Emotional attachment to Bills - perspective welcomed

[Bufflow4]

Today is my 35th birthday and all week I have been much more excited with anticipation for the Bills game rather than for my birthday.
 

I remember sitting on my Bills beanbag chair as a little kid, right in front of the tv, watching the Bills in the early 90s.

 

Who would have predicted that the Bills would have only lost 3 games this year with the 5th hardest strength of schedule. That Allen is in the MVP conversation with Rodgers and Mahomes. That since the buy week our offense has been ranked #1 in total yards and our defense #3 in total yards. That we would be absolutely demolishing teams by the end of the regular season. I could go on and on.

 

More than a few times this season, my wife has laughed at me while I’ve been watching games and commented on how I resemble a little kid in my excitement. This year has been so much more fun than I could have ever expected and this team has outperformed most every expectation. No matter what happens tomorrow, the future is looking bright.
 

That being said, I want a win so bad. Nothing would make me happier and I really hope my one birthday wish of a Bills win comes true!

[TheNorwoodStrangler]

It is normal for Bills fans, I think its more than sports and like you said its a lifestyle or a way of life.. Obviously if we lose tomorrow we're all going to be devastated and hurt but we gotta remember what we've witnessed these last 25 years.. Hitting over .500 felt good and seeing our logo in the "In the Hunt" graphic in late November was a amazing.. Being 6-6 or 6-7 and having the false hope in our hearts that that crappy team was going to make the playoffs because we could still win out.. Now we are in the divisional round and our goal was to make the playoffs and win a game ✔✔.. We're playing with house money now and a loss tomorrow will hurt but we have to remember its looking like we have 10+ more years of this.. Lets enjoy it!!

[zow2]

Went to Rockpile games in the late 60’s with my grandfather, was at inaugural Bills game at Rich Stadium. been to 2 of the 4 Super Bowls.  watch every game with my son now.  Bills are so much a part of my life and still super nervous for Sat night.

[ganesh]

34 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Just out of curiosity, has an NFL team ever gone 17-3 before?

Highly unlikely.

 

In order to win 17 games and the SB, you have to go undefeated in the playoffs.   Which means you needed :

* win 13 games in regular season and go 13-3 

* win 4 games in the playoffs 

 

No other option is possible.   If they win 4 games in the playoffs including the SB, then they would have had to enter the playoffs as a wild card.   

 

A team that finished 13-3 and didn't win a division because there was a 14-2 or a 15-1 team is very unlikely.  It is possible but unlikely

 

Ideally with our 13-3 record, we should have had a by and required to win only 3 games in the playoffs to win the SB...but with the changed format, we have to take a slightly longer route....Go Bills

[billspro]

I’m just as crazy as everyone else on this forum, haha. Literally every break I have Im looking up Bills information. 

[PrimeTime101]

Well written well said. 100%

[LABILLBACKER]

At this point in my life after obsessively cheering for this team for 53 years, all I want is 1 SB. Along comes a California kid who no one believed in.  I think before I call it a life I'll see that Lombardi raised. And I'll see my Bills brethren on Cloud 9.

[LeGOATski]

I think you deal with it by setting appropriate expectations beforehand. This is entertainment. It's fun to watch your team play. A single football game presentation can contain more drama than a season's worth of Real Housewives. Realize that you're team will continue providing you entertainment for years to come and that's all you really need. Don't just acknowledge it, realize it. Get into that frame of mind.

 

All you need is to be entertained.

 

That's why even the worst Bills teams were entertaining. It's alright to get riled up during the game. Let it all out. Express yourself in your way. After the game's over do a little meditatation, or whatever helps calm you down, and get back to the right frame of mind. That positive Bills fan frame of mind.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Like you OP, I’m not originally from Buffalo, but proudly have loved this team through thick and mostly thin since 1990, along with the community of fans we are a part of even in diaspora. It never fails that even this far South, I hear “Go Bills” from someone in public while rocking Bills gear...you get it. 😃

[LOVEMESOMEBILLS]

 

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Just out of curiosity, has an NFL team ever gone 17-3 before?

 

No team has ever finished 17-3. Several Super Bowl winners finished the regular season 13-3, but all were #1 seeds with the exception of 2 teams. Both of those teams finished as #2 seeds and unfortunately both went on to beat us in the Super Bowl. They were the 1990 Giants and the 1992 Cowboys.

 

 

 

 

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/ranking-every-super-bowl-champion

[Doc Brown]

3 minutes ago, LOVEMESOMEBILLS said:

 

 

No team has ever finished 17-3. Several Super Bowl winners finished the regular season 13-3, but all were #1 seeds with the exception of 2 teams. Both of those teams finished as #2 seeds and unfortunately both went on to beat us in the Super Bowl. They were the 1990 Giants and the 1992 Cowboys.

 

 

 

 

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/ranking-every-super-bowl-champion

Off the top of my head I think the Titans beat us in the WC game with a 13-3 record.  They had a chance to do it that year.

[Steve Evans]

7 hours ago, MiltonWaddams said:

You are far from alone. My anxiety starts Wednesdays and doesn’t end until the game is over. Many times my happiness is directly tied to the success of the team. I wish it wasn’t and that I could just be a supporter, but I am a rabid fanatic and have been since 1987. 
The Bills are not a team, they are a lifestyle and it’s not always healthy.

 

100% this!!

[Dan Darragh]

6 hours ago, zow2 said:

Went to Rockpile games in the late 60’s with my grandfather, was at inaugural Bills game at Rich Stadium. been to 2 of the 4 Super Bowls.  watch every game with my son now.  Bills are so much a part of my life and still super nervous for Sat night.

Me too on the Rockpile and me too on the first Rich game (although it wasn't called Rich yet).  

 

Been living overseas for 30+ years now, only get back every now and then.  Still have not witnessed the Bills winning a game.

 

My sons (and now my grandson) are afflicted with Bills fandom for which they blame me.  For some reason with no encouragement from me, they became Sabres fans also, which increases the pain exponentially.

[Seasons1992]

If by "obsessed" you mean pacing my house for 3 hours every gameday, yes. Count me in.

Last Saturday aged me a LOT. And I already look like crap for being 42.

[HOUSE]

Hi,

I became a fan in early November and when the Bills started winning every game, I quickly hopped on the bandwagon

 

 

 

.

Edited January 16, 2021 by HOUSE

[BearNorth]

Original Bills Fan here since 1960.  Veteran of the Rockpile end zone.  Have a 41 year old son who's been a Bills fan since he was in diapers.

[Apocalypse Nuts]

I often wonder the same thing.  I'm not from Buffalo (but likely in a past life or something) but I've been a fan for 30 years now.  Started just before the first SB and stuck with them through those four heart breakers and the next few decades of frustration.  I really like the underdog mentality of the franchise and the city and I know that my high opinion of Bills fans and Western New Yorkers is a big part of my loyalty.  That Niagara Square rally after the first SB is what finally sold me for life.  Bills fans are just amazing.  This is really the only sports team I follow to this extent and it's just become a part of my life.  My wife gets so tired of hearing about the Bills (esp this season!!!!) but she humors me. 

 

Part of it is I think we're all obsessed with seeing our Bills win the SB after all those losses in a row.  That was a great era and those teams had some great players that were just good dudes too.  Hard not to root for guys like that.  A lot like we have today again.  And then riding out the next couple of decades of mostly-misery, it kind of becomes a part of you.  You know the way this current team is being built and all the quality people in the organization (esp the Pegulas!) is really something to be appreciated.  If I were just now choosing a team to root for I couldn't imagine one more respectable than the Bills.  Makes me feel like the universe paid attention to all of our collective suffering, yet unwavering loyalty, and might be finally paying us back.  Heck just giving us Josh makes up for a whole lot of those bad season.

[Moulds 808080]

Began loving the Bills at the age of 9 now I'm 46. Had no ties to Buffalo what so ever but growing up in south Florida as a Bills fan has not always been easy.

I have not missed a bills game on Tv or in person in over 20 years. My grandson turned 1 this week and my daughter wanted to plan his birthday my reply was lets see what time were playing and what day than we will plan his birthday. Tomorrow we  celebrate his birthday and I hope I am the happiest person at the party because we won!!!!!

[Apocalypse Nuts]

32 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

If by "obsessed" you mean pacing my house for 3 hours every gameday, yes. Count me in.

Last Saturday aged me a LOT. And I already look like crap for being 42.

 

I can never sit down anymore while a game is on t.v.  My family knows to stay at least 6 feet away for their own safety.  I can get a little animated. 

[26TrapDraw]

10 hours ago, Rockee96 said:

Hi,

 

I am a 39-year old from California who has been a die-hard Bills fan for the past 30 years. It all started when my mother bought me a Thurman Thomas rookie card for my 9th birthday in 1990. I started watching Bills games rooting for Thurman because I wanted the value of the card to go up. The rest is history, as I fell in love with the team, witnessed Wide Right, the Super Bowls, the heartbreak of Music City Miracle, short-lived joys, and long-suffering during the past 3 decades. I've flown to Buffalo from Cali to watch Bills home games only to see them lose over and over until I finally witnessed a win in 2018 (when Josh beat the Titans). I've met great friends during the tailgates who welcomed me with open arms and who still even to this day are so kind to me, 3500 miles away. 

 

I am writing to you because I want to see if my attachment, passion, or more accurately obsession for the Bills is normal. I feel like I love our team too much, to the point it hurts. There have been many times where I wished that I stopped being a Bills fan because it hurt too much. In fact, there was a week (during the Doug Whaley era) that I tried to psych myself into being a Denver Broncos fan because I was so tired of us losing and being disappointed - that only lasted for 30 minutes. I know deep inside that until I die, I will remain a Bills fan no matter what. But it hasn't been easy. 

 

This week has been surreal for me. I've never been so happy and proud of my Bills, as they excelled this year and gave me a sense of joy that I haven't felt since I was in elementary school. Yet I never been so petrified and anxious before a game as I have been the past 25 years. I want them to win so bad on Saturday, yet I am trying to be realistic and temper my expectations. I know that if we lose, I will be so disappointed that I am afraid how I will take it. If anyone has any words of encouragement should this happen, I would appreciate it. Is there anyone else that feels as I do, or am I the only one? 

 

You see, I've tried to understand the psychology, the inner depths, of why I like our team so much. I mean at the end of the day, it's a bunch of athletes in red, blue, and white uniforms who get paid a lot of money to play a kids game. They don't know me personally, they are rich, and have their own lives. I'm not even from Buffalo. Heck, every year new people come and go. I have a good job, have a loving family, and am healthy - I am grateful for the blessings in my life. But what is it about the Bills that causes me to pour out my heart and my soul? Why do they cause me to be so elated, yet so sad? Sometimes, I wonder what is wrong with me and what I can do to overcome my attachment to our team. My friends in California cannot figure out why I love our Bills so much. 

 

I've been wanting to share my thoughts with you but wasn't sure how this will be received. But I thought I had nothing to lose. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

 

Thanks,

Thomas 

 

 

You my friend just encapsulated what it is to be a Bills fan perfectly.