On the recordFebruary 2, 2012
On Sunday, tens of millions of Americans will gather with family and friends to watch the Super Bowl. Many from my western New York community will be among them. Unfortunately, western New York families do not always have the opportunity to watch their hometown team, the Buffalo Bills. The NFL's blackout rule prohibits the broadcast of a game in a team's home market if the game has not been sold out within 72 hours of the kickoff. In Buffalo, this meant that this past season almost half of the Bills games were blacked out. This is unacceptable. We have a strong and enthusiastic fan base; but with one of the largest football stadiums in the National Football League, Buffalo must sell 6,000 more tickets than the league's average to avoid a blackout. I have sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Goodell, along with my colleagues Congresswoman Kathy Hochul, Congressman Ross, and Congresswoman Brown, asking for an end to this unfair policy. It is time for the league to update this regulation, taking into account factors like stadium and media market size and, most importantly, the tough financial situation millions of families across the Nation find themselves in. ____________________
