A few weeks ago, while the Buffalo Bills rookies were taking their initial tour of the city, quarterback Cardale Jones created something of a stir when he made his thoughts on the original team logo known:
Cardale Jones on the Bills old school logo: "Looks like a cow."
— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) May 13, 2016
pic.twitter.com/IsGx362ky1
Update from Cardale Jones on old school Bills logo: "I guess it looks like a buffalo. But like a cow buffalo."
— Jonah Javad (@JonahJavad) May 13, 2016
The debate between which logo is better is one that has caused massive brawls and torn families apart occasionally made its way into commercial breaks before being tossed aside once the game comes back on.
Now, however, we want to settle the debate once and for all: which of the Bills logos is the superior one?
The current logo
The "charging buffalo" has been the official team logo since the 1974 season.
The main case to be made for this logo is that it's, you know, actually doing something. Sports teams are supposed to be active, and this logo reflects that. Even more than being active, though, it's charging. It's building momentum. It doesn't care what's in its way, it's going to knock you over and move where it wants to move, and if you're in its way, you'll end up hurt. The current Bills logo stops for no man.
Since this logo has been in place for over forty years, it's also the logo most fans grew up with and are most familiar with. We've all seen the old logo make cameo appearances in recent seasons, but the last time the old logo was the primary one was the year that OJ Simpson ran for 2,003 yards. The new logo is pretty much ingrained in fans' minds by this point.
The old logo
The "standing buffalo" was on the Bills' helmets from 1962 to 1973 (for the first two seasons, the helmet logo was simply the player's jersey number).
The old logo isn't really doing anything. It seems to be stagnating, just hanging around and growing old. You know what, though? The old logo doesn't care what you think. The old logo is going to do what it wants, and it's not going to listen to anybody who wants to to move. It's going to move when it's good and ready to move. What are you going to do, tell it to move? Go ahead, try it. I'll wait.
...
See? It's still standing there. You're not going to tell it what to do.
It was also the logo for the only two Bills championship season. Sure, those were in the AFL days, but they still count.