Atmosphere not the same in Toronto, Bills QB says
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Marshawn Lynch won’t have to prepare for a frosty reception Sunday in his Buffalo Bills homecoming.
The veteran running back will face Buffalo for the first time since being dealt to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. But the Bills’ 2007 firstround pick will do so in the relative comfort of Rogers Centre and not the cold, rainy conditions that are forecast for Western New York.
“We won’t miss that day at (Ralph Wilson Stadium),” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said with a chuckle during a conference call Wednesday. “We’ll be just fine.”
The game is the last under the inaugural Bills Toronto Series agreement that saw Rogers Communications Inc. pay the Buffalo club a whopping $78 million U.S. to stage three exhibition and five regularseason games at Rogers Centre. Although no formal announcement has been made, the deal is expected to be extended through 2017 once Buffalo finalizes a new lease agree- ment for Ralph Wilson Stadium after the present one expires at season’s end.
Since 2008, Bills players have complained that while Buffalo is the home team at Rogers Centre, the atmosphere in the domed facility doesn’t come close to replicating the loud, ear-splitting support the team gets at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Toronto fans have often been as boisterous in their support of the visiting teams as they have for the Bills and playing indoors has removed two of the biggest challenges of playing in Orchard Park, N.Y., at this time of year — the cold weather and swirling winds.
“The atmosphere is different and I think everybody knows that,” Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “It’s much different than the Ralph in terms of the noise and intensity.”
Buffalo has also struggled to establish home-field advantage at Rogers Centre, having posted a 1-3 record in regular-season games there during the series. The Bills did win two exhibition games there, with a third scheduled for this year being cancelled.