Does any part of you miss the losing?

[Bobby Hooks]

I miss the lead up and entire draft. It’ll take some getting used to the draft not being our super bowl. 
 

Of course, that means the super bowl is actually our super bowl, so that feels good. 
 

3 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

No.  I don't miss the incompetence that plagued the team for many years.  Now in December I'm thinking Super Bowl.  Years ago I was hoping for more losses so that 1) The Bills would get a higher draft choice &/or 2) The bad management would get fired or quit.  Actually they went hand in hand-I didn't trust the management to draft the right players, so I was hoping they would be drafting so high it would be a no brainer who to pick.  Yet, team history showed that even with a top 5 pick the Bills would screw it up. The last 3 top 5 Bills draft choices all had one thing in common: When they were with the Bills they were lazy guys who didn't take their job seriously.  Watkins, Darius & M. Williams were all massive underachievers.  I blame the guys who drafted them more than the players themselves.  The players had character flaws that should have been evident pre-draft. Add to that the last 2 1st round QB picks before Josh: Trading up for JP Losman & then boxing themselves into a corner & drafting EJ Manuel.  

 

Beane showed me that with good management draft position really doesn't matter.  I learned that lesson in 2018 when I thought that by drafting 21 & 22 the Bills had guaranteed more years of QB hell.  When Beane moved from 21 to 7 and ended up with the best player in the draft, I learned that with a good GM you don't need to bottom out like I always thought the Bills had to do.  I still remember that even after the Bills moved up to 12 in 2018, I was resigned to a bad fate when the Jets moved from 6 to 3, guaranteeing them the chance at a franchise QB. Fortunately, the teams picking ahead of the Bills weren't managed very well (only 1 of the GMs from the 5 teams that drafted before 7 is still on the job) and we got lucky nobody ahead of pick 7 saw the potential the Bills did in Josh Allen.   

 

In summary, I prefer planning for Super Bowl Sunday in December than planning for the draft in December.  

I’d just like to say I posted my post at the same time as yours so I didn’t steal your draft vs. super bowl stuff. 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Bobby Hooks

[NewEra]

Another great post by this guy.

 

No.  

[Albany,n.y.]

2 minutes ago, Bobby Hooks said:

I miss the lead up and entire draft. It’ll take some getting used to the draft not being our super bowl. 
 

of course, that means the super bowl is actually our super bowl, so that feels good. 

I’d just like to say I posted my post at the same time as yours so I didn’t steal you draft vs. super bowl stuff. 

I type pretty slowly and this often happens to me.  By the time I post someone has mentioned something similar.  

[Shaw66]

16 hours ago, Einstein said:

Before you immediately jump to answer "NO", realize that this question does not mean that you don't like winning.

 

I enjoy the Bills recent success and I root for a championship trophy. I have a man crush on Josh Allen that my colleagues find odd. That being said, part of me misses the drama of Flutie v Johnson, Bledsoe v Losman, the Fitzpatrick upward trajectory followed by the downward trajectory, top 10 pick draft talk, checking the playoff tiebreakers to find a 1 in 1,000 chance of making the tournament, etc. I wonder if the large swings in outcomes of the past created a dopamine response in my brain.

 

Does anyone else feel this way? Or perhaps I am in a party of one?

 

 

Yes.   At least temporarily. 

 

Being the mediocre team the Bills gave me some sense of certainty.  I could see and understand what the problems were - it was easy, week and week and season after season to analyze and understand how the QB, for example, needed to improve.  Hope and despair were consistent and constant companions.  

 

The stability that came from the relentless need to move beyond the mediocrity is now gone.  I feel like I'm on unstable ground.  I still find it hard to understand that one of those great quarterbacks I used to watch and dream of, the Montanas, the Favres, the Peytons, is now on my team.  I still find it hard to understand that the Bills are the team to fear on everyone's schedule.  It leaves me uncertain, and I haven't gotten used to it.   

 

Worst is that from time to time I find myself thinking this can't last, something will go wrong.   It's a crappy feeling that I fight off as well as I can.  

 

I don't want to go back, for sure, but I haven't adjusted emotionally yet.  

[Nextmanup]

17 hours ago, Einstein said:

Before you immediately jump to answer "NO", realize that this question does not mean that you don't like winning.

 

I enjoy the Bills recent success and I root for a championship trophy. I have a man crush on Josh Allen that my colleagues find odd. That being said, part of me misses the drama of Flutie v Johnson, Bledsoe v Losman, the Fitzpatrick upward trajectory followed by the downward trajectory, top 10 pick draft talk, checking the playoff tiebreakers to find a 1 in 1,000 chance of making the tournament, etc. I wonder if the large swings in outcomes of the past created a dopamine response in my brain.

 

Does anyone else feel this way? Or perhaps I am in a party of one?

 

 

I don't really feel that way, but I know where you are coming from.

 

Right now we are living "the good days" with the Bills and I really wouldn't trade it in for something different.

And yet, without question, it is kind of boring.  It was exactly the same during our Super Bowl years.

 

I remember going to a Jets game at home during that run.  Kelly was lighting up the field with bombs and connecting all over the place.  We were ahead 21 to nothing at the end of the first quarter, and then sailed on to a very easy win.

The game was almost over at the time it began.  Is that stuff fun?  In a way...but it's incredibly boring and it is most certainly NOT a "good" football game to watch.

 

There is a reason why every romantic movie ever filmed has the guy getting the girl only in the last scene...narrative tension and conflict are what hold your interest.

 

A movie where a guy walks up to the hottest girl in the bar and says "date me" and she says "sure!" is not really an interesting story to tell.

 

It's the same with the Bills now.  Reading countless threads here praising this guy or that guy, this stat or that, is kind of fun on one hand, but it's not that interesting nor does it hold my attention.

 

I'm still just trying to enjoy the games themselves, one at a time, and pray to God we actually get a SB win out of this era so we can all relax a little bit.

 

 

[Spiderweb]

17 hours ago, Einstein said:

Before you immediately jump to answer "NO", realize that this question does not mean that you don't like winning.

 

I enjoy the Bills recent success and I root for a championship trophy. I have a man crush on Josh Allen that my colleagues find odd. That being said, part of me misses the drama of Flutie v Johnson, Bledsoe v Losman, the Fitzpatrick upward trajectory followed by the downward trajectory, top 10 pick draft talk, checking the playoff tiebreakers to find a 1 in 1,000 chance of making the tournament, etc. I wonder if the large swings in outcomes of the past created a dopamine response in my brain.

 

Does anyone else feel this way? Or perhaps I am in a party of one?

 

 

Who are you? Why are you here?

[Billsfan1972]

4 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Yes.   At least temporarily. 

 

Being the mediocre team the Bills gave me some sense of certainty.  I could see and understand what the problems were - it was easy, week and week and season after season to analyze and understand how the QB, for example, needed to improve.  Hope and despair were consistent and constant companions.  

 

The stability that came from the relentless need to move beyond the mediocrity is now gone.  I feel like I'm on unstable ground.  I still find it hard to understand that one of those great quarterbacks I used to watch and dream of, the Montanas, the Favres, the Peytons, is now on my team.  I still find it hard to understand that the Bills are the team to fear on everyone's schedule.  It leaves me uncertain, and I haven't gotten used to it.   

 

Worst is that from time to time I find myself thinking this can't last, something will go wrong.   It's a crappy feeling that I fight off as well as I can.  

 

I don't want to go back, for sure, but I haven't adjusted emotionally yet.  

Wide right (still one of the worst drives ever as the Bills easily should have been at least 10 yards closer), Music City Miracle (wouldn't have happened if Flutie QB'd that week and Ralph Wilson didn't stick his nose into the qb controversy) & 13 seconds (how badly and many errors did the coaching staff make?) and there are many thinking the same as you.😡  

Edited September 21, 2022 by Billsfan1972

[RobbRiddick]

I miss being able to wrap my arms around my wife and have both hands touch

[MPL]

I felt last year's playoff loss to the Chiefs for days after it happened. I felt last year's 4th and 1 slip against the Titans for days after it happened. The loss to the Jaguars left me in a sour mood for the rest of the day. I'd like to say that I miss the losing years because the games didn't matter all that much to me when my expectations were lower... but that simply isn't the case. Even when I had no Super Bowl expectations, watching the team start 5-1 in 08 and only win 2 games the rest of the way was rough. The losses hurt regardless if the team is good or bad because there was always some hope that the team would achieve more than you expected. That hasn't changed. So, no—I don't miss the losing years. 

[NewEra]

@ScottLaw seems to have fallen off the earth.  No posts in 12 days.  Things are so good that he can’t find anything to complain about.  
 

Did we invest too much in the DL?

[Royale with Cheese]

15 hours ago, NewEra said:

@ScottLaw seems to have fallen off the earth.  No posts in 12 days.  Things are so good that he can’t find anything to complain about.  
 

Did we invest too much in the DL?

 

He came back yesterday just to dislike one of my posts.

 

If I change my screen name to Kumerow, he might dislike all my posts.

Edited September 22, 2022 by Royale with Cheese

[May Day 10]

I dont miss it in the least.  The only thing is kind of a 'desperation' in the crowd of being the underdog and feeling like all of us had to give 100% of our energy during the games to will the Bills to victory.  We have a boisterous crowd, but that edge is gone.

 

Itll be back at some point.  I am thoroughly savoring this ride now, whether it lasts 15 years or 1 more day.

 

 

[Jauronimo]

At the risk of sounding crazy, I am rather enjoying the wins and the success.  I even look forward to more winning.  If I'm being honest, I am more than a little curious to know how it feels to be the fan of a super bowl champion.  

[Success]

I'm without speech.

 

 

 

[eball]

"@Einstein, party of one...your table is ready."

 

[The Frankish Reich]

I’ve talked to many hardcore Red Sox and Cubs fans over the years. And yes, while they wouldn’t dream of trading their recent successes for a decade or two of additional failure, I do get the sense that there was something they perversely enjoyed about being fans in their lovable perennial losers. It’s kind of a clubby thing — only the truly committed pay attention to a team that always falls short, sometimes way short. An elite club of losers. Or loser supporters. 
Hey, I’m not there yet with the Bills! Give me a couple Super Bowls and I may start pining for the days of Jauron and Marrone. I’m just saying I get it, the OP’s question. I mean, a kinda get it. A little🤔 

[warrior9]

It's really funny this is a topic. I was walking in to the house the other day and I told my girlfriend (she's from AZ so she's currently being converted), "In a weird way, it kind of sucks being as good as we are. When we play a game now, I expect us to win as opposed to wondering which team will show up. I kind of miss the unknown of whether or not we're going to win."

 

Do I miss it, really? No... I think we've just been so conditioned to accept being mediocre as opposed to feeling good when we're winning.

[FunkyBoy1212]

There was always the unknown during each off season; hoping and praying that maybe this new coach will turn things around or that new journeymen QB was the piece we've been missing. It made things sort of exciting in a dark and strange way but we were the Bills, deep down I knew we would be losers. Some years we would start out on fire, like the first year Bledsoe was here or when Trent Edwards became the starter and looked quite promising but ultimately we would fall apart and watch Brady run away with another division title. It made every draft really exciting because I always thought maybe this would be the year that we finally get lucky and get the right pieces to finally have a winning team. Nobody in the national media talked about the Bills and we rarely ever got a primetime game, none the less a home field game. 

 

Fast forward to the present day and we are far and away the media darlings. Everybody is picking us to win the SB. Announcers are gushing over our QB like they used to with Favre, Manning, Rodgers, Brady and Mohomes. Every sports talk show personality, locally and nationally, can't get enough of how dominating the Josh Allen led Bills are right now. 

 

It's all, kind of....weird! I love it but it's something I'm not used to. It's like I feel a ton more pressure when they play. These Bills are not the lovable losers anymore: They are the team that opposing teams are afraid of and circle on their schedules. 

 

I definitely don't miss the losing, I just worry they won't live up to these insanely high expectations. 

 

Go Bills!

[Saxum]

22 hours ago, Einstein said:

Before you immediately jump to answer "NO", realize that this question does not mean that you don't like winning.

 

I enjoy the Bills recent success and I root for a championship trophy. I have a man crush on Josh Allen that my colleagues find odd. That being said, part of me misses the drama of Flutie v Johnson, Bledsoe v Losman, the Fitzpatrick upward trajectory followed by the downward trajectory, top 10 pick draft talk, checking the playoff tiebreakers to find a 1 in 1,000 chance of making the tournament, etc. I wonder if the large swings in outcomes of the past created a dopamine response in my brain.

 

Does anyone else feel this way? Or perhaps I am in a party of one?

 

 

 

More found of you losing your keyboard than losing game but that is just me.

[TBBills]

The only people that miss Bills losing are @FilthyBeast, @ScottLaw, @Gene1973 b.c it was when negativity was accepted.

Edited September 21, 2022 by TBBills