Spiderweb Posted September 30, 2011 Posted September 30, 2011 I've learned a very valuable lesson, and I hope that I can keep learning it. Ever since I could really understand football, I was a Bills fan, but I wasn't originally from Buffalo, though I did move there in my earlier years. My Mom worked at the old training camp facility (SUNY New York) back in the late '80s, when the Bills were then an up and coming team. I started watching football, and then the Bills got REALLY good a couple years later, and I was hooked. I lived and died through the four Super Bowl losses, the Music City Miracle, and countless other dreadful moments with the Bills. (Why, oh WHY did Bruce Smith decide not to take a flu shot during that 1995 campaign when I thought we had a really good chance, with that defense especially, to go back to the Super Bowl. But, instead, Bruce Smith gets the flu, and the Steelers just run the ball to his empty spot. The victory against Miami the week before was the last time the Bills have won a playoff game.) However, I moved to Florida in 2006, (and had been living elsewhere through military commitments and such beforehand) and the Bills were smack dab in the middle of starting to become REALLY awful. The Bucs and Dolphins were near here, and I started watching them, along with the Bills. During the "great collapse" of 2008, I turned my back on the team for good. I figured that Ralph was going to move the team, anyway, or someone would once he died. I didn't see the Bills doing anything more as an organization ever again, until such move was complete. So, I started pulling for my Florida teams, though I still do love the Gators. I had taken notice week one when the Bills destroyed the Chiefs, and then again when they came back against the Raiders. Last weeks game, though, was the stuff of ages. It was as if the football gods, for one day at least, decided to right an awful lot of wrongs that the Bills have been suffering. And, it taught me a lesson. This is the NFL. Tough it out. Stay with your team because the only thing that you can count on is change. Bad teams can get better really quick in this modern age of football. The Bills might go anywhere from 16-0 to 3-13 this year, but either way, I've learned my lesson. I'm back...I'm home, and I'll never leave again. If the team moves out of Buffalo one day, we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. I hope to be welcomed back by the fanbase here, and I'll stay a regular on the forums, and I deserve some ribbing for leaving in the first place..and I'm prepared to take it! GO BILLS!! Welcome back... Yet I can't help feeling that true fans never leave to begin with.
Rob's House Posted September 30, 2011 Posted September 30, 2011 Not to condem you at all, or call in to question your "fandom", I understand what you are saying. But, for me, I have never understood how anyone can make a conscious decision to switch allegences to a team. I understand that it happens, just not sure how it happens. In 1999 Doug Flutie was my favorite player. When he was benched for the playoffs I was disgusted. The next year when there was a QB controversy, I became more disenchanted with the team. In 2001 when Rob Johnson, despite proven incompetence, was named the starter, and most of the guys I'd cheered for over the years dispersed, I followed Flutie et. al. to San Diego for a year and cheered for the Flutie led Chargers to beat the Rob Johnson's of Buffalo. The next year with Wade Philips (who at the time I blamed for benching Flutie) & Rob Johnson out, I came back to the team after a 1 year hiatus. But having stuck through Williams, Mularkey, & Jauron I don't feel one bit like a fair-weather fan.
Defend Greece Posted September 30, 2011 Posted September 30, 2011 In 1999 Doug Flutie was my favorite player. When he was benched for the playoffs I was disgusted. The next year when there was a QB controversy, I became more disenchanted with the team. In 2001 when Rob Johnson, despite proven incompetence, was named the starter, and most of the guys I'd cheered for over the years dispersed, I followed Flutie et. al. to San Diego for a year and cheered for the Flutie led Chargers to beat the Rob Johnson's of Buffalo. The next year with Wade Philips (who at the time I blamed for benching Flutie) & Rob Johnson out, I came back to the team after a 1 year hiatus. But having stuck through Williams, Mularkey, & Jauron I don't feel one bit like a fair-weather fan. Well you are
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