Chance encounters with current/former Bill players. Did it change your opinion of them?

[ToGoGo]

10 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

Why even bother with posts like this?  Either share your story or don’t 

How was Jim Kelly’s camp?  Was it actually helpful for you as a player or more of a chance to rub elbows with NFL stars?

 

Everyone seems to have a Jim Kelly story they don't want to share. 

[teef]

2 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I have Fina’s autograph from probably 30 years ago now haha, he was a super nice guy.

he was a genuinely nice guy.  i almost have too much of his stuff as he would give things to give to his aunt to give to my mom.

 

i first me him at a saturday practice walk through, and he wanted to talk to the point of where he needed to be called back to practice.

[Big Turk]

8 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

Why even bother with posts like this?  Either share your story or don’t 

How was Jim Kelly’s camp?  Was it actually helpful for you as a player or more of a chance to rub elbows with NFL stars?

 

It was pretty helpful actually. You were with your position groups learning things(I was at TE/DB) and then they would have the QB group come in and throw with you and you'd work on things together and then you ended up having scrimmages.  

[teef]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

It was pretty helpful actually. You were with your position groups learning things(I was at TE/DB) and then they would have the QB group come in and throw with you and you'd work on things together and then you ended up having scrimmages.  

and those scrimmages, while flag, were pretty intense.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Old guy here. This reminds me of a story from my Bethlehem Steel days when I was a mere 19 years old. I was working with a grizzled old Hells Angel (old being like 30 years old). And I asked him where did he get hit the chip on his shoulder. He related to a story of him waiting outside the dressing room door of Lou Costello of Abbott and Costello fame when he was a kid. He asked Lou Costello for an autograph, and Costello turned around and said to him - EAT SH*T, KID and calmly walked away ...

[PonyBoy]

I was volunteering for a fight  cancer celebrity fund raiser. Mark Kelso was one of our celebrity bartenders. When he walked in, the girl I was working with didn't know him. She asked for the cover charge please. I told her no he's a Buffalo Bill, he's one of our celebrities. We all laughed, but you know what? He paid the cover charge anyway. Pretty cool moment. 

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

Ran into Josh Allen at the Super Market.  I said hi. He just mean mugged me and kicked me in the nuts, and then I thanked him.....best day of my life. 

 

 

 

[Big Turk]

9 minutes ago, teef said:

and those scrimmages, while flag, were pretty intense.

 

Hell yeah...lots of trash talk going back and forth both ways. Flag but full contact flag with blocking.

 

 It was funny because I was kind of "husky" growing up...not really fat per se, but just kind of a bigger kid that didn't look athletic, but I was super athletic. Both in terms of quickness and I was pretty fast, but the first scrimmage game the other team didn't know that so they put some fat kid on me that was an OL type player and I laughed, told him "you better get some help over here" and looked at our QB and was like, I'm open deep and he just nodded and basically I took off from the line and blew past the dude within like 10 yards and went for a TD.  After that the dude was like "I need some help over here!!" until they finally put someone good on me...

 

I used to love doing stuff like that...be the last dude picked when choosing teams with new kids and then dominate them and they'd be stunned hahaha

Edited October 6, 2022 by Big Turk

[Nextmanup]

38 minutes ago, jayg said:

Jim Kelly in Richmond,  VA in 1991.  Let's just say he wasn't very nice and I'll leave it that.

What fun is that?  We need details.

 

 

[Matt_In_NH]

I was visiting my parents in Fort Myers and I was walking from their clubhouse to their house and I walked right by Sammy Watkins....he waived and said hello.  He had a familiar face but I was not expecting him and I couldn't place it til about 20 seconds later.  My parents had no idea he lived around the corner.  This was his 2nd or 3rd year.

[Nextmanup]

34 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Watched SuperBowl XXXVIII -Patriots - Panthers with Drew Bledsoe at a mutual friend's house. He was super nice. We talked some football strategy and also cars and wine. This was before he started his Doubleback winery. 

I'm a gearhead myself.  Do you recall what car he was driving then?  Or did that not come up.

 

 

[1bufwarfan]

Met Andre Reed at Hall of fame , during Bruce Smith's induction.

Really nice guy, took time to take a picture with me ...👍

[aristocrat]

Ran into Jp in New Orleans during St Patty's day. Bought a buddy of mine and I a beer and shot. Super nice guy. 

[boyst]

met charles woodson when he was in high school - watched him play a game against my future high school. best athlete i've ever seen. his speed was unmatched. he took a 3 step drop into coverage, ran across the field through traffic to make the stop on the RB option sweep to the other side. i've never seen anything like that. so fast

 

have met a bunch and ran into plenty. just treat them like anyone else. i don't groupy.

[Logic]

When I was in Buffalo for the Titans game a few weekends ago, AJ Epenesa was eating wings two tables down from me. 

I didn't bother him or talk to him, but I came away with this thought: That guy is ***** enormous. In my mind, I considered him one of the "smaller" defensive ends on our squad. I don't know WHY I thought that, since he's listed at 6'6", 260 lbs.

Anyway...I'm an idiot. The guy is massive.

[BuffaninSarasota]

Takeo Spikes at a PGA Superstore in Atlanta just after he retired....super nice & approachable. Told him I watched him play at Auburn & that I'm from Buffalo - his face lit up, he smiled from ear to ear and said "y'all are the BEST". Got his autograph.

 

Yes, he has the biggest neck on a human being I've ever seen.....

Edited October 6, 2022 by BuffaninSarasota
add

[teef]

11 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Hell yeah...lots of trash talk going back and forth both ways. Flag but full contact flag with blocking.

 

 It was funny because I was kind of "husky" growing up...not really fat per se, but just kind of a bigger kid that didn't look athletic, but I was super athletic. Both in terms of quickness and I was pretty fast, but the first scrimmage game the other team didn't know that so they put some fat kid on me that was an OL type player and I laughed, told him "you better get some help over here" and looked at our QB and was like, I'm open deep and he just nodded and basically I took off from the line and blew past the dude within like 10 yards and went for a TD.  After that the dude was like "I need some help over here!!" until they finally put someone good on me...

 

I used to love doing stuff like that...be the last dude picked when choosing teams with new kids and then dominate them and they'd be stunned hahaha

they really were like games minus the tackling.

 

funny you mention that story.  they loved weird  matchups.   a coach who brought a number of his guys with him had a tackle that was an absolute monster.  they were running OL/DL drills, and while i wasn't even part of it, i was called over to go against this giant kid because i assumed they thought it would be funny.  i couldn't go right at him, (i was 5'9" and 180 lbs) so i tried to quickly skirt around him.  well...this kid just took a weird turn and fell right to the ground.  he must have twisted something because he didn't take part in a single drill for the rest of the camp.  just bad luck.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I have a few:

Matt Cassel and Jerry Hughes were on my plane in the offseason we signed Cassel.  After this I KNEW Cassel didn't have the mental makeup to be a good QB.  

• Cassel - had priority boarding in first class.  hung out away from the gate after he checked in. basically waited with sunglasses on and snuck on the plane, then sat in the window seat with his hat and glasses covering his face.
• Hughes - Sat at the gate, signed autographs and talked to fans, with his wife and kids in tow.  While eating fried chicken.  

 

This past spring (maybe cinco de mayo, place was a freaking zoo) i went to Maizal in East Amherst and McKenzie and Moss were there with a few of the rookies.  I know i saw Shakir Cook and maybe Bernard?  In any case, they sat in the middle of the restaurant and i believe we sang happy birthday to Bernard and then obviously they got the restaurant bumping the shout song.  

 

The last one was way back in my younger days at encore.  Met Eric wood and a few other linemen.  Wood was quiet, Chris Hairston made out with my friend and was among the largest humans ive ever met.  

Edited October 6, 2022 by Bleeding Bills Blue

[Nextmanup]

My good friend's father used to have a pair of season tickets right across the aisle and like 1 row down from Kent Hull and Will Wolford...in the old Aud for Sabres games.

 

I saw them more than once when my friend's dad couldn't go and I got the ticket instead.

 

What I remember is how huge they both looked and how they literally did not fit in the little seats...and their knees were seemingly up around their chins as they sat that watching hockey.  Their bodies were just out of scale to the seats.  

 

Never said anything to them, but they looked like nice guys, always minded their own business.

 

I think they were genuinely fascinated by hockey and trying to learn the sport.

 

 

[Big Turk]

8 minutes ago, teef said:

they really were like games minus the tackling.

 

funny you mention that story.  they loved weird  matchups.   a coach who brought a number of his guys with him had a tackle that was an absolute monster.  they were running OL/DL drills, and while i wasn't even part of it, i was called over to go against this giant kid because i assumed they thought it would be funny.  i couldn't go right at him, (i was 5'9" and 180 lbs) so i tried to quickly skirt around him.  well...this kid just took a weird turn and fell right to the ground.  he must have twisted something because he didn't take part in a single drill for the rest of the camp.  just bad luck.

 

You were probably about ready to be killed by that coach after that hahahaha

 

Also, I smoked my roommate in that same camp in the drills as he was with the DB group and I got him like 3 or 4 separate times on routes and his group was getting on him for it and were like "You made your leagues all-star team and you can't even cover a fat boy??" and after the last one he was like "Man...you try to cover him, the dude can move!"  I used to be able to cut almost in a straight line without losing speed on in/out routes and used to give people fits...I have double jointed knees and always thought that gave me an advantage with that type of change of direction stuff...I found it funny but they usually didn't. 😂

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Big Turk