fansince88 Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 We have seen many posts over the years of where are you or how long have you been a fan but I dont recall anything like this so here we go. I was 13 years old in 1983 and was pulled out of a public school due to bad grdes and even worse direction I was headed. My parents put me in a private school 3 miles from my home where I met my life lonf friend Jimmy. He was a pastors son and a diehard Giants fan and eventually the best man at my wedding with the wife he set me up with. I had never watched a full football game before that year. We would hangout after church on sunday and ALWAYS catch a Giants game. You see he was from the Jersey shore area and I was from Long Island. We both moved to NNY when we were very young. So beginning in 83 I would always watch the games with him. Earned most of what I know about the sport in the next 4 years. Then in 1988 we were hanging together watching thw 1st game of the year and he said to me you know, I am a Giants Yankees and Rangers fan. You have to choose a team so you need to be a Jets fan. I refused to be as my dad and brothers were and I couldnt stant to be a fan of a NJ team. ( Dad stopped watching them when they moved out of NYC) Not sure why except rhe following week I was watching a Bills game with him and told him I was jumping on the Bills waggon. So at 18 yo I hitched on and chose them as my team. Have never missed a game on tv or at the stadium as long as I could help it and never shut it off. Of course Jim has never let me live the SB loss to the Giants down since. That is the story of the berth of my Bills fan saga. Thus fansince88! Lets go Bills and lets win a Championship! 4
r00tabaga Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Nice post! I saw the goalposts ripped down at my first game when I was 13 yrs old vs the Jets. I was hooked ever since. 2 1
JaCrispy Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) Vs the Browns in the 89 WC...loved that crazy offense! Edited January 4, 2020 by JaCrispy 1
Marv's Neighbor Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Been a fan since their beginning. I was in HS and college mid 60's when they were champions. I foolishly thought that would continue. So we've both had our rough stretches but having lived in N VA, Chicago, Houston (Oilers) and Seattle, I've never not been a BILLS fan. It's great to see us back near the top but have been disappointed enough to just hope for the W but....we'll see! 1 1
bobobonators Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Super Bowl XXV vs the Giants. I was a young kid in NYC and was rooting for the Giants. I felt so bad for the Bills when they missed the FG that i decided to start rooting for them from that point on. Little did I know how that was going to play out over the next 30yrs lol... 2
TroutDog Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Since I was a kid...called them my favorite team from about ‘77 but started seriously watching in ‘82. Went to the 2-14 year versus the Cowboys when Cribbs ran 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage. After I moved south, I got the ticket to watch and now I’m back in the ROC cheering a little closer. ? 1 minute ago, bobobonators said: Super Bowl XXV vs the Giants. I was a young kid in NYC and was rooting for the Giants. I felt so bad for the Bills when they missed the FG that i decided to start rooting for them from that point on. Little did I know how that was going to play out over the next 30yrs lol... I was at that game. Ouch. 2
Captain Caveman Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 15 minutes ago, r00tabaga said: Nice post! I saw the goalposts ripped down at my first game when I was 13 yrs old vs the Jets. I was hooked ever since. Was this the game in 88 when they clinched the division? That was my first game, went with my Dad and Uncle. I came into the game an 8 year old Jets fan (was born in NYC) and left a Bills fan. We also left my uncle behind in the ensuing hysteria. The last playoff game I attended was the 90 AFC Champtionship game where we beat the Raiders 51-3, hoping for some similar good luck inn Houston today. 1
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Somewhat boring story. Grew up in WNY and started watching football and getting into it around 1986 when I was 8 years old. Bills held a TC practice at my local high school in Rochester in 1987 and got hooked then after getting autographs from some of the players. Perfect timing— for the rise of those great teams! 1 1
JGMcD2 Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 My grandfather was a big Bills fan, he bought me this plush football when I was a baby, when you threw it or spiked it the shout song played. Unfortunately, he passed away before I turned two years old. I would always spike the thing growing up but never really paid too much attention to the team or games, I just liked the song (this planted the seeds for my fandom lol). My parents are also big Bills fans and passed along the history or their history with the team. They were living in Hawaii for all four Super Bowls but watched every game and every Super Bowl. The story they told me that always stood out was after the first Super Bowl loss when the team came back and the whole city was embracing Scott Norwood.... I remember I saw the video and fell in love. There was something about that whole exchange that made me realize that what Buffalo has is truly special. Now the Bills and I are inseparable. I went to school in Massachusetts and my roommate was a also a Bills fan. So many late night discussions about the team, constantly trying to one up each other with Bills knowledge, news, etc. I went to 6 different games this year, 4 on the road and was there when we clinched in Pittsburgh. 1 1
FLbills Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Just posted this in the thread by @Hellcamino regarding the Bills and the agreement with his wife. Seems to be a better fit in this thread tho. 4 hours ago, Hellcamino said: 52 years old, married to the Bills for 46 of them and I've never even been to Buffalo. I feel you on this one... 42 years old and been a fan since 1986. I have never stepped foot in the state of NY. My fandom started as my dad was a die-hard Steelers fan and I was talking trash during a Bills-Steelers game (just to poke the bear). Buffalo ended up winning the game, and since then, it has been all Bills all the way. With that being the background of my fan hood, good luck to the Bills and the diehard faithful who have waited a long time for this day to come back around. While they made it in 2017, it doesn't have the same feeling as this year. GO BILLS!!!! 2
JaCrispy Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 9 minutes ago, bobobonators said: Super Bowl XXV vs the Giants. I was a young kid in NYC and was rooting for the Giants. I felt so bad for the Bills when they missed the FG that i decided to start rooting for them from that point on. Little did I know how that was going to play out over the next 30yrs lol... Aww man, that sux...? 2
bobobonators Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 1 minute ago, JaCrispy said: Aww man, that sux...? Id have it no other way. 1 1
billsfan_34 Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Popped out and immediately thrown into a Bills onesie lol 1 3
wppete Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Been a bill fan my whole life. Only team on tv every Sunday. My whole family and friends are Bill fans also. 2
SinceThe70s Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Life time Long Islander, father was from Chicago so no ties to local teams. When I first started watching football, Jets and Giants were low on star value (Namath was on his last legs) and not winning. Somehow every year I liked a different team - who by coincidence had just won the SB. Dad took me aside and explained the error in my way. Back to the star value, I absolutely loved OJ - still one of the most exciting players I've ever seen - and since the Bills were from NY a choice was made and I never looked back. By 4th or 5th grade I was rocking a Bills jacket and hat to school (which was very unusual down here) and puts it around 1972-73. 1
jimmy10 Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 Born and raised in Rochester. Family are Bills fans, but I was a little kid during the Niners run in the 80s, and come from a big Notre Dame family, so all eyes were on Joe. But I’d argue your tween/early teenage years are when your fandom really starts to take hold, and that lined up perfectly for me with the Super Bowl runs. Being a dumb teenager, I just assumed your team was always really good and going to Super Bowls. Like most dumb teenagers, I was wrong. Spent about a decade living in a few different parts of the country but settled back home in ROC again, happily raising a couple of little Bills fans. 1
Golden*Wheels Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 I was a, 10 year old nerd for XXV, had never watched football really. Sat down with my dad to see this Superbowl thing, and he wasn't really a sports guy either. Seeing as it was more fun to have a team to root for, I asked my dad if had a favorite. He said the "Giants I guess, they are closer" (we live in CT). Simple logic because it didn't really matter to him either way. Well I had a choice myself....root with my dad, or against my dad. To me, it seemed like more fun to be rooting against each other. And here we are. 3
BuffaloMatt Posted January 4, 2020 Posted January 4, 2020 57 minutes ago, r00tabaga said: Nice post! I saw the goalposts ripped down at my first game when I was 13 yrs old vs the Jets. I was hooked ever since. I was at that game. Danced on the fifty yard line. Awesome! 2
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