There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium construction: downtown or Orchard Park, dome or no dome, and how big the buffalo statues in front of the stadium will be.
As I was cruising down Highway 94 in North Dakota, I saw a sign for the world’s largest buffalo statue just off the highway, and I knew I needed to stop and see it.
For those of you who didn’t see the video I made, check it out below.
This thing was MASSIVE. 26 feet tall, 46 feet wide, and just a behemoth to stand next to. (the manhood on this guy was also very apparent, pictured below)
Could you imagine hoards of Bills fans walking through these before every single game? I already gave my thoughts on the new stadium, but to recap a part of it, this will probably be the last new Bills stadium a lot of us will ever see in our lifetime. We need to do this right, let’s spend the money to make this stadium feel unique.
The price to make this buffalo back in 1959 was $8,500, or about $70,000 today. Now, I understand the price to build this would end up being a hell of a lot more, but for what we are paying Von Miller, I think we can allocate some money toward some large buffalo statues.
I know there are more important things people are talking about with this stadium, like premium seat licenses, but as a dumb fan, I care a lot about these buffaloes.
In the Bills embedded, the SVP of design, Frank Cravotta said they wanted the buffaloes to be smaller to capture the essence of the buffalo and not take away from the stadium.
“If you were to create a bison that is 40 feet tall, right, you’re kind of then taking all of the rest of what we’re doing out of proportion,” Cravotta said. “The stadium would be tiny behind it. So the idea was that like, we have to do something cool, but cool doesn’t have to be the world’s largest.”
I don’t know Mr. SVP but a heard of big-ass buffaloes would be such a great touch and give this stadium a one-of-a-kind feel. The buffaloes would help highlight this new stadium and give it more character, not take it away.
Cravotta also said he wanted smaller buffaloes that had more detail than the one in North Dakota.
I would hope the ones in Buffalo would have more detail since the one in North Dakota was made 10 years before we landed on the moon. We can make big buffaloes that are detailed and then everyone is happy.
The drive
Holy shit, this was maybe the most beautiful drive of my entire life. I started the day near St. Cloud Minnesota, and wrapped in up just into Montana.
North Dakota, and the little bit of Montana I got to see may be the coolest landscapes I have ever seen before in my life. Seeing the badlands in person was completely eye-opening, and I still have zero idea how they could have formed. The endless rolling hills, lakes, and wild bison kept me in awe the entire time I was on the road.
Unfortunately, a lot of Minnesota and the beginning stretch of North Dakota was a bit. boring
The speed limit for most of this journey was 80 mph which was a huge morale boost.
For all these reasons, I have to give my ride from Minnesota to Montana an 8.8. A true must-do for anyone who is able to do it.
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