king on ABC and highlights were shown at halftime of the Sunday games, narrated by Howard Cosell. Back then there were no Sunday night highlight shows like today’s Sportscenter or NFL Network so getting a chance to see highlights of the other games was a big deal. It was also a badge of honor if your team’s game was selected.

One night, long before I started working at WKBW-TV, Sports Director Rick Azar actually did a commentary on his Tuesday 6pm sportscast criticizing ABC for not including highlights of a Bills victory the night before at halftime of MNF. Rick’s actions were prompted by hundreds of calls to the Ch 7 switchboard Monday night when the Bills failed to make Cosell’s weekly halftime ritual.

I know that many Buffalonians have a slight insecurity complex because of the many years of Buffalo jokes on national television programs. Losing four straight Super Bowls has also haunted some of the faithful. But, do we really need to hear good things about our team from strangers to verify that the Bills are good?

Chris Berman is one of the most famous sports personalities today and he bleeds red, white and blue. Berman was the presenter for Bills owner Ralph Wilson into the Hall of Fame and was in town last week to participate in the tribute to Wilson. Do we need much more national clout than that?

When the Bills were going to the playoffs and those many Super Bowls they received more than their share of national publicity. All of it however, was earned. Should the Bills make the playoffs this season they will once again become national media darlings, even Cinderella darlings of the press. Let’s wait until the wins out-weight the losses at the end of the season before we worry about how much air-time they receive Sunday nights.

 

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