Post any and all comments, good and bad here, so we can try to improve for VIII next year.

This was my 2nd TDB tailgate, but definitely a good group of people.

- Great setup w/ the tent - it really came in handy, especially for those mini-downpours after the game

- Great raffle/auction items - I'm really pumped that I picked up that TKO signed football (THANKS CINDY!!!).

- Great wings by Rich (came in clutch pre-game, since our grill wasn't working)

I enjoyed the game and the company GOOD JOB by everyone BTW Rockpile you were on TV walking down the steps( 14.52 in the second quarter )

Sorry the time is 14.25 in second quarter It sure looks like you?

I'll check it out.

It was not me though! My first trip I was in my seat until half-way through half time.

I got back just in time for the Q3 kickoff.

So, how was Danny's?

Thanks to:

Ruth for the Sunday pre-dawn coffee.
Everyone who had a hand in organizing this thing. If I list names, I might miss someone.
Hammer for his usual hospitality.

Good Things:

Bigger tent
Silent auction
Tagging raffle tickets to prizes to speed up the process
Rich in Joisey and the entire CNJBBB for the wings
The ticket girls (my daughters)
GREAT tailgate shirts and TBD hats

Not so good things:

Danny's - do they want us there?
We asked for the big screen to watch football. They said it was not hooked up, then it was , then they could not find any football, so they left it on ET.
Luckily, EZC was tall enough to snatch the "hidden" remote for me and I flipped channels until they got pissed, took it from me, and found a game.

The room was NOT ours at 7PM. We cleared it pretty fast (heh), but even though we tried as hard as we could to get that last table of interlopers to leave, they didn't. Did we reserve the room?

For the amount of cash the roomful of us spent, we deserved better. The BEST thing about Danny's is the location.

Improvement:

The NFL needs to have opening day on Week 1
Danny's needs to show us more respect.




I tip my hat to you all!

glad I could lend my services!

As always it's about the people - renewing old acquaintences and making new ones. In that regard the tailgate just keeps getting better and better.

I was sad that several TBD tailgate mainstays were not with us this year, including Bob Lamb, Lancaster Steve, Mark VI, & bill in Livonia (We hope you're feeling better Pat!!!). Sid & Tyrone and their epic jerk chicken were also missed, although Guffalo and Theesir did cook up some mighty fine ribs, and Rich in Joisey's wings were very tasty also.

Cablelady - you gotta stop with the limos. Apparently some people are not meant to ride in style.

NOTE TO NFL - no more starting us with 2 road games please . While the rain mostly held off for the pre-game tailgate, the wind was formidable. If there's any way we could play Houston in Buffalo on week 1 every year that would be great.

Ticket girls were once again stellar. Big thanks to Nikki, Kalene, and Laura for their enthusiasm and salesmanship.

I did like having the raffle this way - assigning tickets to items. It did speed things up and make it more orderly. Thanks again to Sully's Stadium Sportswear for donating many raffle items - please make sure you visit Sully's whenever you need Bills gear and mention TBD for a discount.

Big thanks as always to Hammer for his help with the tent, setup, and great parking process.

What did people think of the new parking pattern? We put cars across the front rather than side-by-side on the road. It seemed to block the wind a bit and created a more contained cooking/sitting area, and also gave people an easier exit.

I liked the bigger tent, even without the weather the way it was. Should we make that permanent?

I wish we had remembered to make one of the silent auction items into an item that was only for the people who paid their tailgate fee, as we did the year before.

I heartily agree with Rockpile's comment on Danny's, although I was thrilled that Guinness pints were only $3! And it was nice of Danny to just give me one of the Labatt's Bills pint glasses - I guess that's what happens when you buy 6 or 7 (or more? ) pints from the same person and tip well...

There was some talk at the Saturday Night party that the tailgate has become kind of passe' and people have lost some of their enthusiasm for the event. I'm not sure if that's because of low expectations for the team, having to wait until week 3 rather than week 1, the weather, or some other factors. I'd love to hear from others on this.

To Cindy & Jack - my co-conspirators in setting up this great endevor: Great job as always guys. There's no way this would happen without your hard work and it is greatly appreciated. This years' T-Shirts rocked!

Thanks also to my lovely wife Melissa for her sacrifices to allow me to fly solo this weekend.

Next year would someone make sure that I don't forget my suitcase at the hotel? Thanks in advance

I guess that's about it...

I didn't win enough prizes this year...EZC is a wuss for not making the walk over with us...I need to lose weight so my Marv Levy sweater fits better...I should have put a bid on some of the silent acution items...some GREAT deals there...ticket girls should put out a calendar(dives for cover)

Like a family reunion without the bad seed branch of the family tree.



We missed you folks.



That would be me! I drove the Griswald mobile!

More comments -

KEEP the large tent.
Loved the key rings!
I had to steal my LaBAtt's glass (I mean I forgot to give it back) - even though my tab was for a party of FOUR and I tipped VERY well!




I have my t-shirt on today, have gotten several compliments.



Yes, if Bernard is a Saint, so is Melissa! I was also impressed that your young son, Ben, called illegal procedure before the ref through the flag!

I got stuck in traffic and didn't get there until 11:00...I missed out on a lot...oh well...had to park across the street....tried to throw out twobillsdrive but she still couldn't fit me in....

I wish there were more name tags....I wasn't able to put one on and I know you people wanted to know who I was!....I was the guy with the worn Jim Kelly Jersey...

I went to Dannys the night before but didn't recognize anyone.....come to find out there was another room....oh well, I'm an idiot.

I loved the seats Jay....great location, thanks.

Nice talking with Ann(OI) Jay, Glenn, R.Rich and his wife......sorry I didnt get to speak with you all...I was hoping to talk w/Tatertot (hill) and meeting others....I'm sticking with calling RichinJoisy as Rich 'n Juicy....

Oh yeah....Rich it was a 3 beer walk to the stadium! and how did the Jack taste?

It did not feel like a TBD/TSW opener tailgate for some reason.
Part of the reason was that not all of the regulars were there and I got there much later than usual both because I came late and I parked at other side of stadium but there were other factors - the weather, the timing, no group picture and no big event.

I think that we ought to declare a mulligan and do it again this year.

Thanks for the raffles Cindy; I was tempted to just take home a lot of stuff since I have put in so much overtime this year and I missed trainign camp due to it but I decided to just bid on those things which I really "needed".

Thanks for beers Bernard - you truely are a "Saint".

I liked the big tent even if it is dry for I tend to wilt in the sun.

Thanks to all who made my friend Ken feel welcome.
He is not a Bills fan (yet) but he is a nice guy.

Oh and I missed Rockpile although reports were he was there.

Hey, I did say hi to you on my way to the salad bar. By the way, previous reports are correct, Danny's chicken wing soup is pretty damn good!

I checked the video - very similar looking (beard and rain parka) but he had binoculars and a different hat.

good time at the tail gate . thanks all who put it together . better than last year . sh-- weekend for me , first ceiling falls down at one of my apts as we drove out to buffalo from leak , then on sunday sewer backed up in a basement apt. that we had just did over -- sh-- all over the new rugs . did not make dennys sat night . veryb good wings . won jim kelly jersey and jp jersey in the silent auct . ( more people should have bid ) --- (glad they did not )
glen got the bills light that i wanted .
cindy very good job on the shirts.
good to see everyone . sorry to all that i did not say hi to .

I got there about 5PM Saturday!

Went over to Kenny's Pinto about 11 or a bit later.

Sorry I missed you.

I agree that it did not feel like the "opener" but a lot of things were just not right. Usually cars are lined up at the gate at 7:30 - this year it was a ghost toen (pun intended) at 9 o'clock!

End of September - Game 3
Schizo Weather: sun/wind/rain/wind/rain/sun
No Bob Lamb
No Bill and Pat
No MarkVI
No LancasterSteve
No Bill and Pat
No Bills4Life
No Cablelady (her own damn fault)

We made the best of some bad timing!

Highlight for me is that someone won the Rockpile Toilet Plug Hole from last year!

Ditto that.


And all of that.


Liked it a lot. Would it still have worked as well with a larger crowd? Dunno, but I'd say keep it this way until we find a reason not to.


If it's not too cost-prohibitive, the extra room is definitely nice to have. (And when the rains did come, we would've been in trouble trying to crowd under the 20x20. Good call on the switch.)


Thought it was darned strange myself when I walked by the room Cindy had already told us we'd booked, at the appointed time, and saw it full of people I didn't recognize. When queried, the manager (NOT Danny) told me "there are only a couple of people here, and the room wasn't full last year", etc., etc. Seems to me if an agreement is made to reserve a room for a certain time, the establishment should honor said request. But maybe that's just me?
Personally? I like the place, and it is convenient and easy to find. But if these difficulties continue, there ARE other options...


The two factors you cited - weather and timing - probably do have a lot to do with it. How many people did we miss because of other commitments, conflicts that wouldn't have been a problem season-opener weekend? Guess we just got lucky, having a week-1 home game all those years in a row.
The Jets aren't exactly a "sexy" opponent, either, which probably affected overall attendance. If some of our long-distance travelers can only make it to one game a year, a matchup of teams that both drafted in the top 10 this spring doesn't exactly have the same cachet as a Dolphins game...


A massive tip of the hat to the three of you... as usual....

Lori said:
We filled every table this year. When I got there, we had one table for TBD with a bunch of us standing around. As far as not filling the room last year, maybe if they put some football games on, people would not wander out to the bar to catch their team. We only got the game because we MADE them put the projector on.

It was not really the Jets, IMO. We did fine with the Jagwads and Texans.

Agreed!!!

That said: I like Danny's for the location, prices, and good food. A couple of the waitresses were a bit bitchy.

I know we had a great time. It was nice getting to chat with people. Would go again in a heartbeat, win, lose or draw, still a good time. Thanks for all that put it together, you guys are great.

I agree that the parking arrangement was better this year than last - it was definitely more welcoming for those of us who don't know as many of you (i.e. aren't part of the secret club). It also did seem to help keep the wind toned down.

A big cheer to those involved in the planning. As an event planner, I know how much work goes on behind the scenes. Great job! And LOVED the bigger tent. Would it be better to have the banner on the outside on the Abbott Rd side so it can be seen by those passing by?

Danny's? I didn't appreciate the lassez faire attitude either regarding the 7pm start. But where else could we go?

I missed many of the regulars who couldn't be there - which put a little damper on the AM. But as usual...I loved the opportunity to greet all those posters from through the year.

The wings were MUCH better this year for wimps like me - thanks Rich!

So many showed up much later this year - weather? Not sure. But maybe if we posted a schedule in advance and tried to have the door prizes, group photos etc., finished by 11:00am, then we would still have time visit the other tailgates.

Enjoyed the "after" party too. Those fries were awsome!

Oh and the game?

See you all again on Packers weekend at pole 5.

Because of the wind, I did not put the big banner up on the outside like we've done previous years. It would have been ripped off before the game even started I believe.

I am sorry I missed meeting you! Some of us who get together once or several times a year find it easier to mingle, but you must admit EVERYONE was welcome.

There is always room for more!

a lot of good stuff written that I won't repeat. I do want to say that I fully believe any "dampening" was a stadium-wide phenomenon. Abbott hardly had any traffic all morning... so it wasn't just us.

It would probably be good to nudge people harder on bringing a dish to pass if possible. In the past there was always too much food, however, this year I think we could have used a bit more.

You could almost say we had TOO many great items on the silent auction! It sort of spread out the bidders.

Would some sort of background music set up be welcomed?

We are also missing a signature ceremony... We need to burn something baby!!!!

These are all just minor suggestions. I think it went great considering the weather. The old ladies at Danny's ticked me off (hello??? People walking around the room w/ name tags on - get the f- out!)

Oh, absolutely...I'm well aware that many of you have known each other for a long time. In no way at all am I implying that I or anyone in my little group didn't feel welcome. I just think that the parking arrangement privided a more "intimate" setting, which is good for those of us that haven't been around as long.

You'd meet more people if you got off your butt at Danny's and walked over to say hello.

Who knows, you might even earn membership into the Inner Circle...except there is no Inner Circle.

Very true!

Missing Pat and Bill Race for the food, they always have a table set up and people would naturallly gravitate towards that area for sausage and other stuff. Maybe if a table for shared food was set up it would be helpful. I had cooked 6 racks of ribs and just laid em out on the tailgate for anyone who wanted them. Thanks Lori for the BBQ space, you saved me once again!

OK -

Danny's ----the room was reserved for 7pm, He had 5 tables of 10 people for family type little birthday parties. They came in at 4:30 and 5:00 all should have been long gone by our 7:00 reservation. When I mentioned to the table of old ladies (retirement party) that we might get rowdy but had the room reserved they simply said that NOBODY told them it was reserved at 7 and 2 people joined them late. They eventually left. I totally enjoy that place but I think if you want to try the loft in the bar next year I will reserve that for you. There is not as much room but you will have all the TV's you need to see football. I plan on being at the alumni charity dinner/ball next year at the opener on the Sat. before the tailgate. Benefits Kelly for kids.

The t-shirts were as you all said very nice. I do have a couple extra ones if anyone is interested. $10 /14 if mailed. Just look at Jay Rosen's avatar. Sorry for the secret logos every year but It's how I stay out of jail

Was wondering if we wanted to try long sleeved t-shirts but some said the weather is usually too hot for them.

Silent auction items. I will limit them next year to 5 items. I guess I was too excited at the ease that I was able to get such great items autographed. Let me know who you want for next year and I'll do my best to get something signed.
I'm getting a mini helmet with Andre Reed for the silent auction this weekend.

Plus Lancaster Steve is always a big food provider, so missing the two of them cut out alot of the sharing this year.

There is a table set up every year for shared food, it's the one with all the plates/napkins/cups. Usually that's where people put the non-cooked food for sharing, like cookies, chips, brownies, etc.

We honestly had not even thought about extra food - we went to the Wegmans near the stadium late Saturday night to buy enough stuff just for us.

Next year, we'll definitely plan on bring some extra to contribute to the group.

That's the one thing I noticed -- I grabbed the cheese and veggie trays, along with a second helping of dogs/sausages, once I found out about Bill and Pat. But I never once thought that there wouldn't be at least a few bags of chips/pretzels and such, so I didn't bother with those.

Live and learn...

I talked to a number of people who through that the extra #6 covers food and drinks as well. Let's make it clear next time so that all the food burden doesn't fall on just a few people. We could ask all to bring something to share.

what is the cost of living in THEIR town???

I read back through alot of the threads where we (Jay, myself, and Cindy) mention the $6, and did not notice food being mention as part of the $6 tailgate "fee". In past years, we've always had people that would bring more than enough food to share, but this year two of the biggest contributers could not make it, that being Lancaster Steve and Bill In Livonia. Next year we'll discuss the possibilities of including some finger foods and/or snacks in the cost of the Tailgate "fee".

I had something set up but with the wind it made it a little hard. Perhaps next time.

It was too windy to set up the Stadium Wall.
As for the torch burning, I have a hard time doing it to the NY Jets (9-11).
But GHost's outfit would have been nice to burn. We could have started with his blue shoes!

I just brought #10's of wings. Didn't bring other stuff because we always had too much in the past. I'll do more next year.

Oh, so I see you brought stuff for your "Inner Circle", eh? Oh, and thanks for stopping by to say hello to Psycho Ward 86 and myself.

Snob.

Well, I kind of take that back - we did bring a bag of wings...

Just got home. I had a great time. It was great to see everyone and meet new people I didn't last year. It's an incredible community. I was looking forward to seeing Bill and Pat and I hope they are doing alright.

Thanks Jay, Cindy & Jack and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again next year.