Any other Long Suffering Bills fans just feel great about sticking with the team?

[Jonesyyy]

2 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

I starting being a Bills fan in 2001 as I was just starting to really get into the NFL and the Bills were a bad team I felt was an underdog and I could get into without being a "bandwagon" fan. 

 

Little did I know I was in for a lot of suffering. The TD era from 2002-2005 was a lot of up and down. Some quality free agent adds but poor drafting led to some up and down seasons where they were far too capped out to add the 2-3 pieces of talent they needed to get into the playoffs. But I felt like they could rebuild and compete in the near future after the wheels came off in 2005.

 

Then came the Jauron era which was poor free agency and poor drafting combined with cheap ownership (sorry Ralph the team wouldn't exist without you but he did not invest in the team.) Boneheaded decisions mixed with self imposed handicaps. That was another 4 years down the drain with a mediocre coach and a mediocre team. 

 

Then came the Chan era and I was honestly bottomed out at that point. The Bills had spent 4 years with a tired retread in Jauron and they hired another third tier retreat in Chan. And although I liked what Chan did with the offense it was just an era where you knew they weren't building to anything more than mediocrity with a cheap owner and a uninspiring coaching staff. 

 

But I stuck with my beloved Bills and then came the ups and downs of the Marrone and Rex eras where the ups and downs continued. They had talent but were never well coached and always had to cap themselves out to get into a position to be competitive but couldn't draft consistently to build up their talent base in a somewhat sustainable manner. 

 

But Pegula kept investing in the team and finally found someone that was going to rebuild the team the right way while also having the off the field investments. McD surprised and surpassed my expectations in 2017 making the playoffs and ending the drought. Finally lifting that dark cloud from the franchise. But they continued their rebuild in 2018 taking a step back to build a long term winner. 

 

Finally in 2019 they do what we all wanted them to do and rebuilt the O-line, they added a lot of skill position players around a young QB (giving a QB a chance) they added and retained their defensive talent which was already good. And now you have a 10 win team that has 2 games left to play and a chance at their division. I know nothing is guaranteed but it just feels good to be a Bills fan for once. 

 

I never got to enjoy the success of the 1990's (either the Super Bowl runs of the beginning of the decade or the solid competitive teams of the late 90's.) I know a lot of fans that came into watching the team post 2000 probably feel the same way as me. 

 

My first game my dad took me too was the old rock pile! If you are a real Bills fan you never give up on them!

[Rockinon]

You call that long suffering?

[Sundancer]

2 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

I am beyond happy about the season but not being a Bills fan was never an option. 

 

Exactly. What is this "happy you stuck with it" BS. 

 

You're in or you're out. You get to pass through the door one time only. 

[appoo]

You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding

[goldenboy81]

I been a fan since 1960 way before I was born and never ever considered quiting or switching. It's probably bad for my health how much the Bills control my life but wouldn't want it any other way..

Edited December 16, 2019 by goldenboy81

[PJBrown7]

Present! Been on this ride since the 1970’s! And thankful!

[Sundancer]

1 hour ago, I am the egg man said:

"Sticking with the Bills" ?

 

You mean remaining loyal ?

 

I call it being born in Buffalo. 

 

I lived in Rochester in the 80s into the 90s. That city is full of fans of other teams. They have a strange anti-Buffalo attitude even though the cities are basically suburbs of one another. I never could have imagined I'd meet as many Steelers and Dolphins fans--who were born in Rochester. They all hated the Bills with passion. So silly. Yay, you're special! I have some friends who have since moved away and they've adopted the Bills because it's "home," so they are getting that it's special to be tied to your place. 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Sundancer

[John from Riverside]

 

[Nanker]

I confess that after their 4th consecutive SB loss, I swore that I did not want The Bills to ever go to another one unless they won it all.

 

So blame me (and others like us) for the long drought. 

If my voodoo is correct, when they get to the SB again - they'll win it.

 

Go Bills!

[Helpmenow]

1 hour ago, JohninMinn. said:

Bills fan since 1963. Not once was there even a choice of not sticking with the Buffalo Bills. It is imprinted into my consciousness.

However, they are still capable of ripping my guts out as they ascend to the playoffs. I abhor moral victories.

Right behind you 1964 for me.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Helpmenow

[SoCal Deek]

To quote Galaxy Quest: 

“Never Give Up, Never Surrender!”

 

(Most people panned that movie. I thought it was hilarious!)

[DuckyBoys]

Gotta be exciting for some of you younger guys who didnt get to experience the super bowl era teams. 

[Gunsgoodtime]

2 hours ago, BillsFanSD said:

I've been a fan since the late 80s, when I was in high school.  Admittedly, I had a few "Why am I doing this to myself?" moments during the drought, but bailing out completely was never really an option for me.  I did make a decision to boycott Bills merch after they brought back Dick Jauron after the 2008 season, but that was the closest I ever came to turning my back on the team.  

 

Strangely, it was almost worth going through the drought to fully savor what we have now.  I literally cried in 2017 when the clock hit zero in the Cincinnati-Baltimore game and we ended the drought.  I absolutely love the team that Beane and McDermott have built.  Part of me wonders whether fans of regularly-successful teams like Pittsburgh (for example) really appreciate any of this sort of thing.

I dont think successful teams do, look at Pans fans, spoiled to the max, lose a game and fans are ready to jump ship.  Through all these bad years, it's what we are witnessing right now that has always been in the back of my mind, how special it is for us to be a Bill's fan today after all the suffering.  They could literally win the Super Bowl this year, anything can happen in January.  Also the day I'm not a Bill's fan is if they move the team or you are at my funeral 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Gunsgoodtime

[BearNorth]

I am an original Bills fan, (1 was 12 in 1960 when they played their first game in the Rockpile), many wonderful memories of games during my HS years, Jack Kemp actually was the speaker at our year end athletic banquet. My son [41] is also a Bills fan, Wide Right tested our faith, the Comeback restored it.  Have always followed the Bills, in the service, in college, and since then.  This year has lifted my spirits.

 

[Gunsgoodtime]

1 hour ago, HOUSE said:

If you pee on the bush long enough, it will eventually grow

Not sure about that, I got a lot if dead bushes around the house. I do quite a bit of drinking during games though, so there is that

[Steptide]

I'm super happy with the current regime at one bills drive, but I still want more from the offense. They're not a finished product yet. I'm excited (and cautiously optimistic) how good the offense can be if they add the right pieces. 

 

But to the op's point, yes it's been a long tike coming that. Bills fans deserve this 

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

Like most people here, I've been a Bills fan all my life. Was born in '90, and will be 30 this year. There's an odd part of me that's glad we lost those four back in the 90s. I remember the last two, a little bit, but was far from old enough to truly understand or appreciate it. My earliest memory of watching and truly understanding football was the Music City Travesty. Spent every Sunday with either my father, or my aunt watching the Bills.

 

So I've been following them with actual football knowledge about as long as you have. Never thought about jumping ship. Always knew every bad season meant that the year we finally win it all it's gonna be that much sweeter. My great grandfather (who I never met) was a season from day one. All four of my grandparents were die hard fans. My mom never really caught the bug, but all of her brothers and sisters did. My father always tells me the story of his dad (Who I barely remember), who was usually a very mild mannered guy, throwing beer cans out the window after the big Miami win in the 70s. I have an uncle and a cousin who lived and died without a championship. 

 

My point being, It's not just for me. I want to experience what they never did. And hopefully I can experience it while my father is still alive. It's something that bonds generations together, even in the worst of times on the field.

[Rocky Landing]

I was pretty much born into Bills fandom. I remember my father yelling "JUICE, JUICE" at the TV screen in the early seventies. I guess the four years we were losing the Super Bowl were pretty fun, but I was in my twenties back then, I wasn't really following them that closely, and I honestly don't remember much from my twenties. So, unquestionably, this is the funnest year I've ever had being a Bills fan. It feels... weird. Like an abused, stray dog that's still afraid to trust anyone. 

[Xwnyer]

3 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

I starting being a Bills fan in 2001 as I was just starting to really get into the NFL and the Bills were a bad team I felt was an underdog and I could get into without being a "bandwagon" fan. 

 

Little did I know I was in for a lot of suffering. The TD era from 2002-2005 was a lot of up and down. Some quality free agent adds but poor drafting led to some up and down seasons where they were far too capped out to add the 2-3 pieces of talent they needed to get into the playoffs. But I felt like they could rebuild and compete in the near future after the wheels came off in 2005.

 

Then came the Jauron era which was poor free agency and poor drafting combined with cheap ownership (sorry Ralph the team wouldn't exist without you but he did not invest in the team.) Boneheaded decisions mixed with self imposed handicaps. That was another 4 years down the drain with a mediocre coach and a mediocre team. 

 

Then came the Chan era and I was honestly bottomed out at that point. The Bills had spent 4 years with a tired retread in Jauron and they hired another third tier retreat in Chan. And although I liked what Chan did with the offense it was just an era where you knew they weren't building to anything more than mediocrity with a cheap owner and a uninspiring coaching staff. 

 

But I stuck with my beloved Bills and then came the ups and downs of the Marrone and Rex eras where the ups and downs continued. They had talent but were never well coached and always had to cap themselves out to get into a position to be competitive but couldn't draft consistently to build up their talent base in a somewhat sustainable manner. 

 

But Pegula kept investing in the team and finally found someone that was going to rebuild the team the right way while also having the off the field investments. McD surprised and surpassed my expectations in 2017 making the playoffs and ending the drought. Finally lifting that dark cloud from the franchise. But they continued their rebuild in 2018 taking a step back to build a long term winner. 

 

Finally in 2019 they do what we all wanted them to do and rebuilt the O-line, they added a lot of skill position players around a young QB (giving a QB a chance) they added and retained their defensive talent which was already good. And now you have a 10 win team that has 2 games left to play and a chance at their division. I know nothing is guaranteed but it just feels good to be a Bills fan for once. 

 

I never got to enjoy the success of the 1990's (either the Super Bowl runs of the beginning of the decade or the solid competitive teams of the late 90's.) I know a lot of fans that came into watching the team post 2000 probably feel the same way as me. 

Been a fan since 1964  will always be a Bills fan if Bills moved never would follow nfl 

[Green Lightning]

3 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

I am beyond happy about the season but not being a Bills fan was never an option. 

Ditto. I've been following them since 1963. Ain't going anywhere else.  If I can share for the likes of Mike McBath, Dennis Shaw, Preston Ridelhuber,  Earthquake Entart and a series of 2-12 teams I am here for the duration.