Published: May 20, 2008 10:52 pm      

BILLS: Rookies see a whole new world

Alvin Bowen inched ever so slowly toward the rail of the Niagara Observation Tower on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

About five feet away, he thought better of it.

“I can enjoy the view from right here,” the Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker — and apparently not a fan of heights — said as he gazed at the American falls.

Bowen and 17 other Bills rookies got their first looks at some of the sights in Western New York on Tuesday, including a stop at Niagara Falls. The brainchild of Chris Jenkins, Bills’ director of media relations, the rookie tour is designed to give those players new to the area an idea of what’s around.

“It’s just a chance to show them what the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area really has to offer,” Jenkins said. “They’re here to play football and we understand that, but ... we want them to be contributing members of this community.”

After starting the tour last season, Jenkins said community support was strong, so the team decided to do it again.

As wide receiver Steve Johnson, a native of San Francisco, looked at the scenery, he admitted to being impressed.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I just thought it would be a bunch of water, but being here is crazy. ... It’s a beautiful sight.”

Johnson also learned something else about the area — it’s not always cold.

Dressed in a red knit hat and heavy black jacket, he was ready for elements that never came.

“I thought it was Buffalo, so I put the coat on, but I can take this thing off,” he said.

The weather might be the most popular misconception about the 716 area code, but it’s far from the only one. That’s part of the reason Jenkins teamed up with Leadership Buffalo, Inc., a not-for-profit organization with a mission to enhance knowledge of the community.

“You hear so many things about Buffalo and Western New York, like the weather, but there are some great things happening, and I think a lot of people are trying to promote that fact,” he said.

To hear wide receiver James Hardy, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., tell it, the promotion is working.

“It’s making Buffalo a lot better,” he said. “Knowing that this is where we’re going to be for the next few years of our lives ... I feel this is much-needed. I want to start meeting people in the community, because I know this football team is what they look forward to. I’m going to work extremely hard to bring them a lot of excitement this year.”

After their stop at the Falls, the group continued with a driving tour through Buffalo, seeing places like the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo Zoo and Delaware and Elmwood avenues. The tour culminated with a stop at the New Era Cap Company and dinner at Pearl Street Grill and Brewery.

Contact editor Jay Skurski at 693-1000, ext. 117.