Former Bills P Paul Maguire said that he does not want to see the team "create too much distance between itself and those who played for it during its formative years," and "would like the team to reconsider its decision ... to separate" from the Bills Alumni Foundation, according to Vic Carucci of the BUFFALO NEWS. The organization, which is "primarily comprised of players from the team's earliest seasons, no longer is allowed to use the Bills' logo on its website or in other communications." It also "no longer receives direct funding from the team, following an NFL-wide trend of keeping alumni relations in-house." Maguire said, "I can't even imagine that you can say that we don't exist or you cannot use the Buffalo Bills alumni logo. What are you talking about? If someone asks now, I say, 'Well, I played on the team in Buffalo. I can't tell you what it is.' Let's be reasonable." The Bills said that they "continue to support the foundation, but that the organization will work independently." Bills Player Engagement & Alumni Dir Marlon Kerner said that the team will "invest in beefing up its alumni relationship department." Maguire: "You're not allowed to forget us. We built it. The most insulting thing that ever happened to professional football, as far as I'm concerned, is when [the NFLPA] were going to eliminate the pre-'59 players from the pension. You know how absurd that is? They built the thing. That's all we're trying to say is, we built the Buffalo Bills" (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/8).
NO HARD FEELINGS: The Bills named their club areas at New Era Field after Pro Football HOFer Jim Kelly, former Bills broadcaster Van Miller and Maguire, but when Maguire "received a call several months ago informing him of the plan to remove the names and replace them with those of companies paying for that right, he said he expressed no disappointment." Maguire: "I know it's all business. So now they're selling (naming rights) and they're making money. And that's good. But upset? Absolutely not. I was just elated that they did it." Meanwhile, Carucci noted a month from his 80th birthday, Maguire is "looking and feeling and sounding like the full-of-life character he was" through 11 seasons as a player with the Bills and Chargers and 46 years as a "network-television sports broadcaster." Maguire "flourished with NBC" working alongside Marv Albert and later Dick Enberg, but his end with the net came in '97, when NBC "lost the rights to broadcast NFL games." Maguire: "I kept saying, 'You know, we're only on camera for like two minutes at the beginning of the game and 30 seconds at halftime. How many kids can I scare?'" He added, "The announcing part, it was so much fun and I really liked the people I worked with" (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/8).
