Farewell to all, you guys are great fans.... I mean that!

[Buftex]

I was going to say something similar - I was 5 in 67, and went to my first game in 68, so that stretch from 67-72 when they were out of the playoffs seemed ten times longer than the current stretch. When you're in your 40s, years fly by as opposed to when you from 5-10.

 

And, I think part of it was being 1-13, John Rauch using OJ as a decoy, etc. and I just missed the run of greatness before it.

 

But, still great times - and I would love to talk to Diehard myself because of my fond memories of my childhood teams.

 

 

The first game I ever went to, was the first game played at Rich Stadium, in beautiful Orchard Park, NY. It was the Redskins, over the Bills, in the pre-season opener. I was 7. I was bummed that OJ Simpson didn't play, but I was even more bummed, my first sports hero, Dennis Shaw wouldn't be playing...hell, he wasn't even on the team anymore. I shared the name Dennis, with Shaw, so I related. I will always remember those teams very fondly, bad as they were. Time to pull out the Bills 1972 video yearbook.... see you Die Hard. Thanks for coming around. I understand. I think Two Bills Drive is still an excellent fan site, but, I agree, it has lost some lustre the last year or two... I think it is just the result of frustrated, but generally great, fans. I go to a number of pro sports team web sites, and message boards, and, to me, this one is far and away the best. Even now....

[The Dean]

I have had drinks in person with a few dozen of the posters here over the years, and I will tell you that some of the very nastiest, impolite, malodorous, feral and abusive of the posters are the nicest guys and women you'll ever meet.

 

 

I like AKC too!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

This is not a knock against the board, actually its the opposite.....wonderful place to hang out.

 

I am going to tell you a little secret but this will change your attitude about your threads and comments!

 

Are you ready?

 

I played for the Buffalo Bills 1967-1972. I read your comments and I now understand the fans better. Just a little warning here!

 

The players do frequent the message boards, and they do care what you write and yes I personally know 1 former player that posts here!!! Yep, it is true! If you investigate, you could easily figure it out! I did ! I PMed the guy and we now chat from time to time!

 

So why leave the board now? No player or former player is interested reading garbage about why a player should be waived or why he is overpaid.These are proud, proud former star college football players. The career is short, the physical burden is high and the players are just people. We all have emotions and nobody enjoys bashing! The Buffalo fans are the best but by far the most frustrated.

 

I will stop by from time to time and read some topics but my responding days are over.

 

-DIEHARD 1967

 

Hmmmmm now I will put on my thinking cap. Those were the years when I learned to love football, watching with my grandfather every Sunday.

Bills of course whenever possible.

 

Your profile says from 2008. Gotta ask: Why leave now?

This has been a tough board on some of the players for years. "Waive" or "overpaid" have been voiced for years.

Road rash making for sensitive skin just now?

Can I offer you some Nu-skin, or a bunch of gauze pads and Kling? I like silvadene myself but polysporin is popular.

 

I hear trash talked about my industry every day of the week (I work in R&D for a major pharmaceutical company).

I can weigh the worth of the comments according to the speaker's knowledge. Sometimes they speak some truth, sometimes "truth hurts"

Generally, you have to respect someone before their opinion matters.

 

Why is it different for a player?

 

You can call me overpaid if you like at a fraction of NFL base. Won't upset me.

Relative to a firefighter, an EMT or a teacher, it's totally true in my opinion!!!!

Those are people who put it out there, risk their lives, and the typical pay isn't much. Or a teacher. Or even a doctor.

Relative to the human worth and impact some professions have every professional athlete can be called "overpaid"

Hey, one of the projects I'm working on (if successful) will fill an unmet need to cure a debilitating disease.

Am I underpaid, relative to someone who just plays a game?

 

It's a free market. There's an old cartoon:

"Why do scientists get paid a pittance while professional baseball players earn millions?"

"Would you pay $50 to watch a scientist at work?"

"OK, I get your point"

 

It is what it is, and I'll miss your posts.

If you feel different after a while, we'll leave a key under the mat for you.

[ChasBB]

Decided to check out some of Die Hard's old posts to look for clues and found this one:

 

http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/95097-the-last-straw/page__p__1538538__fromsearch__1

 

Says in 2009 he was a season ticket holder for 42 years (2009 - 42 = 1967). Does he count his playing days as being a season ticket holder? Interesting.

[JDHILL]

yeah... you probably shouldn't leave. this board needs your perspective. Thanks for being a BILL and a BILLS fan. Used to be that Bills fans would come to a site for information because they couldn't get enough. Now, it seems people have to degrade players, not only their play but them as human beings. Some people try to be funny, some are just pissed at the world. Some players deserve criticism for their personal misgivings others are rarely recognized for being good guys and doing charitable things. A couple of examples... last season I had the pleasure of meeting Chris Kelsay's Dad in the parking lot of Arrowhead stadium. He drove down from Nebraska to watch his son play. He saw my tailgating contingent and came over to hang out and say how much he admired Bills fans. His dad was wearing a carhart jacket and said he needed to get back to Nebraska b/c he had to work the next day. He hung out and talked to us for 25 minutes. Jason Whittle is another example... I used to read negative things about him too. Yeah, he was hurt etc... yeah he was the first FA signed by Marv Levy... yeah, he also played on a superbowl team and started. Fantastic guy, came to my school when I was Assistant Principal and talked to the entire school about setting goals and achieving the unthinkable. Both these individuals are class acts but through the years I have read so much negativity about them where posters challenge their manhood etc... Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they also have the right to not be fans, it doesn't mean players need to be personally attacked. Hopefully tou'll stick around DIE HARD

[Dan]

You shouldn't have to tip toe around because somebody might be here reading your post. But maybe posters shouldn't be as disparaging of players as they are because it is simply the wrong thing to do. The crap that gets posted is sometimes completely offensive, and I say that as a guy who has been known to trade in insults.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, while you shouldn't have to tip toe around, you don't always have to post like a total douchebag. I don't necessarily mean you specifically, I'm not all that familiar with your posts. But some don't think before they post and go out of their way to be insulting/accusatory/negative when referring to certain players (or it least it seems that way).

Afrigginmen! There's nothing wrong with disagreeing. There's nothing wrong with stating someone is palying bad. But, some of the posts here get completely too offensive, personal, and just down right pathetic.

 

I don't know if Die Hard is who he says he is. I don't really care. It doesn't really matter, IMO. What matters is more and more people are posting inane drivel that really serves no purpose other than to offend. Why? Maybe it's the state of the Bills. But, that to me, sounds like a convenient excuse to be an ass because your life is somehow lacking.

 

It is what it is though.

[Pilsner]

I have had drinks in person with a few dozen of the posters here over the years, and I will tell you that some of the very nastiest, impolite, malodorous, feral and abusive of the posters are the nicest guys and women you'll ever meet.

 

 

Haha Kelly, this gives me hope :)I'm sure some of the posters here can be pussycats in rl. Just wish there were better manners on here though. *lifts my beer* I'll take a drink to what you said.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Hmmm.....If this ex-player has the correct birthday (6/13/46) listed in his profile, I have some questions. Nobody on the Bills roster between 1967-1972 was born on that day. Nobody on the 1967 team was born in 1946. If you assume that only the birth year is right in the profile, three players played from 1968-1972 with the Bills and were also born in 1946. So, either this person is (A) full of it or (B)got their birthday wrong in their profile and didn't know what year they started with the Bills when they posted their farewell. Just for fun, the Bills went 17- 64- 3 between 1967-1972 including two 1 win seasons (1-12-1 in 1968 and 1-13 in 1971).

 

Personally I wouldn't post my correct birthdate in a public forum.

So if you want to play "guess the player" I would go with the years

 

Just sayin'

[Original Byrd Man]

Die Hard sorry to see you go. I used to go to the Rock pile with my aunt and uncle when I could. I bought my 1st seasons ticket in the fall of 67, so you must have been a rookie. Unless of course you came in a trade. My neighbor and I stood in line for tickets to the AFC championship on a cold January day in 67 and I was hooked for good. Hope all goes well for you, and the Bills win the big one for a change. Although I still think the 65 team could have kicked the snot out of anything the NFL could bring.

 

GO BILLS!

[Pilsner]

*sigh*

 

Ugh

 

Blah

 

Meh

 

Whatever

 

Analogous to 'support the troops' line of BS. Hey, guess what? To steal a line from Doug Stanhope...some of the troops are !@#$s. Ditto football players, and teachers and cops and rocket scientists...

 

Cry me a river.

 

How about you turn your attention to OBD if you are a former player? You took the time to post your thoughts on fellow 'citizens' now how 'bout you address the front office, the coaches, and some players (I know, start with Ko Simpson - gee, nice guy from what I hear).

 

Puuulease.

 

I can and will talk 'impolitely' about this team. I won't buy their clown suits they try to pawn off as uniforms. I don't go to the games because they suck...err, sorry wouldn't want to hurt their feelings...because they have 'fallen marginally short of expectations but not for a lack of effort'... ahem, *cough cough*.

 

Ugh²

 

Of course you "will talk impolitely" about the team and won't buy their "clown" suits because you're not a dedicated fan. Even if our team sucked i would still try and go to their games. What kind of fan are you? ok... *tries to remember civility* ugh should not have wasted the time to reply to u.

 

See you're the type of worthless poster I would trade many of to keep a quality poster like Die Hard.

 

+1

 

Die Hard's posts and presence is worth 100x what pajama pants is. Negativity is fine if it's presented in a well thought out manner. But pajama, you are faltering. You can do better.

[cåblelady]

*sigh*

 

Ugh

 

Blah

 

Meh

 

Whatever

 

Analogous to 'support the troops' line of BS. Hey, guess what? To steal a line from Doug Stanhope...some of the troops are !@#$s. Ditto football players, and teachers and cops and rocket scientists...

 

Cry me a river.

 

How about you turn your attention to OBD if you are a former player? You took the time to post your thoughts on fellow 'citizens' now how 'bout you address the front office, the coaches, and some players (I know, start with Ko Simpson - gee, nice guy from what I hear).

 

Puuulease.

 

I can and will talk 'impolitely' about this team. I won't buy their clown suits they try to pawn off as uniforms. I don't go to the games because they suck...err, sorry wouldn't want to hurt their feelings...because they have 'fallen marginally short of expectations but not for a lack of effort'... ahem, *cough cough*.

 

Ugh²

U really suck.

[NyQuil]

No one has the media guides to find out who came to the Bills in 1967 and left in 1972?

[cåblelady]

No one has the media guides to find out who came to the Bills in 1967 and left in 1972?

Lori prolly does.

[SDS]

This thread serves as a GREAT honey pot. Now, with all the posts carefully marked to review we can start evaluating who should be fitted for the proverbial TBD cement shoes. Well done Die Hard! It saved us a ton of time.

[Kelly the Dog]

No one has the media guides to find out who came to the Bills in 1967 and left in 1972?

You can find most of them online here.

I checked one of them earlier and the only person on the all-time roster that fit those exact dates was Dick Cunningham. Our DIE HARD friend may or may not be him. It could be that he included or subtracted a year that he played where he was traded or hurt or retired or for whatever reason wasn't on the active roster that year so he may not have been included in the guide.

[cåblelady]

Decided to check out some of Die Hard's old posts to look for clues and found this one:

 

http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/95097-the-last-straw/page__p__1538538__fromsearch__1

 

Says in 2009 he was a season ticket holder for 42 years (2009 - 42 = 1967). Does he count his playing days as being a season ticket holder? Interesting.

Well....family gets seats, ya know.

[The Dean]

You can find most of them online here.

I checked one of them earlier and the only person on the all-time roster that fit those exact dates was Dick Cunningham. Our DIE HARD friend may or may not be him. It could be that he included or subtracted a year that he played where he was traded or hurt or retired or for whatever reason wasn't on the active roster that year so he may not have been included in the guide.

 

 

Didn't they have taxi squads then, too?

[ChasBB]

Well....family gets seats, ya know.

Yep, you might be on to something there!!

 

No one has the media guides to find out who came to the Bills in 1967 and left in 1972?

This link is loaded with info:

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/

[RayFinkle]

No one has the media guides to find out who came to the Bills in 1967 and left in 1972?

 

The rosters are online. Copy and paste them into excel and sort by name. Whoever has a name that shows up 6 times, that is probably your guy...it's not too tough to figure out if you really want to.

 

Sorry to see you go Diehard. If you are or aren't a former Bill, you were definitely old school and I enjoyed your posts.

[JinWPB]

Lori prolly does.

 

Right on, except ... Lori please come back.