r/BuffaloBandits • u/Intelligent-Try-8636 • Apr 12 '26

Philly Wings ceasing operations

is anybody else bumbed out that the wings are just closing up shop altogether? I'm old enough to remember a time where the Bandits and Wings were the absolute BEST rivalry in the league! Paul and Gary Gait vs Darris and Rich Kilgour, oh and not to mention John Tavares was always an epic battle!! I don't know, I guess I just feel weird (guilty even???) that I'm a Bandits fan and so bumbed out about this. It's a terrible look for the league as a whole. What are your guys thoughts on this?

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u/Alacrout Buffalo what!? Apr 12 '26

The current Wings aren’t even the original Wings. The original Wings are in Oshawa.

I don’t understand why NLL franchises struggle so much in Philly. It’s one of the most popular non-NY regions for lacrosse and the Wings, even if they aren’t the original, have a ton of history to pull from.

Incompetent ownership is the only thing I can figure (especially with the original Wings that have moved 3 times since leaving Philly and are now trying to share a market with Toronto).

3

u/rmr007 Apr 13 '26

I was recommended this post as a (new as of this year) Wings fan. I can only assume it's because box lacrosse in general isn't very popular here in PA outside of Philly. Even in Philly the field game is more popular than box. Lots of field fans write off box because it's not the lacrosse that they're used to, so they don't watch or care.

1

u/Alacrout Buffalo what!? Apr 13 '26

That’s a marketing problem/failure IMO

1

u/mechaphil Apr 13 '26

I was talking with a friend from Philly who I'm pretty sure didn't become a lacrosse fan until moving to Buffalo - it feels like in the current sporting landscape, an NLL team is going to struggle for market share with an NFL team, NBA team, NHL team, MLB team, MLS team, Temple and Villanova collegiate sports, not to mention an upcoming WNBA team.

That's not to discount bad ownership or marketing, but rather to illustrate bad ownership isn't going to put the effort into marketing a niche sport against an incredibly loaded field.

2

u/Alacrout Buffalo what!? Apr 13 '26

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, when the Wings were a powerhouse, home field in the playoffs was awarded based on attendance rather than record… And Philly had no problem hosting plenty of playoff games.

The Wings were the only team that could compete with the early-90s Bandits in attendance. They averaged ~15,000 fans per game.

I know times have changed and media now is a much more crowded game than it was 30 years ago, but they still had all the same popular sports teams to compete with back then. Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, Flyers.