Mike in Syracuse Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I got into a conversation last night with one of my neighbors who is also a Bills fan. We were talking about this year's disaster and the futility of the last 10 years. We discussed the coaching search and I told him my biggest fear is that we get another hot coordinator and it turns into another one of these 3 year disaster stints. We also discussed why someone like Cowher might not want to coach the Bills. We love this team and we think that it should be a great job for every coach. As fans of the team we have trouble seeing through our own bias but when you stand back and look at the last 15 years it's not hard to understand. After an amazing SB run everyone responsible for that team is either fired or leaves prematurely. The only one that stuck around was Levy. Our owner is regarded as meddlesome and our management structure is laughable. Added to that pile of issues is the fact that our owner is 90+ years old and we have no idea what will happen to the team when he passes. Every year I put myself through the emotional roller coaster of hope-reality-despair. Why do we continue to punish ourselves? In the end, we both agreed that life would be simpler if we could just cut ties and jump to another team. The problem is that being a Bills fan isn't something you decide, it's something you are. Rooting for another team might give me hope but it just feels dirty. So how to cope when your team is in disarray........................
Beastly Dareus Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Well because im a loyal die hard Bills fan, clearly you are not if you have a urge to give up on supporting them
Mr_Blizzard Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 ...Every year I put myself through the emotional roller coaster of hope-reality-despair. Why do we continue to punish ourselves? Mike, I feel your pain. Been a Bills fan since the mid 80's. To see us be an elite team for a decade and now be "average to horrible" for a decade is frustrating. But they are the home team and until the team moves out of Buffalo, I'll support them. Besides, where would you rather be than "Right here, Right now"??
jack_spikes Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I got into a conversation last night with one of my neighbors who is also a Bills fan. We were talking about this year's disaster and the futility of the last 10 years. We discussed the coaching search and I told him my biggest fear is that we get another hot coordinator and it turns into another one of these 3 year disaster stints. We also discussed why someone like Cowher might not want to coach the Bills. We love this team and we think that it should be a great job for every coach. As fans of the team we have trouble seeing through our own bias but when you stand back and look at the last 15 years it's not hard to understand. After an amazing SB run everyone responsible for that team is either fired or leaves prematurely. The only one that stuck around was Levy. Our owner is regarded as meddlesome and our management structure is laughable. Added to that pile of issues is the fact that our owner is 90+ years old and we have no idea what will happen to the team when he passes. Every year I put myself through the emotional roller coaster of hope-reality-despair. Why do we continue to punish ourselves? In the end, we both agreed that life would be simpler if we could just cut ties and jump to another team. The problem is that being a Bills fan isn't something you decide, it's something you are. Rooting for another team might give me hope but it just feels dirty. So how to cope when your team is in disarray........................ I feel your pain. I could never support another team like I do the Bills, and if they ever leave Buffalo, I'll stop watching pro football altogether. I wish Wilson would just get off the stage. Meantime,...Go Sabres!
Guest dog14787 Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Switching teams is not even an option for me, good or bad its the Buffalo Bills and will always be the Buffalo Bills until the day I die and hopefully long after because there has got to be football in heaven. If the Flutie Curse is still going on when I meet my maker, I'm going to ask him "WTF"?
Coach Tuesday Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Yes, daily. I would rather the Bills move or fold if they're not going to build a competitive team. That would allow me to enjoy the N.F.L. again.
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Forgive me... I just want to say it now: The cap is the number one thing that has killed the game the football. NFL football doesn't need it. No need to argue, no need to flame (well if you want to, please, by all means do so). Now, I know what I said above has nothing to do directly with coaching. Just saying that SOLID small markets (like BFLO) are even in worse shape then ever when it comes down to how players and coaches preceive them to be.
apuszczalowski Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Go ahead, no one is making you be a Bills fan. If you don't like how the team is run, go find one that is run the way you want. people make it sound like once you become a fan of a team, you have to stick with it and just cry and complain when things don't go the way you want. But you aren't forced to be a fan. Your life will probably be a lot more enjoyable if you find a team that makes you happy and is run how you want it, and us other fans will be happier cause we won't have to hear people whinning about how things are so bad
BillsVet Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Well because im a loyal die hard Bills fan, clearly you are not if you have a urge to give up on supporting them I think the OP is making a point deeper than that. The Bills entered the off-season needing to find a GM to fill a vacant position (Levy and Brandon don't count) and a new HC. They never interviewed one person outside the organization for GM, and have interviewed only one individual in 10 days from other teams (Frazier) that they have a reasonable chance at hiring for HC. They've been rejected by name and no-name coaches, and have an owner who meddles more than just about anyone in the NFL not named Snyder or Jerry Jones. Has it occurred to some fans that few people are willing to work here? And that's why we have to evaluate where we are as fans of this franchise. We can say we're "die-hard" fans, but there are two major issues taking place here: 1. The team has been bad for a long time. Perhaps not Raiders or Lions bad, but consistently mediocre. That record of futility is a lot to stomach, especially when the promised evaluation and supposed house-cleaning hasn't/isn't happening. 2. The ownership situation is seriously in doubt, and has been for a long time. When fans ignore that, they're ignoring reality. We don't know where this team goes when the owner passes and that uncertainty adds to an already bad situation.
dwight in philly Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 i am 57 years old, went to bills games at the rockpile starting in 1960. i have enjoyed the highs and lows, the lows seem to be much more prevelant. you look at the history, saban leaves (twice) because of a falling out with wilson, then knox, then polian, then butler. it seems the franchise is always going thru cycles, with the most recent being the longest. we are made to feel that we owe ralph gratitude for keeping the team in buffalo. sure, its laudable, but he has gained financially also. the elephant in the room , as we all know, is ralph, i see nothing changing as long as he is calling the shots. but, i could never not want the best for them, to much a part of my soul.
papazoid Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Over? ......Did you say "over"? .........Nothing is over until we decide it is! .......Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? ......Hell no!
macaroni Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Funny you should bring this topic up .... I've been a Bills fan since the beginning. The catch is I left the area in 1969 to join the Navy and except for yearly visits I've not had any real connection to the area since. I could have adopted any of a number of teams in or near my home cities over the last 40 some odd years, but I haven't, I've even raised my children to be Bills fans. I can't put my finger on WHY I put myself through this year after year ...... I just DO .... cuz I'm a Bills fan.
Beastly Dareus Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Over? ......Did you say "over"? .........Nothing is over until we decide it is! .......Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? ......Hell no! Ummm... the Germans didnt bomb Pearl Harbor... Japan did
Ghost of Rob Johnson Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Yes, daily. I would rather the Bills move or fold if they're not going to build a competitive team. That would allow me to enjoy the N.F.L. again. By definition this makes you not a fan.
jack_spikes Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Go ahead, no one is making you be a Bills fan. If you don't like how the team is run, go find one that is run the way you want. people make it sound like once you become a fan of a team, you have to stick with it and just cry and complain when things don't go the way you want. But you aren't forced to be a fan. Your life will probably be a lot more enjoyable if you find a team that makes you happy and is run how you want it, and us other fans will be happier cause we won't have to hear people whinning about how things are so bad I guess only "true fans" are blindly loyal and don't allow themselves to lament or criticize years or decades of bad management or futility. Wish we all had your constitution.
papazoid Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Ummm... the Germans didnt bomb Pearl Harbor... Japan did geez, i hate explaing my humor.......ever watch the movie Animal House ?.....thats the start of the famous lines when future senator john blutarski (bluto) was rallying the troops...... D-Day: War's over, man. Wormer dropped the big one. Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! Otter: Germans? Boon: Forget it, he's rolling. Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... [thinks hard] Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go! [runs out, alone; then returns] Bluto: What the !@#$%$%^ happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer... Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part. Bluto: We're just the guys to do it. D-Day: Let's do it. Bluto: *Let’s do it*!
Beastly Dareus Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 geez, i hate explaing my humor.......ever watch the movie Animal House ?.....thats the start of the famous lines when future senator john blutarski (bluto) was rallying the troops...... Nope never seen Animal House, sounds like a bad reference for history? Or just a funny movie? lol
apuszczalowski Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I guess only "true fans" are blindly loyal and don't allow themselves to lament or criticize years or decades of bad management or futility. Wish we all had your constitution. i'm not blindly loyal, I just don't kick and scream and whine cause the team didnt make the moves I wanted them too, and I don't feel like I know more then they do, or that just because the media hasn't made info public that they aren't doing things behind the scenes. You will find that life can be much better if the decisions of the team bothers you so much if you just find a team that makes the choices you want. No one is holding a gun to your head to stay a fan. If you don't like the teams decisions, buy them and run them how you want, or, go become the GM, or head coach, or get a job working for the team. It can't be that hard, the fans here seem to always make the right choices
Mike in Syracuse Posted January 9, 2010 Author Posted January 9, 2010 Ummm... the Germans didnt bomb Pearl Harbor... Japan did By your prior post I guessed you were pretty young. This post proved it. I'm not saying that I don't still love the Bills and I'm moving to another team. My point was that my love for this team just produces year after year after year of frustration. No sane person would ever put themselves through perennial suffering with no end in sight. Maybe being a Bills fan requires you be a little insane? And please save me the nonsense of "you're not a true fan". I've been rooting for this mess of a team for over 30 years. It's the only profession sports team I give a **** about. Save me the lectures on fandom.
Simon Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Nope never seen Animal House Is 2030 the year you'll graduate high school?
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