The dual nature of being a Bills fan of my age

[Helpmenow]

I've been following the Bills since 1963, and it hasn't gotten any better. For crying out loud, I snapped at my mother yesterday after Orton's second interception, and she's 90 years old. Does that make any sense?

 

When I was spending a mission year in Peru in 1991-92, a few months after Wide Right, the country was being terrorized by the Sendero Luminoso, a radical group trying to overthrow the government. They used kidnapping, assassination, shakedowns, etc. and would blow up the power lines to throw Lima into chaos. One night I was driving back from a dangerous shantytown, during a blackout, and got lost. Two men with ski masks, dressed in black, stepped in front of the car and motioned me to stop. I figured this was it, these were the terrorists, and they were going to kill me, or at least steal the car, in which case the pastor would kill me. Turns out they were special police forces, guarding police headquarters. Unbeknownst to me I was driving the wrong way down a one-way street right toward the police h.q., and they thought I was a terrorist! The last thing I thought after I'd stopped the car and they cautiously approached, guns drawn, motioning me to roll down my window, was "God, I only wanted to see Buffalo win one Super Bowl before I died."

 

I know, that's sick.

 

But if we could just win one Super Bowl...

 

John Hummer

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I think what you are experiencing is the normal evolution of a fan.

 

Honestly, on football sundays I have more fun talking to the waitresses at the place i go to to watch the game, than i do in watching the game itself. They're lovely creatures.

[PolishDave]

Honestly, on football sundays I have more fun talking to the waitresses at the place i go to to watch the game, than i do in watching the game itself. They're lovely creatures.

You are either watching games on Aero Drive or Lundy's Lane then. Mind if I join you?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

You are either watching games on Aero Drive or Lundy's Lane then. Mind if I join you?

 

 

I'm in the Lehigh Valley, PA. So neither.

[TPS]

Over the years I've learned to take it less seriously. See the post by Rob's House in the thread "My sad farewell as a Bills fan" over in Off The Wall, as he expresses how my sentiments have changed over the years too. I do watch them and attend games, but I've learned to chuckle when things go wrong. After the loss, I actually felt a sense of relief.

 

In the end, it's just a game, and it is mainly about an industry that wants our money. Buffalo is luckier than most, as we have an owner that wants to use the team to make money but also help rebuild the WNY economy. So I'll continue to give them some $ because the overall game experience is still fun, especially the tailgating with friends. I went to the Browns and Packers games, and I couldn't remember the last time I saw them win before those games. They must be getting better...

[billsfan714]

I think after you cross the 5-0 you look at a lot of things differently. For me, it really hit me that I am hopefully in my last full decade of working and you can see a goal(retirement) getting closer.

 

As for watching the Bills, I buy Sunday ticket to watch all the games but I dont get too high or low. Ive watched enough football to know this isnt an elite team, so the playoffs weren't on my radar. I predicted 6-10 so they actually exceeded my expectations by 2 games. Sure you can look at a few plays here and there and we could of been 10-6. But after the superbowl years a one and done wild card berth doesnt get me excited. The part that does get me frustrated is the drafting. Taking too many runningbacks, corners billed as shutdown then they dont even make a probowl. Craptastic QBs. You can point to some hits, and you can say every team has misses but we have had too many misses especially in the early rounds. For example, people will say we traded down took EJ and got Kiko in the second. Well if you crap the bed with the 1st pick, well not exactly a great draft. Its Maybin, its Troup, its passing on Ngata when just about every friggin mock draft that year had him going to the Bills. This team needs a Polian draft, a draft where you get future HOFs, I thought about this the other day, after the SB teams what player have we drafted that will make the HOF---Lynch maybe and he's playing for the Seahawks. You combine that with coaching hires that have been less than stellar and you get 15 years no playoffs..

 

I will become more emotionally invested when I see a team thats elite. Until then I hope for the best but watch games waiting for the implosion and you know its going to happen.

Edited December 22, 2014 by billsfan714

[PromoTheRobot]

I'm 56. Been a diehard fan since I was 9. (1967) Two things. 1) You can't let the team ruin your life. If it's that bad, don't follow the team. For me I learned to enjoy the experience of fandom, being at games, tailgating, etc, but also learned to just shake off the frustration. It's just a game. Be pissed for a minute then shrug it off. 2) Anyone can be a fan of a winning team but it takes fortitude to be a fan of a perennial loser. Many people I meet who find out I'm a Bills fan have some grudging respect for people who stick it out. And when the day finally comes that they do win it all it will be like a 55 year tantric orgasm. Then it will all have been worth it.

Edited December 22, 2014 by PromoTheRobot

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I'm 56. Been a diehard fan since I was 9. (1967) Two things. 1) You can't let the team ruin your life. If it's that bad, don't follow the team. For me I learned to enjoy the experience of fandom, being at games, tailgating, etc, but also learned to just shake off the frustration. It's just a game. Be pissed for a minute then shrug it off. 2) Anyone can be a fan of a winning team but it takes fortitude to be a fan of a perennial loser. Many people I meet who find out I'm a Bills fan have some grudging respect for people who stick it out. And when the day finally comes that they do win it all it will be like a 55 year tantric orgasm. Then it will all have been worth it.

 

Oh believe me, this isn't some "woe is me, I'm quitting" thread. I passed that stage about 8 years ago. Rather, it's about the enlightenment gained in the suffering of 31 years of fandom.

[Dopey]

I've learned to take it in stride. I love the NFL and hope we are moving in the right direction(I think we are). Having said that, I will not waste 3+ hrs next Sunday watching them play the Pats. Bring on the draft!!

[Chandler#81]

I've been following the Bills since 1963, and it hasn't gotten any better. For crying out loud, I snapped at my mother yesterday after Orton's second interception, and she's 90 years old. Does that make any sense?

 

When I was spending a mission year in Peru in 1991-92, a few months after Wide Right, the country was being terrorized by the Sendero Luminoso, a radical group trying to overthrow the government. They used kidnapping, assassination, shakedowns, etc. and would blow up the power lines to throw Lima into chaos. One night I was driving back from a dangerous shantytown, during a blackout, and got lost. Two men with ski masks, dressed in black, stepped in front of the car and motioned me to stop. I figured this was it, these were the terrorists, and they were going to kill me, or at least steal the car, in which case the pastor would kill me. Turns out they were special police forces, guarding police headquarters. Unbeknownst to me I was driving the wrong way down a one-way street right toward the police h.q., and they thought I was a terrorist! The last thing I thought after I'd stopped the car and they cautiously approached, guns drawn, motioning me to roll down my window, was "God, I only wanted to see Buffalo win one Super Bowl before I died."

 

I know, that's sick.

 

But if we could just win one Super Bowl...

What a story! Thanks for sharing it!

I, too, have been a fan since '63. So, yes, I recall CHAMPIONSHIP Seasons. As for a title in the N-fl before I'm on the wrong side of the grass, I've pretty much surrendered to the unlikelyhood. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's bigger than the Bills -or Sabres. It's a Buffalo/WNY 'thing'. It's just simply Not gonna happen. Through nearly 6 decades, yearly hope has been replaced with the eventuality of failure. A never-ending winter..

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

What a story! Thanks for sharing it!

I, too, have been a fan since '63. So, yes, I recall CHAMPIONSHIP Seasons. As for a title in the N-fl before I'm on the wrong side of the grass, I've pretty much surrendered to the unlikelyhood. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's bigger than the Bills -or Sabres. It's a Buffalo/WNY 'thing'. It's just simply Not gonna happen. Through nearly 6 decades, yearly hope has been replaced with the eventuality of failure. A never-ending winter..

 

Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?

[jahnyc]

!5 years of not making the playoffs is just too long. I want to be patient, but I am not sure what Marrone brings to the table. The defense is run by Schwartz, and the things that Marrone seems to have input on (the offense generally, including game planning and the o-line) have been terrible. Does he do other things well, such as leadership and other head coaching related skills? I have no idea.

 

While I am very frustrated about the team's performance over the last number of years, I am extremely happy that ownership has been passed to the Pegulas. I cannot imagine how we would all be feeling if we had a frustrating team coupled with a new owner who planned to move the team at the end of the current lease. I am at least thankful that we have a chance to be successful in the future in Buffalo, and that we are not fans of the Chargers, the Rams or the Raiders.

 

One last holiday wish. Please hire a consultant (Ron Wolf) to figure what is gonig on with the Bills and what needs to be done to fix things.

[peterpan]

I'm so sick of being a bills fans. It's a curse and I hate it! It's like a heroin addict, knowing that they have an addiction and it's destroying their life but every Sunday comes around and they give in.

 

You want to know something? I actually wanted the team to get sold and moved. Then I would have been free. Free from this awful awful curse. The bills would have died and I could have enjoyed watching other teams play good football.

 

The bills do not deserve fans. They do not deserve to be an NFL team and should be demoted to the area league or banished to canada or something. The are heroin.

 

 

[The Frankish Reich]

John Hummer

A Braves reference! Although I really wanted the Bob Kauffman jersey.

 

I guess there's something to be said for being in the same situation as lots of fans. 43 years since my first Bills game. Over the last 15 or so I've become used to switching allegiance (temporarily) to my new local team -- the Broncos -- when the Bills drop out of contention. At least that didn't happen in November this year. I'm getting a little tired of saying that we're poised to make a run next year. The last time I said that, and really, really meant it, was in 2011. I will admit I actually said the following: "Ryan Fitzpatrick reminds me of Kurt Warner, the way he doesn't have the strongest arm but seems to have an uncanny ability to hit receivers in stride." Denial is a powerful psychological phenomenon ...

 

I'm so sick of being a bills fans. It's a curse and I hate it! It's like a heroin addict, knowing that they have an addiction and it's destroying their life but every Sunday comes around and they give in.

 

You want to know something? I actually wanted the team to get sold and moved. Then I would have been free. Free from this awful awful curse. The bills would have died and I could have enjoyed watching other teams play good football.

 

The bills do not deserve fans. They do not deserve to be an NFL team and should be demoted to the area league or banished to canada or something. The are heroin.

I thought the same thing. Then I said it here and everyone jumped me. But since I've always said I'm a Bills fan until I die or until they move out of Buffalo, it seemed the better option ...

[May Day 10]

"Ryan Fitzpatrick reminds me of Kurt Warner, the way he doesn't have the strongest arm but seems to have an uncanny ability to hit receivers in stride." Denial is a powerful psychological phenomenon ...

 

With a healthy Fitzpatrick the past 2 seasons, what do you think the results would be?

 

I really think we could have been on a 2 season playoff streak right now

[The Frankish Reich]

With a healthy Fitzpatrick the past 2 seasons, what do you think the results would be?

 

I really think we could have been on a 2 season playoff streak right now

I think this proves my point ...

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

I think this proves my point ...

 

Does it?

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

the problem is you bought into Orton. for that alone you should be discouraged.

 

FWIW lose the Orton Avatar and move on.

[May Day 10]

I think this proves my point ...

 

yeah, I was agreeing with you. Contrast the runs Fitz had to secure a critical victory over the Bills vs Orton not even getting hit and going down and sliding short of the 1st down vs the Broncos.

 

Fitz is not great. But he would have been much better than the garbage that was rolled out here the past 2 seasons. Also frustrating to think they were paying him as well

[The Frankish Reich]

Does it?

Well, one thing it does prove is this: we certainly wouldn't have been worse off just sticking with Fitzy the last 2 years, using the draft pick on someone other than EJ, and saving the money we're still paying Fitzy and now paying to Orton as well ...