TribalWorks

Today, the Buffalo Bills will be playing the first of a series of eight games over the next five years at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Although there have been several articles written both in the Canadian and the Western New York press about the potential permanent move of the Buffalo Bills to Toronto, I am more interested in reading what fans have to say about it.

Here are some more colourful examples from the Globe & Mail’s Comments section in response to an article on the Bills preparing for tonight’s game.

CFL Fans

XX from Oakville, Canada writes: Who cares!!
Ticats vs. Bombers….huge game tonight for both teams! Should be a beauty.

Oskee Wee Wee!!!!

XX from Canada writes: Who cares it’s the No Fun League.

Picking Winnipeg (slightly) over Ti-cats tonight.
But then who knows with Freight Train Lumsden running wild.
Lots of Buffalo Burgers from Pete’s Mountain Meats on the BBQ.
Lots of beer on ice and I stole the zapper from my confused sweetie.
Hiding her TV outside in the tent and all hooked up outdoors already.
Now lets ‘Get It On’

NFL Fan

XX from Canada writes: If you don’t care about the NFL, its very simple, even CFL fans will understand, don’t read and comment on this story!

No one is forcing you to read this or go to the game so beat it and find your own story. That is if anyone bothers writing about the CFL.

This is a perfect example of how the ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality exists in many consumer tribes (look at how Apple brings this concept in their messaging). This certainly won’t be the last post about this subject.

One area of Tribal Strategy which requires more serious planning is how you handle members that belong to both tribes? How do you leverage the ‘Us vs. Them’ dynamic without going too far?