metzelaars_lives

I know, right? I was there and I love Wheat Kings, but they were just killing time. Langlois was smoking a cigarette and it was actually kind of a sloppy version. I have seen so many greats put on so many great performances where you could hear a pin drop in the theater- John Prine, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Gordon Lightfoot, etc.- and I don't know that I've ever been moved to tears. But that version of Wheat Kings made Jerry Sullivan shed tears? They play it almost every show. It was probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen him write.

If I could play devil's advocate for one second- Jerry Sullivan is an extremely negative person, or at least he comes off as one. But his media persona is a guy who covers BUFFALO SPORTS TEAMS. It would be a little ridiculous if he was positive all the time. "Yeah, the last four regimes failed miserably, but I have every reason to think this one will work out just fine." Which is basically the viewpoint that everyone on this board- including me- has taken. To Sully's credit, when the Bills or Sabres are playing well, he switches sides pretty damn quickly. In 2008 and 2011 when they got off to those great starts, he was absolutely gushing about the Bills. He was just as psyched as the rest of us. He just plays the skeptic until it actually happens. Can't say I really blame him at this point. He wants to be able to say "I told you so" to all us suckers and he's usually right. All that being said, I lost a ton of respect for him when he said he cried when Gordie and Langlois played Wheat Kings at the Outer Harbor during the rain delay. And I'm not too man to cry; if you watch Dances With Wolves from start to finish, tell me you're not a little choked up when Wind In His Hair says peace out to Wolves. But I'm sorry, I don't care how much you love a band, that was not cry-worthy.

Wait, which ones are the pillow biters, again? The butt pirates.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I respect you as much as anyone- great read by the way- but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I think the word "potential" needs to find its way into your statement somewhere.

It's really the same accent. If you knew my Unlce Bob- 100% German, grew up on the east side and then later Cheektowaga, you would know that old school Buffalonians had a serious accent and yeah, it's nearly identical to the Chicago accent. It's kind of died out over the last generation but you still hear it if you go to the right places in WNY.

Got cuffed just before I got to the turnstile for no reason. Cop said I was noticeably drunk but I really wasn't. I was responding to some trash that Chargers fans were talking but I was careful to not even curse as there were kids around. I'm not an idiot. So I get cuffed and then my buddy asks why and then he gets cuffed. So we get thrown in the drunk tank with a bunch of Chargers fans who were so bombed- one of them got tossed on a mat and then started puking on himself. I say to the guard, "look around man. I'm talking to you completely coherently. We're not even drunk anymore. We clearly don't belong in here. Can we please go back in the game with the rest of our friends." He laughs and says that we're going to detox. So we get taken in a paddy wagon down to detox and by the time we get there and I get the cuffs off for the first time in hours, I really started being a wiseass to the cops at detox. I said some funny stuff that they didn't think was so funny and I got arrested in detox and sent to SDCJ where I spent several more hours. Got picked up after midnight. Time served. There's way more to the story- I could write a book about that day. Apparently my brother was so drunk in the game that he passed out sitting in his seat with no shirt on, baking in the California sun, and people were throwing stuff at him. Then later, my other friends went to a bar, left my brother in the car, and sang karaoke but changed the words to make the song about me being in jail. Meanwhile, my brother wandered outside the car and passed out underneath a tree in downtown San Diego (all the while wearing a Phil Hansen jersey mind you) and by the time my friends got back to the car he was gone and they couldn't find him for an hour. When they finally found him, they had to prop him up Weekend at Bernie's style and carry him through the hotel lobby and were extremely lucky that no one said anything. There's way more to it than that. I have some funny stories from when I was in jail too. We've grown up quite a bit since then. My brother, for the record, has an MBA, is extremely successful and resides with his wife and daughter in North Buffalo, lest you got the wrong impression about our family. P.S. a few years ago a poster on here said that he was at that game and during the tailgate witnessed the drunkest human being he's ever seen. That was my brother. He had literally 20 Chargers fans around him in a circle- all of them challenging him to a shotgunning contest and he beat everyone that he faced and after the legend started to grow, there was a full on Frank the Tank chant going. Yeah, and I was the one who got arrested. We still laugh about that.

Na na na na poo poo! I'm telling on you!

I wouldn't go that far. I got arrested at the 2005 Bills-Chargers game before the game even started and ended up spending 12 hours in jail. And honestly, I didn't even do anything. This debate starts and ends with Lambeau Field. Anyone who offers a different suggestion either a) has never been or b) has no appreciation for tradition or the history of the game. The new Cowboys Stadium? I could elaborate on how Lambeau is the best in every way imaginable but it would take too long. I will say this- I have been to the old Yankee Stadium, Wrigley and Fenway and you can multiply them all together and I would still take Lambeau. I felt like Rudy's dad walking into Notre Dame's stadium when I first walked in. After that, I love KC. Been there twice ('03 and '08). They have the heavy drinking, blue collar element that Bills games have but without all the trashy early 20 somethings funneling beers and looking to start fights element that Bills games have. It's like everything you love about Bills games without the parts you don't like. After that, I'd put Buffalo 3rd, ahead of Miami (weeeeaaak), San Diego (see above), Denver (OVERRATED) and Seattle (Mariners town through and through- they couldn't believe how we were tailgating). After re-reading the OP, I will say that we had a hell of a time top to bottom in Seattle and cannot wait to go back. I was more writing about how good of a tailgate scene there is. But I've been to Seattle three times now and it is my favorite city in the US. I would recommend anyone go there for a game.

What the hell is a god brother? I am flying from Denver to Buffalo for the opener. That place is gonna be absolutely rockin.

How sick is the Vikings logo?

You wanna bet?

?? That does not add up my friend.

I'm callin you're trolling. There's no way you'd be stupid enough to compare an NFL defensive lineman "going to work" with a sore foot to someone sitting behind a desk. And what is the sense in pushing a seasoned veteran through a sore foot the first day of training camp? Frankly, I don't give a crap about training camp, especially on the defensive side of the ball. My #1 concern is that the important players are all healthy on September 8th.

We all are. I'm a little offended that they couldn't think of another name for the program. I mean, Necessary Roughness is a pretty renowned (and underrated) football movie starring Scott Bakula, Sinbad and Kathy Ireland in her absolute prime.

I was at this game in 1989. The year of the bickering Bills and really the epitome of that season- they lost to a very mediocre Saints team playing with a no-name backup QB. Anyone remember his name? John Fourcade (sp?) And with all the talk of "how is so-and-so QB going to do in the wind and snow in Buffalo" this is one of the only real legit snow games where there's more than just a dusting on the field that I can remember being played at Rich Stadium. But really it was just one of the first pics that popped up when I google imaged Pete Metzelaars. It's no ham sandw(h)ich, but I tried.

Dareus.

OK, once and for all, what is the deal with your name/avatar? It's bizarre, but kind of funny. And also, it's spelled "sandwich."

Uhhh, didn't he have 5 sacks in like 4 games before being lost for the season in his only time ever spent as an outside LB? And also, I think the point of the article is that Pettine comes from the Ravens/Steelers/Jets school of thought that positions are overrated and you get your best 11 on the field. Look at the Ravens last year- they had Terrence Cody, who weighs like 370 pounds, playing the end in a 3-4. Why? Because Haloti Ngata plays NT. Obviously Cody would be best suited to play in the middle himself but he earned his playing time so they threw him at end and he was fine. When you start throwing out this "he's a z technique in 4-3 base, he won't even know which was is up in a 3-4" nonsense, you are out-thinking yourself. It's not that complicated. Not to mention, Mario Williams will get plenty of snaps with his hand in the dirt as well. He'll be the same player he's been (not that he's that great) regardless of scheme, trust me on this. They're freaking football players, they'll figure it out. It's not like they're learning a different sport. Maybe I'm forever a Bills optimist, but how can you not get excited about this guy and this defense?

Warren Sapp, Randy Moss, Jim Kelly, blah, blah, blah. I will laugh if a team passes on Manziel (provided he has another season like last season) because of "red flags." It won't happen though, it's a story to take up space that isn't even a story. And please don't combat my point with Pacman Jones or Lawrence Phillips or Aaron Hernandez. Johnny Manziel isn't going to shoot anyone. He's a young punk right now but chances are very strong that he will be a mature young NFL QB five years from now. Non-story.

How you can sit here and tell me that the pass was thrown from BEHIND the 25 yard line absolutely blows my mind. I mean blows it. You are seeing something that simply did not happen. I guess that contributes to your angry fandom.

I think most anyone would agree with that.

It shouldn't be unpopular. We are all on here because we love the Bills. That doesn't mean we can't be objective at the same time. Anyone who say "the ball clearly went forward" is delusional. Plain and simple. They are seeing something that didn't happen. Now, "no goal" is a different story altogether. Hull's skate was clearly in the crease in a season in which they were incredibly meticulous about calling every goal off when the scorer's skate was in the crease. That is also being objective. Also, I wanted to make another point. Anyone who says, "it was too close to call" is agreeing with me that the play should have stood and they might not even know it. It would have had to be conclusive to overturn. If you think that play is conclusive then you are from Neptune. Even as it happened on the field, if it's too close to being thrown on a straight line, then it's a legal play. Everything about that play was officiated properly: they were right in allowing it and they were certainly right in not overturning it. Sorry guys. This is coming from someone who has been to at least one Bills game every year since 1985 and loves the Bills like an immediate family member.

You're crazy man. I like you but you're crazy.

No Theismann doesn't. You're hearing things you want to. He says "that looks like a lateral" like five times. Did you watch it on mute? Everyone thought it was a forward pass initially and then EVERYONE agrees it's not after looking at the replay a few times. And dude, where his feet are having nothing to do with anything. All that matters is the path the ball travels. Look right at 2:13-2:17, the ball is clearly AHEAD of the 25. You're right, it is inconclusive. I think if it was ruled a forward lateral, it's probably not overturned. That's kind of the point. But you cannot sit here and tell me that the ball clearly travels forward. I think it's pretty damn clear that it travels as laterally as humanly possible. Which is a legal play. As I stated previously, I think the best analogy is tie goes to the runner in baseball. If the ball goes pretty much on a straight line, it's a lateral. That's what me, Theismann, Patrick, Maguire, Phil Luckett and every objective person that's ever looked at it saw. If you watch more clips on youtube, even Tim Russert says "we were robbed" but he's kind of smiling and you can clearly tell he knows in his heart that it was the right call.

Come on dude. No it doesn't. Watch the replay: So the NFL, the refs, Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and former Bill and Buffalo resident Paul Maguire all have a conspiracy against the Bills? Who are you? Biff from Lancaster on the whiner line? Dude, it's over. ALL THAT BEING SAID, I agree with you 100% that it was a complete and utter special teams meltdown and we should never be having this conversation.