26CornerBlitz Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 @kevconnorsespn @kevconnorsespn: If you missed it-our tribute to the late #VanMiller tonight. A legend & an icon. RIP.
vorpma Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 can't leave out Larry Felser writing it all up afterwords. RIP all!
jester43 Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 "Fergy back to pass, pressure's on, he's running backwards, and they've got him, 15-yard loss and here comes Greg Cater, the Bills are out of field goal range. How do you like that!" Sadly, yes. Talk about a witness to suffering! RIP Van, you were the greatest. @kevconnorsespn @kevconnorsespn: If you missed it-our tribute to the late #VanMiller tonight. A legend & an icon. RIP. wow that brings a tear t0 your eye!
ChevyVanMiller Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 There will never be another Van. The Super Bowl years were brought to another level because of his radio calls. "Turn down the TV and turn up the radio," wasn't merely a suggestion in those days, it was a mantra for all Bills fans that wanted to get the most out of the game day experience. I am honored to carry your name forward here, Van. RIP
chaccof Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 Sadly, yes. Talk about a witness to suffering! RIP Van, you were the greatest. wow that brings a tear t0 your eye! That literally brought a tear to my eyes.....what a terrific announcer but maybe more importantly what a great promoter of the Buffalo Bills and WNY in general.... incidentally, am I correct in remembering that Van did NOT call OJ's 2000 yard game and season? How weird is that? Al Meltzer did the play by play on the radio that year, right?
ExWNYer Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 That literally brought a tear to my eyes.....what a terrific announcer but maybe more importantly what a great promoter of the Buffalo Bills and WNY in general.... incidentally, am I correct in remembering that Van did NOT call OJ's 2000 yard game and season? How weird is that? Al Meltzer did the play by play on the radio that year, right? Yes, along with the great Rick Azar.
vorpma Posted July 19, 2015 Posted July 19, 2015 Yes, along with the great Rick Azar. Rick Azar was great also, he had a Saturday show called Buffalo Bills Highlights. Back in those days it was the most extensive film coverage of the Bills.
BobbyC81 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 A fond memory of my youth listening to Van broacasting Bills & Braves games. Unfortunately, I only got to hear him for a few years doing Bills games because of the 7-year switch to WKBW and then I moved away. RIP Van!
Canadian Bills Fan Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 RIP Van. You were the best Thank you for everything CBF
negativo Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 He was a homer but he was our homer, dammit. RIP to a true Buffalo legend.
keepthefaith Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 He was a homer but he was our homer, dammit. RIP to a true Buffalo legend. Yes, and a darned good homer. Great guy.
26CornerBlitz Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 @JohnMurphyShow Phone in your memories of #Bills legendary PBP man Van Miller tonight 7-9pm @buffalobills Buffalo Bills retweeted John Murphy Special show tonight. Tune in on your Bills Mobile App or @WGR550. #RIPVan
BillsPride12 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 I've been tuned into WGR, 97 Rock and 103.3 The Edge all day when I've had the opportunity and its been great hearing all the Van Miller stories and famous playcalls....VAN MILLER MONDAY!
chaccof Posted July 21, 2015 Posted July 21, 2015 A fond memory of my youth listening to Van broacasting Bills & Braves games. Unfortunately, I only got to hear him for a few years doing Bills games because of the 7-year switch to WKBW and then I moved away. RIP Van! I always forget that Van did the Braves games too....who was his color man for the Braves? Wasn't Chuck Healy was it?
dhg Posted July 21, 2015 Posted July 21, 2015 @JohnMurphyShow Phone in your memories of #Bills legendary PBP man Van Miller tonight 7-9pm @buffalobills Buffalo Bills retweeted John Murphy Special show tonight. Tune in on your Bills Mobile App or @WGR550. #RIPVan Listened to most of it last night. It was a fun show to listen to with so many people sharing their stories of Van and how he influenced them in their careers.
Nighttime in Nigeria Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 About twelve years ago, my family and I were having dinner at Scotch N' Sirloin Restaurant on Maple Road. My brother was sitting across from me, and he spotted Van Miller over my shoulder. We weren't completely sure it was him until we heard that distinctive voice say, "I'll have the chicken cordon bleu." As a 13-year old, and already a big Bills' fan, I was eager to meet him, but didn't want to interrupt his meal. I saw him go to the salad bar, and I introduced myself, and that it was a pleasure to meet him. He was very kind. Later on that evening, we were preparing to leave, and my mom wanted to say a kind word to him, and how much meeting him meant to me. He then unexpectedly LAUNCHED into the following play call, right there in a packed restaurant: "[insert name here] breaks through at the 40, the 30, 20, 10, 5, touchdown! And the Bills have won the Superbowl!!" Everyone in the restaurant was looking over in awe, and I could not believe what I was hearing/witnessing: Van Miller put my name in a play call that won the Bills the Super Bowl. One of the most memorable moments of my entire life.
eball Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Fantastic story, Nighttime! By the way, received my season tickets yesterday...in the Van Miller club.
Buftex Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Somehow Van Miller has managed to become underrated in Buffalo sports lore. Why does Rick Jeanneret get SO much more attention as being a legendary broadcaster than Van Miller? This is something I have always wondered. I LOVE Rick Jeanneret and I will certainly miss him when he is gone too but I always thought he was more than a little hammy. Van Miller was the absolute best. John Murphy was so good as a color man back then too. That broadcast was perfect- it was the voice of my childhood. I am glad John Murphy is the head announcer now because of the link there but he will always be a color man in my opinion. Van Miller is my favorite sports announcer of all time, in any sport, and it's not even close. I will confess, growing up, I never really loved Van. It wasn't until after he was gone that I realized how much of an effect he has had on the way I "hear" sports in my head, even today, at 50. When I think of the Buffalo Bills, or different players, I can still hear Miller's voice in my head saying things like "EJ....looking...looking...he's got Sammy at the 30....20...15...10...and he is in for the touchdown"! For me, the team I most associate with Van Miller was the Buffalo Braves... I know this is all cliché, but I really was that kid who put his transistor radio under his pillow when he was supposed to be in bed, listening to Miller call the Braves games. John Murphy had a guest on last night (sorry can't remember his name)...he was the guy who wrote that awesome Buffalo Braves book "Home Of the Braves" a few years ago...it was a great interview, with lots of stories about Van. They also played a few minutes of Van calling Braves games...I seriously felt like I was 10 years old again... To your point about Rick Jeanerette...I know what you mean, but I still don't think he is overrated. He just comes from a different era, and came up as solely a radio guy...as a kid, I felt jipped when I "had" to listen to RJ on the radio, because that meant I wasn't seeing the game on tv, with the smooth tones of Ted Darling. But RJ always had a way of keeping it exciting, and you felt like you were in a sweaty little press box with him, watching the game. They are both fantastic. As for Murphy, I hate bagging on the guy, because I think he sounds like a hell of a good guy...but he is a little generic sounding, doing the games. I respect the fact that he doesn't try to mimic Van Miller, but his own style is just very perfunctory. I think Kelso is the star of those broadcasts, what little I hear.
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