Bills Fan Innovative in Protest

NFL News - October 16th, 2009 - Written by John

It's not unusual for fans to demonstrate their frustrations of a favorite team publicly. Many of them even get a little creative, with signs and rallies and youtube videos. A Fire Millen website was created two years ago when Detroit Lions fans became overwrought with then-General Manager Matt Millen over their incapable team.

In Buffalo, the once-proud franchise has fallen into the basement of the league this year, scoring a total of 20 points in their last three games and are 0-3 in that span. Buffalo Bills fans have noticed. And some of their younger fans, who were barely even alive the last time Buffalo reached the Super Bowl, are taking their displeasure to a whole new level.

Ryan Abshagen has led the charge, raising well over $1,300 to campaign against the Bills' personnel they believe is responsible for the bad team. He said he plans to use the money to rent a billboard space on Buffalo's Interstate 90 that will deliver a brief, yet frank demand.

"It's time to clean house."

Beside it will be a checklist with the names Dick Jauron, Tom Modrak and John Guy. Jauron is the head coach who has been in the hot seat all year and Modrak and Guy are personnel members responsible for the scouting and implementation of players to the roster. The message will be rotated with other advertisements on a digital board about 3,000 times a day.

Abshagan, 18, said he does not wish any ill-will on the coaches, only seeking public humiliation as a means of having his hand in the team's affairs.

“We don’t hate anybody,” Abshagen said, when asked about how the message might be interpreted. “The donors and myself included, we don’t mean any harm or wish to insult anyone. We simply just want to get our voice out as fans.”

His idea came a few weeks ago when the Bills were blown out 38-10 by then-winless Miami in Week Four. He started petitioning to his friends and family for funds to rent the billboard for a week, which runs for $1,125. There was little support for the idea until he created a website and local news crews began to cover it. When the team lost to the Browns, 6-3, the idea really caught fire and fans began wearing shirts with "FIRE DICK NOW" written on the backs. Abshagan has since raised around $1,400 and hopes more donations will enable him to rent the billboard for a second week. Or he will simply donate the excess to a local charity.

The implicated members of the Bills staff were without comment about the fundraiser, but some of the team members voiced their support on Thursday.

“It doesn’t discourage me because I know there’s a lot more people out there that wouldn’t do something like that. But it is a free country,” punter Brian Moorman said. “The important thing is that inside these walls, (Jauron) has our support. We believe in him.”

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