ChevyVanMiller Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) Rapid Reaction - 10 Observations About Today's Game Seeing as how I got back so late from the game, I thought I'd change it up a bit by making all of this week's posts about experiencing the game live at the Ralph. I know there are many Bills fans that never or rarely get out to a game at the Ralph. Hopefully, this will help you get a bit of sense of what it is like at the coolest stadium in all of the universe. 10) The Buffalo Stampede Drum Corps are really good. They are usually on the Abbot Road side of the stadium pregame and then lead the crowd in a "Let's Go Buff-a-Lo" chant as warm-ups are ending. Hate to say it former Jills, but you're really not missed on game day. 9) Whenever Mario Williams gets a sack (far too few times this season) a video plays on the Jumbotron of #94 in Super Mario world. Every time he eats a mushroom he grows bigger and sheds blockers on the way to sacking the QB. Pretty cool, especially if you came of age when Nintendo ruled the gaming world. 8) Every time an opposing team takes a time-out or gets a false start penalty due to crowd noise the Jumbotron shows a "Crowd Assist" tally. The 12th man got their 14th of the season on the errant snap that led to the safety early in today's game. 7) Speaking of the safety, it was surprising when the Shout song didn't play after the Bills took a 2-0 lead today. The Shout song plays after all TDs and FGs. It says here it should play after safeties, too. 6) When the Bills kick-off the fans serenade the team with the "Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah." from Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. The chant replaced the sound of stampeding Buffalo that used to signal that a kick-off was imminent. 5) I know there has been a lot of debate about the legitimacy of branches of the armed forces paying to be "honored" at NFL games, but I have to say that today's presentation before the Bills game was very moving and difficult to criticize. The unfurling of the full field-sized flag by local service men and women was visually-beautiful and emotionally-powerful. And the airplane fly-over was the cherry on top of a red, white and blue patriotic sundae. I salute all involved in making today's honoring of our local military personnel a reality. 4) My good buddy and rising country music superstar JB Aaron sang both the National Anthem today as well as a rousing version of "God Bless America" to salute the troops. As always, he nailed it and had the crowd cheering wildly. Nice job, JB. I'm so very proud of you and look forward to where your career takes you next. 3) The offense was announced individually this game. The response from the crowd was the same as it was the last time the offense got the honor. The cheers are pretty even for most players. They make a big jump up when Shady McCoy is announced. They jump even more when Sammy Watkins' name is called. When Tyrod Taylor is announced the cheers begin to crescendo and reach a point where, if the Ralph had a roof, it would be blown clear off. Tyrod is clearly the most beloved current Bill. 2) And Brian Moorman is one of the most beloved former Bills.The longtime Buffalo punter led the charge onto the field today and the cheers he received greatly eclipsed those given to other former Bills, like Lee Evans and Eric Moulds, that have recently led the charge. That tells me two things: 1) Bills fans are very loyal to former players and 2) Moorman was on some teams so horrible that the punter was easily identifiable as the team's best player. 1) My son and I started off the day taking in the ketchup and mustard ritual at Hammer's Lot. If you've never seen it with your own eyes, you have to put it on your bucket list. One of the coolest rituals in all of sports fandom. The big picture is that the Bills got themselves right back in the thick of the playoff picture with a big divisional win today and set up a huge showdown with the Jets and a certain bearded QB this Thursday night. Bills fans will be seeing a lot of red on the field for that game, here's hoping they're not seeing red after it ends. Edited November 9, 2015 by ChevyVanMiller
Dan Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Awesome post! Thanks. I've never seen a game at the Ralph. It's one thing in my life... I need to do.
Roc Bronson Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Awesome post! Thanks. I've never seen a game at the Ralph. It's one thing in my life... I need to do. You will never forget it win or lose. The stadium the atmosphere is electrifying.
Rico Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 3) The offense was announced individually this game. The response from the crowd was the same as it was the last time the offense got the honor. The cheers are pretty even for most players. They make a big jump up when Shady McCoy is announced. They jump even more when Sammy Watkins' name is called. When Tyrod Taylor is announced the cheers begin to crescendo and reach a point where, if the Ralph had a roof, it would be blown clear off. Tyrod is clearly the most beloved current Bill. Thanks, that's great to hear. I think it's clear that TT's detractors are a very vocal but also very small minority of the fanbase.
ChevyVanMiller Posted November 9, 2015 Author Posted November 9, 2015 Awesome post! Thanks. I've never seen a game at the Ralph. It's one thing in my life... I need to do. Hope you get the chance. There's nothing like being there in person.
The Adam Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 I've only been to the Ralph once, in 2002, and am not from Buffalo. What is the ketchup and mustard ritual? I feel bad not knowing since it is important enough to be #1.
moshermw Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Tyrod is clearly the most beloved current Bill. Predicted this at the start of training camp. The message here isn't so much "I told you so", but how much it warms my heart for this young man and that it's because HE gets to finally show the media and other NFL Fvcks how wrong they were about him being better off entering the draft as a WR. TT agent and TT will get paid in time but right now it's eff all-ya'll time for TT and his agent. Tonight would be a good night to review this special: Go Bills !
ChevyVanMiller Posted November 9, 2015 Author Posted November 9, 2015 Tyrod is clearly the most beloved current Bill. Predicted this at the start of training camp. The message here isn't so much "I told you so", but how much it warms my heart for this young man and that it's because HE gets to finally show the media and other NFL Fvcks how wrong they were about him being better off entering the draft as a WR. TT agent and TT will get paid in time but right now it's eff all-ya'll time for TT and his agent. Tonight would be a good night to review this special: https://vimeo.com/23294122 Go Bills ! Awesome. I've said here before that you were the one that first mentioned TT as a possibility for our next QB and many here, including yours truly, said, "Who?" So glad that you were right. Also, I'm glad to be a long-time poster on TSW because intel like you provided way back in January put me way ahead of the curve of the average Bills fan.
chef4131 Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Rapid Reaction - 10 Observations About Today's Game Seeing as how I got back so late from the game, I thought I'd change it up a bit by making all of this week posts about experiencing the game live at the Ralph. I know there are many Bills fans that never or rarely get out to a game at the Ralph. Hopefully, this will help you get a bit of sense of what it is like at the coolest stadium in all of the universe. 10) The Buffalo Stampede Drum Corps are really good. They are usually on the Abbot Road side of the stadium pregame and then lead the crowd in a "Let's Go Buff-a-Lo" chant as warm-ups are ending. Hate to say it former Jills, but you're really not missed on game day. 9) Whenever Mario Williams gets a sack (far too few times this season) a video plays on the Jumbotron of #94 in Super Mario world. Every time he eats a mushroom he grows bigger and sheds blockers on the way to sacking the QB. Pretty cool, especially if you came of age when Nintendo ruled the gaming world. 8) Every time an opposing team takes a time-out or gets a false start penalty due to crowd noise the Jumbotron shows a "Crowd Assist" tally. The 12th man got their 14th of the season on the errant snap that led to the safety early in today's game. 7) Speaking of the safety, it was surprising when the Shout song didn't play after the Bills took a 2-0 lead today. The Shout song plays after all TDs and FGs. It says here it should play after safeties, too. 6) When the Bills kick-off the fans serenade the team with the "Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah." from Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. The chant replaced the sound of stampeding Buffalo that used to signal that a kick-off was imminent. 5) I know there has been a lot of debate about the legitimacy of branches of the armed forces paying to be "honored" at NFL games, but I have to say that today's presentation before the Bills game was very moving and difficult to criticize. The unfurling of the full field-sized flag by local service men and women was visually-beautiful and emotionally-powerful. And the airplane fly-over was the cherry on top of a red, white and blue patriotic sundae. I salute all involved in making today's honoring of our local military personnel a reality. 4) My good buddy and rising country music superstar JB Aaron sang both the National Anthem today as well as a rousing version of "God Bless America" to salute the troops. As always, he nailed it and had the crowd cheering wildly. Nice job, JB. I'm so very proud of you and look forward to where your career takes you next. 3) The offense was announced individually this game. The response from the crowd was the same as it was the last time the offense got the honor. The cheers are pretty even for most players. They make a big jump up when Shady McCoy is announced. They jump even more when Sammy Watkins' name is called. When Tyrod Taylor is announced the cheers begin to crescendo and reach a point where, if the Ralph had a roof, it would be blown clear off. Tyrod is clearly the most beloved current Bill. 2) And Brian Moorman is one of the most beloved former Bills.The longtime Buffalo punter led the charge onto the field today and the cheers he received greatly eclipsed those given to other former Bills, like Lee Evans and Eric Moulds, that have recently led the charge. That tells me two things: 1) Bills fans are very loyal to former players and 2) Moorman was on some teams so horrible that the punter was easily identifiable as the team's best player. 1) My son and I started off the day taking in the ketchup and mustard ritual at Hammer's Lot. If you've never seen it with your own eyes, you have to put it on your bucket list. One of the coolest rituals in all of sports fandom. The big picture is that the Bills got themselves right back in the thick of the playoff picture with a big divisional win today and set up a huge showdown with the Jets and a certain bearded QB this Thursday night. Bills fans will be seeing a lot of red on the field for that game, here's hoping they're not seeing red after it ends. Drum Corps are awesome, before they go into stadium they stop in front of our Tailgate Lot 2 I wish I knew how to post cell phone video Love them, #nomoreJills
ChevyVanMiller Posted November 9, 2015 Author Posted November 9, 2015 (edited) I've only been to the Ralph once, in 2002, and am not from Buffalo. What is the ketchup and mustard ritual? I feel bad not knowing since it is important enough to be #1. Well, it involves some impassioned speeches delivered from the top of a van with a mounted platform. Shots are done from the holes on a bowling ball. Often, a jersey or other item from the opposition is burned in effigy. Nearby, food is cooking on the hood of the famed Pinto while a man dances around in a full ketchup costume. Finally, a solitary man appears below and requests some ketchup for the hot dog he holds aloft. The result looks like this: Edited November 9, 2015 by ChevyVanMiller
Rubes Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Excellent post. I also like the tip of the cap there to Larry Felser, if I'm not mistaken.
BmarvB Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Awesome. I've said here before that you were the one that first mentioned TT as a possibility for our next QB and many here, including yours truly, said, "Who?" So glad that you were right. Also, I'm glad to be a long-time poster on TSW because intel like you provided way back in January put me way ahead of the curve of the average Bills fan. I'll admit, I was also among those that asked who the hell is Tyrod Taylor. He's showing us who he is, and we're glad to have him here.
Formerly Allan in MD Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 At least most of the TT detractors are now in hiding. Johnny Unitas needed some time. In fact he even got cut before the Colfs picked him up.
ChevyVanMiller Posted November 9, 2015 Author Posted November 9, 2015 Excellent post. I also like the tip of the cap there to Larry Felser, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, it was a tip of the hat to the late great Mr. Felser. Nice catch.
NOVABillsFan Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 Overall a good game. Plenty of points scoredTaylor played well with his feet and armboth of the RB's were very good. Two thumbs up to Karlos WilliamsSammy was lights put as expected (thanks Doug)the Defense bent but didn't break.Romans play calling at times was head scratching
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted November 9, 2015 Posted November 9, 2015 I kinda take at least some of the credit for the "Crowd Assist" thing. They did it in New Orleans, and it seemed like a cool way to acknowledge and encourage fan involvement for the benefit of the team. I brought it to the Fan Advisory Board and the team adopted it.
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