Digging Deep - why do you remain a fan of this franchise?

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

many years ago I was visited by aliens and ever since that day ...........

[BigBuff423]

It's difficult to articulate in simple sentences as for me it dates back to adolescence. In early childhood my parents divorced and I moved around the quite a bit between Florida and Georgia and of course, Central New York - where both my parents are from. At age 13, my mother and I finally settled back to our hometown of origin and I began seeing my father much more than I did as a child, no fault of his but more of moving around so much, and that's when the BILLS began their string of 4 straight Super Bowl appearances. I loved football but was not a fan of any particular team, up to that point due to moving so much. I watched a number of Tampa Bay games and Atlanta Falcons games along with Georgia and Georgia Tech games but the BILLS were foreign to me until we finally settled back to the Central New York area.

 

When that time in my life came, I found a medium by which I could begin to feel like home was where I found my center - my grounded purpose in family. So as I watched the BILLS reign supreme over the AFC during those four years and I progressed through high school and getting a deeper connection to my Dad, a loyalty unfolded to a team that also represented something else I needed...a constant. They were there year in and year out and gave me thrills and pains but my pscyhe melded to the ups and downs our great BILLS team. When the organization became the laughing stock of the NFL, and living in an area where there are just as many if not more Giants and Jets fans, and were frequently disparaged by friends and family, my resolve became harder and my resolution to stay with them more staunch.

 

I realized the BILLS as a football team represented something greater than just a game or a team or players....they represented a powerful sense of - home. The place where I would watch football games with the leaves falling outside the window, where the cold rain would pelt the ground as the BILLS suited up on any given Sunday, and when the frigid winter's beginning would great the Ralph with heavy snowfall and watch the BILLS generally overcome the conditions and simply, win. The winning memories serve as fuel to fire the memories that this team was great once, and can be again, but most of all....they hold me in a place that keeps me feeling connected to home.

Edited November 14, 2013 by BigBuff423

[Fisher Bills]

born and raised, through thick and thin

[8-8 Forever?]

I spent a lot of time in that stadium…. made Bills scrapbooks of newspaper articles in the late sixties… imagine that blackmarbly scrapbooks with newspaper articles and photos taped to the pages.. with commentary… man we were hooked back then… wish I still had them.. precious childhood fan memories…

 

that stuff stays with you a long time..

[mousetrap08]

Did you ever hear the expression that there is a sucker born every minute well that's me.

Edited November 14, 2013 by shadowcat10

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I'm trying to get my kid to root for another team to spare her th heartache of being a Bills fan. It's not working. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that it's viral. You have no choice. Once exposed, you're a fan.

 

[RevWarRifleman]

I know he is....I can still hear him yelling at the TV .

Ha! LOL jkgobills, thanks for responding. Yeh, I bet your Dad still uses his choice words/expressions at the TV too. Go Bills!

[BuffaloBill]

It's difficult to articulate in simple sentences ....

 

Great story.

[smuvtalker]

To be honest, I wouldn't know how to be a diehard fan of another team. I first started liking football when i was six years old. I was born in Buffalo, and aside from me and my mom, all my relatives stayed there. We moved to Virginia when I was one, but every summer I would get to spend two weeks up in Buffalo with my relatives, and those were the best summers of my life. We would play football with a soda can, and one day the trash man gave me and my cousins an old beat up nerf football, and it was the best thing ever. The Bills were the first team I followed. I picked them up when they had Joe Ferguson, Joe Cribbs, and Jerry Butler on offense, and the only player I remember on defense was Freddy Smerlas. But that is when I began following them. They were never any good back then, and growing up in Northern Virginia, I remember the Redskins being great year in an year out, and going to the Super Bowl.

 

I think when I first realized I had become a true fan of the Bills is when I was 15 years old, and my dad and I were painting our old house. We had already moved into our new house, and had went back to the old house to paint it. My dad left the TV there, so we could watch the Bills vs Browns playoff game. I remember he had to tell me about 15 times to come upstairs and help paint, but I was glued to the tv. I watched the entire game, and on that final drive, my Bills "fandom" was officially born. I couldn't move watching the Bills march down the field at will. I jumped up in the air when Kelly threw the pass to Harmon because I knew he had caught it...but alas. Then when Kelly threw the interception, I just remember standing there, looking at the tv in disbelief. I couldn't believe it was over.

 

I've lived and died through the Bills ever since. Granted, I'm nowhere near as emotionally invested in them as I used to be now that i have a family of my own, but I still and always will love my Buffalo Bills. I'm praying that I live long enough to see them win a super bowl. I refuse to believe with all the parity that goes on now in the NFL that they won't make the playoffs within the next few years.

[BigBuff423]

To be honest, I wouldn't know how to be a diehard fan of another team. I first started liking football when i was six years old. I was born in Buffalo, and aside from me and my mom, all my relatives stayed there. We moved to Virginia when I was one, but every summer I would get to spend two weeks up in Buffalo with my relatives, and those were the best summers of my life. We would play football with a soda can, and one day the trash man gave me and my cousins an old beat up nerf football, and it was the best thing ever. The Bills were the first team I followed. I picked them up when they had Joe Ferguson, Joe Cribbs, and Jerry Butler on offense, and the only player I remember on defense was Freddy Smerlas. But that is when I began following them. They were never any good back then, and growing up in Northern Virginia, I remember the Redskins being great year in an year out, and going to the Super Bowl.

 

I think when I first realized I had become a true fan of the Bills is when I was 15 years old, and my dad and I were painting our old house. We had already moved into our new house, and had went back to the old house to paint it. My dad left the TV there, so we could watch the Bills vs Browns playoff game. I remember he had to tell me about 15 times to come upstairs and help paint, but I was glued to the tv. I watched the entire game, and on that final drive, my Bills "fandom" was officially born. I couldn't move watching the Bills march down the field at will. I jumped up in the air when Kelly threw the pass to Harmon because I knew he had caught it...but alas. Then when Kelly threw the interception, I just remember standing there, looking at the tv in disbelief. I couldn't believe it was over.

 

I've lived and died through the Bills ever since. Granted, I'm nowhere near as emotionally invested in them as I used to be now that i have a family of my own, but I still and always will love my Buffalo Bills. I'm praying that I live long enough to see them win a super bowl. I refuse to believe with all the parity that goes on now in the NFL that they won't make the playoffs within the next few years.

 

good story....and it's interesting that so often, the moments shared with family bring us to the heart of loyalty with this team