xsoldier54 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I grew up in Hornell and my sister went to Buff State. She brought my home a team poster that first year "60 and I was hooked. Watched every game as a kid and young adult until I joined the Army in '77. As soon as I saw NFL Sunday ticket, I bought DirecTV at the PX so I could get every game even though I was stationed in Oklahoma. I live in Newfoundland now and I still get Sunday ticket so I can watch every game. As for when I knew, I guess I always knew.
EmotionallyUnstable Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 January 8th, 2000 when #@$%^# Frank Wycheck ruined my life...
covac23 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I realized I was in for the long haul after Norwood missed that field goal. I was 5 years old and I responded to it by crying in the bathtub.
Matt in KC Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I've been a fan since day 1. My dad was a charter member of the Buffalo Bills Booster Club and I am probably the only card carrying member of the club in PA. I remember the heart break of losing to KC and missing out on Superbowl 1. I remember a game atht e Rockpile against the Bengals (late 60's), sitting in the "covered" endzone and having 4" of snow on top of our blankets and not being able to see the scoreboard. I was at the first game at Rich stadium sitting in the upper deck and watching buses roling into the parking lot in the 3rd quarter. Parking, etc. was a disaster for a while for sure! Hope springs eternal though, and I look forward to celebrating our first Superbowl win. Welcome to the board, Bob! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I remember my dad watching the Bills from my early childhood. I started watching with him in the mid 70's, though it took a few years for it to really feel like the Bills were my team instead of just the team my dad always watched.
BobChalmers Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 Watching them lose to the Steelers in the 1974 playoffs on TV with my Great-Uncle George. I would have been 11 at the time. I mostly lived in Maryland already but still had lots of family in Buffalo. Brought the habit of watching them lose home with me and became an avid fan entirely by myself - even though it was rare I could watch a game. Twice a year against the Colts and an occasional lucky double-header.
Tu-Toned Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) My grandparents lived in West Seneca, and in 1973 I watched the game when OJ broke the 2000 yard barrier. From that day on I was hooked. I lived in Rochester at the time and used to listen to the games on the stereo in the living room when they were not televised. Yes, it was in deed O.J. that solidified it for me. I had been watching the Bills with my Dad and Uncles before O.J. came on the scene, and I was a fan and knew about the 64 & 65 championships, loved Lamonica and Kemp, etc..But when O.J. came to the team, I think his rookie year was 69 and I was 9, my love for the Bills just took off, unfortunatley we moved to Florida the next year, and I had to endure the Dolphins 70's run in South Florida, no less. It just made me more of a fan, my die hard buddy Dolphins fan would take me to the Orange Bowl many times for games. I once made a sign that read "don't do drugs, get high on the Bills", and I must have looked like the biggest fool in the stadium, being a kid took some of the sting away, that and being no actual threat to their team helped as well. I swear the Bills missed an extra point one game in Miami during that 10 year reign they had on us and we lost something like 35-34, and I was at that game. Edited June 27, 2013 by Tu-Toned
TDO'Kearney Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I lived in Lockport in 1980 I remember how excited everybody was when the bills finally beat Miami but what cemented my fandom was the 1981 wildcard game against the Jets. Everything started right for the Bills on the opening kickoff to the Jets where they fumbled and Charles Rome's recovered and carried it in for a 7-0 lead. The Bills jumped out to a 24-0 leadin that game but barely hung on to win 31-27 when Bill Simpson intercepted Richard Todd in the end zone with seconds left amidst the garbage swirling at Shea Stadium. I remember my family laughing about the fact that in a post game interview Simpson was still clutching that muddy ball.
MHS75 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 "It" started in 1963 when I was 6. Became hooked in '64 and '65 when I had every Buffalo Bill trading card. And every Loblaw's photo (which got discarded when I left for college...horrors!) Still revere Sestak. Remeber Day's 80 yard+ fumble return for a TD and Van Miller calling that game....just timleess!
Bags Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 My fandom started during the 1966 season, when Jack Kemp led the Bills to their third consecutive AFL East crown after having won two AFL titles in '64 and '65. My dad took me to the championship game vs. KC at the Rockpile and, although we got blown out, I was hooked then (age 11) and never looked back. I moved away from the Buffalo area in '69 but I went to see the Bills play the Patriots, Jets, Giants and Chargers in their home parks whenever I could. I am still a rabid Bills fan to this day--you cut me and I bleed red, white and blue--and I know I will be until I cash in my chips.......
mousetrap08 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 Probably in the late 1960's is when I started being a Bills fan watching the games on black and white TV with my dad who loved the old AFL. I can not imagine my life without the Bills being a part of it because I have been a Bills fan for as long as I can remember. I was a season ticket holder for 12 years till I had my first heart attack and could not attend the games.
Guffalo Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I was a fan of Buffalo Bill before I was aware of the Bills. My Dad was the original cartoonist for the Bills and used to create the covers and interior artwork for the programs in the early 60's. I would watch him draw the old Buffalo Bill character and since we had the same name, I would try to find my name on the cover of the program (sometimes he would hide it in the grass, or in the fringe of the jacket). As I got older he would take me to games in the Rockpile and I became a Bills football fan around 1966.
Tu-Toned Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 "It" started in 1963 when I was 6. Became hooked in '64 and '65 when I had every Buffalo Bill trading card. And every Loblaw's photo (which got discarded when I left for college...horrors!) Still revere Sestak. Remeber Day's 80 yard+ fumble return for a TD and Van Miller calling that game....just timleess! Now that is a name I can relate to, kind of forgot about Loblaws
Chandler#81 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 Probably in the late 1960's is when I started being a Bills fan watching the games on black and white TV with my dad who loved the old AFL. I can not imagine my life without the Bills being a part of it because I have been a Bills fan for as long as I can remember. I was a season ticket holder for 12 years till I had my first heart attack and could not attend the games. Ha! black & white TV's! Painted my first football helmet white to be a Bills helmet. Then made Buffaloes out of black electric tape, cuz that's what 'color' they were. 1st time I saw the red buffalo I thought 'that's not the Bills logo!...' I was a fan of Buffalo Bill before I was aware of the Bills. My Dad was the original cartoonist for the Bills and used to create the covers and interior artwork for the programs in the early 60's. I would watch him draw the old Buffalo Bill character and since we had the same name, I would try to find my name on the cover of the program (sometimes he would hide it in the grass, or in the fringe of the jacket). As I got older he would take me to games in the Rockpile and I became a Bills football fan around 1966. I remember you posted many of his covers when he passed. I have them in my private picture collection. They're classic!
Buffalos#1Fan Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 You guys are all so old. Im only 21. My dad has been a fan since the 60s and it kind of just happened. I started following them closely in middle school
Chandler#81 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 You guys are all so old. Im only 21. My dad has been a fan since the 60s and it kind of just happened. I started following them closely in middle school Whippersnapper! Get off my lawn!
Ralph W. Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) When I was a kid. My father is a Boston fan (loves everything Boston). My first Baseball game when I was 7 was at Yankees stadium my father took me to see Boston vs Yankees. Little did he know that it made me a Yankees fan. Also around that time I used to sit in a bar that my family's friend owner and saw the Bills playing a game in a Blizzard and I fell in love with the Bills right then. My father didn't like this either since he was a Pats fan. My favorite Bills piece I own is a Buffalo Bill Fishing lure. I don't know of anyone else that has one and people always seem fascinated that NFL actually marketed fishing lol. Edited June 27, 2013 by Ralph W.
Dorkington Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 I didn't have a "home team" as a kid because I moved around a bit, so I latched on to "fun/good" teams in the late 80's... and that's how I'm stuck with the Bills, Lakers and Dodgers I was a big enough fan during their Superbowl years (the comeback game was amazing to see), but as the years have gone by, my fandom has actually grown, even with the team squandering in mediocrity. The most excited I've ever been about a win was beating the Pats a couple years ago.
KRT88 Posted June 27, 2013 Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) I was 8 years old, the Bills played the Raiders on Monday Night football sometime during the 1977 season. My dad was at the AFL title game just prior to the first Super Bowl at War Memorial Stadium. Edited June 27, 2013 by KRT88
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