bills in va Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 I have to ask myself occassionally why I am such a die hard. I saw my first game in the 70's, watched in horror most of the 80's, proud as hell through the early 90's but the past ten years have really made me wonder. I haven't lived in WNY since '89 when I graduated from Fredonia but still go to at least one game per year and follow them religously. What have I got in return? A broken tv (wide right), chronic heartburn from April-December, disappointment, heartache...I could go on and on. There have been alot of great times as well, just not this millenium. I guess it boils down to loyalty. They have been my first and only "favorite team" and no matter what I'll always love them (unless they move then I'm done). I get harrassed often when I'm golfing for having a BILLS golfbag. I hear "they have sucked for so long" and "4 straight Superbowl losses" and "you must be a die hard". Besides for loyalty I was raised in Jamestown. So unlike my friends who were Steeler, Miami, Dallas, Browns fans becasue they were good at the time. I stayed with my BILLS. WHY ARE YOU A BILLS FAN?
skijef Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 Because I can't afford to change gears! I guess! I went to UB and hooked since 93. Got a job in NJ after graduation and kept Directtv in business ever since. I should've picked a school in ......... what's the point! I love my BILLS!
Hossage Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 Because I am not gay. We have a good thing going on here in Western New York. We are a classy organization and community. We have a storied franchise. Football is a great game. It is something good to be a part of.
SouthernMan Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 It's not exactly a choice. If you grew up in Buffalo and were exposed to a live home game at a young impressionable age, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not just a sports team. It's more than a love affair - it's a marriage. 'They're part of the extended family. Til death do us part. We're the Linus Van Pelt's of the sports world. We approach every year with unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe this will be the year The Great Pumpkin (ie-Lombardi Trophy) comes to us. We're also Charlie Brown, convinced that this will be the time that Lucy doesn't pull the ball away when we try to kick it. Why are we Bills fans? 'Cause we're blockheads, that's why.
Hey Hey Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 It's not exactly a choice. If you grew up in Buffalo and were exposed to a live home game at a young impressionable age, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not just a sports team. It's more than a love affair - it's a marriage. 'They're part of the extended family. Til death do us part. We're the Linus Van Pelt's of the sports world. We approach every year with unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe this will be the year The Great Pumpkin (ie-Lombardi Trophy) comes to us. We're also Charlie Brown, convinced that this will be the time that Lucy doesn't pull the ball away when we try to kick it. Why are we Bills fans? 'Cause we're blockheads, that's why. I think you speak for all of us. Put me down for the same reasons.
nucci Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 It's not exactly a choice. If you grew up in Buffalo and were exposed to a live home game at a young impressionable age, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not just a sports team. It's more than a love affair - it's a marriage. 'They're part of the extended family. Til death do us part. We're the Linus Van Pelt's of the sports world. We approach every year with unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe this will be the year The Great Pumpkin (ie-Lombardi Trophy) comes to us. We're also Charlie Brown, convinced that this will be the time that Lucy doesn't pull the ball away when we try to kick it. Why are we Bills fans? 'Cause we're blockheads, that's why. What he said!
Glass To The Arson Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 Born in Buffalo even if I wasn't - I think I'd be a fan
Cookiemonster Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 It's not exactly a choice. If you grew up in Buffalo and were exposed to a live home game at a young impressionable age, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not just a sports team. It's more than a love affair - it's a marriage. 'They're part of the extended family. Til death do us part. We're the Linus Van Pelt's of the sports world. We approach every year with unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe this will be the year The Great Pumpkin (ie-Lombardi Trophy) comes to us. We're also Charlie Brown, convinced that this will be the time that Lucy doesn't pull the ball away when we try to kick it. Why are we Bills fans? 'Cause we're blockheads, that's why. Yeah, this does it for me as well, no better way to put it.
CodeMonkey Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 I am a hardcore alcoholic binge drinker and there is no better place than the Ralph tailgate.
clearwater cadet Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 Couldn't watch the playboy channel when I was 10, so I turned to the Bills.
WotAGuy Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 WHY ARE YOU A BILLS FAN? I think for me, it's my connection to my Dad. He died when I was 16 (I'm 51 now), and my memories of him are closely tied to the Bills. As a little guy, I'd be out playing and come running in the house to ask what the score was and whether we were wearing white or dark (it was black and white TV in those days). I started following them on my own in 1968, and going to games with him in War Memorial are very fond memories. In 1970, he sprang for the most expensive tickets, 3 of them at $7 each under the roof. I looked at them every day pinned on the board in the kitchen. When game day came, my Dad took me for a walk and said he couldn't go because he was having chest pains. I was so disappointed and ended up having to go with my mother and my sister. It was horrible....drunks spilled wine on me, burned cigarette holes in our blanket, and OJ got his knee torn up on a kickoff return and was lost for the season. The Bills got trashed by the Bengals. But it never made me lose faith in the team, because it was a big connection to my Dad. When I lost him, I kept following the Bills, even after moving to Syracuse and having to listen to the games on a staticy radio feed of the games from Rochester. Bills games usually weren't televised in Syracuse back in the mid-80s, and that's probably a good thing! But I kept following them, and ended up going to the last Super Bowl to see them lose yet again. But no matter, I'll always be a Bills fan and always think of my Dad with every game!
ChasBB Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 It's not exactly a choice. If you grew up in Buffalo and were exposed to a live home game at a young impressionable age, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's not just a sports team. It's more than a love affair - it's a marriage. 'They're part of the extended family. Til death do us part. We're the Linus Van Pelt's of the sports world. We approach every year with unbridled optimism, hoping that maybe this will be the year The Great Pumpkin (ie-Lombardi Trophy) comes to us. We're also Charlie Brown, convinced that this will be the time that Lucy doesn't pull the ball away when we try to kick it. Why are we Bills fans? 'Cause we're blockheads, that's why. Things CAN change -- Charlie Brown finally gets to kick the football -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDURfLc9u0g...feature=related
Coach55 Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 IMO, growing up in Buffalo, all the kids were "Bills" fans by default, but many like other teams or were fair-weather fans. Since I have left Buffalo (and this seems to happen to many people like me who have left), I have become a rabid fan - can't miss a game, constantly checking for updates, etc. What makes me a fan - I don't know: Is it the last thing to hold on to from a city I used to call home? Is it something that will tie me to everyone else from one of the greatest cities? Is it the fact that people from Buffalo and Buffalo itself has been and will always be the underdog city and I am an example of that underdog? Being a Bills fan is something that is in your blood and can't be explained. All I know is if they ever move, I will be totally lost without them.
sllib olaffub Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 A subject I've thought long about. I live in the Bills area and due to the economy I've talked with my wife about moving somewhere else, and it occurred to me that I might end up in another football city. Of course, I'd still be a Bills fan, but it got me thinking about what it'd be like to have grown up a Washington fan, or a K.C. fan, for instance. I wondered what would happen if someone else bought the team. What if some woman bought the team, and handed the operations over to a son who was a real punk, and they brought in arrogant pricks to run the show - would we still be able to root for them? Would they still seem like our Bills? I think I might stop being a Bills fan - albeit temporarily - if Ralph were to continue on a few more years without showing bringing in the necessary talent to compete. I mean, if he kept T. Edwards or Fitzpatrick for another year after this, if they had another year like last year - I think that might be enough for me to say, "this guy is suckering these fans into paying for something he's not interested in making good." There's got to be some sign by management that they want to win above all else - I think that's it. If Ralph Wilson came out and said, "this is a business, I'm in it for the money, and if it pays to move the team, I will. If I can fill the seats without spending on a good team, I will. I only care about winning as long as it pays." - then I would stop supporting the team as long as he owned it. So, I guess it is the appearance of an effort to win, truly, and being in a smaller market makes us the underdogs - and that part of it I like. I just wish that by next year we can see that Nix is in charge and doing everything he can to make us great. I mean, if there is a F.A. available next year at a position we need, and they don't go after him for money's sake - that'll really burn me.
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