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Jon Bon Jovi tries to smooth things over with Bills fans

frank schwab
Senior writer

Somehow, we got to the point where Buffalo Bills fans have a vendetta against Jon Bon Jovi.

Many Bills fans went to Canton for Andre Reed's Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony and Sunday night's preseason game against the Giants, and many were spotted during the enshrinement telecast wearing "No Bon Jovi" T-shirts. They aren't objecting almost 30 years after the fact to the musical significance of "Slippery When Wet," but they don't trust that the musician will keep the team in Buffalo if the organization he's involved with buys the Bills.

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The potential ownership group that includes Bon Jovi has a lot of Toronto ties, ones that make Bills fans nervous. Public officials and even Reed have warned that they think Bon Jovi's group would move the team. The franchise is up for sale after the death of longtime owner Ralph Wilson.

So Bon Jovi penned a letter to Bills fans, which was given to the Buffalo News, to get back on their good side. No word if Eddie Van Halen needs to make up with Cardinals fans or Motley Crue wants to mend fences with Vikings fans or whatever ridiculous mad libs scenario you can come up with.

"Our objective is simple: to carry on the legacy of Ralph Wilson and make the Bills successful in Buffalo," the letter said. "We are committed to working with the State, City, County and business community to identify the best possible site in the Buffalo area for a new stadium and to then develop and implement a plan to finance and build a state-of-the-art NFL stadium for the loyal Bills fans."

Bon Jovi was an owner of the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul, which he references in the letter. He says he's serious about being an NFL owner and he wants to make a "life-changing commitment" to owning a team, and that's strange because I'm sure the people of Buffalo never worried about that, only if he would move the team.

In the letter he doesn't come out and say he and his group have no intention of moving the team, but hopes that the tone of the letter conveys that message.

"I know how much the Bills mean to the people of this region," Bon Jovi's letter says. "So I want you to hear this from me: I’m not risking it all to let you down. If we are given the chance to be the next owners of the Buffalo Bills, I promise you that we will bring the same passion that you do every Sunday, every day."

Bon Jovi's group might not get the chance to buy the Bills because there's a process involved in buying an NFL team. So all the concern about his intentions might not matter. He said in the letter he intends to "spend as much time on the ground in Buffalo" to work on accomplishing the goal of making the Bills a winner, and he should probably know that plan doesn't sound very good given his approval rating in the area.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!