Published: August 24, 2008 11:12 pm      

FOOTBALL: Bills and Bulls are BFFs

The bosses promise it won’t happen again.

Thursday marks the start of the most anticipated college football season this town has seen in generations, when the University at Buffalo kicks off against visiting Texas-El Paso. Meanwhile, in Orchard Park, Buffalo’s beloved Bills play their first home date of the 2008, a preseason contest with the Detroit Lions.

Even the staunchest UB supporters aren’t expecting a sellout, considering the Bills routinely fill Ralph Wilson Stadium for their annual Kids Day promotion.

Both the Bills and the Bulls set their home openers last fall. Warde Manuel, UB’s athletics director, said he secured the date first, but only by a few weeks. And the Bills have long held their final preseason date on the Thursday before Labor Day, according to Russ Brandon, the team’s chief operating officer.

Brandon and Manuel have become close friends over the last three years, and were able to share a laugh over the communication breakdown that led to two attractive games being played at the same time.

“Warde and I will try to gameplan that a little better in the future,” Brandon said last week. “It’ll be a great football day for our area. We support the University at Buffalo 100 percent in all of their endeavors.”

The Bills will “always have Sundays” in Western New York, Manuel said. He hopes rooting for UB becomes a staple activity on fall Saturdays, and the occasional weeknight. This season, the Bulls play their final five games during the week, including a nationally-televised home game on Election Tuesday.

Manuel said he opted against moving the UB opener back because he felt the campus community preferred Thursday night. Encouraged by the steady pace of season ticket sales since last season’s eye-opening 5-7 campaign, and confident in his department’s efforts to market the season opener, Manuel expects the Bulls to draw more than 18,000 fans Thursday.

Sharing a shrinking market

Jim Kelly has a ritual at his annual football camp. The famous former Bill surveys his youthful audience. First he asks the Notre Dame fans to raise their hands. Then Miami, his alma mater, and Penn State, his childhood favorite. Last summer, Kelly threw UB in the mix.

“There were probably 100 kids who raised their hands and said they would love to play football for UB,” the Hall of Famer said last month at the Bulls kickoff luncheon. “More kids raised their hand for UB than Penn State.”

Of course, virtually every camper was a Bills fan, first and foremost.

Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay became a UB fan prior to the 2006 season, when Turner Gill, the quarterbacks coach at Nebraska when Kelsay played there, was hired by Manuel. Gill’s arrival resonated throughout the Bills locker room, Kelsay said.

“Until Turner got the job, you didn’t hear much about UB,” he said. “When Turner came here, some of the guys started asking about him, and paying more attention.”

Playing for the Cornhuskers, both Kelsay and Gill enjoyed a fan base devoted to college football. Kelsay realizes that won’t happen at UB for a while.

“It’s tough when you’re a smaller school in an NFL city,” he said. “But if they continue to win, people will jump on board. They’ll get more support, and a bigger fan base.”

Brandon and Manuel both shot down any suggestion that there is any competition between the Bills and the Bulls.

“Any time you are promoting football and talking football, it’s a positive for the entire community,” Brandon said. “What they’ve done in a short time period is amazing. It’s been a benefit to our entire region.”

Manuel said the Bills’ presence has helped UB grow its program. The Bulls utilize the fieldhouse at Ralph Wilson Stadium when they can’t practice outside. UB coaches pick up tips from their Bills counterparts. And the two parties trade corporate sponsorships.

“We have a very beneficial relationship with the Bills,” Manuel said. “They couldn’t be any better toward us.”

One native Western New Yorker has been part of both organizations. Jim McNally played and coached at UB after graduating from Kenmore West, then went on to become one of the top offensive line coaches in the NFL. He finished his coaching career with the Bills, then stayed here to volunteer as a fundraiser for UB.

“We’ve got the Bills, we’ve got the Sabres, why can’t UB be in the same category?” McNally said at the kickoff luncheon.

“This is our city. This is our team.”

It’s a motto both the Bills and Bulls can share. Just like they’ll share Thursday.