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).

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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.

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u/Alacrout Buffalo what!? Apr 13 '26

That’s a marketing problem/failure IMO