As a Bills fan of the NFL, what keeps your fandom?

[Milanos Milano]

Sometimes I feel like the coaches and players do not care about the game of football and winning as much as the fans do. A lot of these players simply enter the league to collect a high paying job and playing a sport they love is 2nd place. 

Some fans love it for the simplicity of being entertained, even if they don’t win. It’s something to do on Sunday to pass the time and enjoy the community bond. 

 

As a fan of anything in life, I’m competitive, I just want to be dominant and the best I can possibly be at anything I do. Sure some entertainment does come from it, but it’s not the priority, its a byproduct of just wanting to win it all. 

 

I think fans like me will eventually lose interest at some point and revert back to more “pure” sport competitions that still have the spirit of winning and dominating and not something to just go through the motions to collect a check. I think it is why a lot of fans enjoy more college and HS sporting events than professional events. 

 

 

As a fan of the Bills, do you take it to personally like I do? Does being a perennial loser eat away at your fandom? Especially knowing that some players just seem to not really care about winning? I don’t think it’s the losing so much that bothers me (it does, but that isn’t the heart wrenching part of being a Bills fan). It’s possibly knowing that players aren’t giving 100% to win because they don’t care as much as fans do. Which sometimes gives off the impression that the NFL is fake or not worthy of following anymore. 

 

I’ve been a Bills fan all my life, and it’s sometimes really disappointing. Especially when you know you have an elite talent at QB that doesn’t come around very often. Then you begin to wonder if the team will ever win, and then you start questioning is it because of incompetence or just going through the motions of collecting money. 

Bills fans that are just in it for the entertainment likely don’t take the game as personally as I and other Bills fans do that prioritize winning above entertainment. That would explain why some fans lash out more often than other fans do. Then you start questioning each others fandoms and it spirals into a mess. 

 

It would be nice to have some of y’all to discuss how you feel about all of this. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Araiza Curse

[Beast]

What horrible poll options.

 

Good job.

[Milanos Milano]

1 minute ago, Beast said:

What horrible poll options.

 

Good job.

Lol what other options should be included? Most people are either a fan because they want to win, or simply just to be entertained on game day and winning is secondary. Just like how players seem to feel like winning is secondary and the money is the priority. 

[Fleezoid]

I selected winning Super Bowl. I'll always be a fan, and it's about winning. But I'm having doubts it'll ever happen. Here's why....

 

I came up with these numbers several months ago, so If I'm off, please pass it on.

 

Of the 57 Super Bowls 30 of them have been won by just 6 teams. So more than half of the Super Bowls have been won by less than 20% of the league. 

 

There are 12 teams that still have not won one. In the previous 10 years 2 teams came of that list starting at 14 dropping to the current 12. Philly and Seattle. You could say LA Rams, but LA got a win previously as the LA Raiders. In the next 10 years, how many of those winless teams will come off that list? My guess; probably 2 again, maybe 3. Might not mean much to some of you, but for the older folks, it's something to think about. It doesn't change me as a fan, but it certainly changes my expectations. 

 

So to the point of the OP, I haven't thought much about players not giving their all. I feel it's more like the Bills aren't winning one as a Cinderella team, or a team that catches just enough breaks to pull one out. They'll have to be so dominant to be able to overcome the breaks that go the other way just to eek one out. 

[Milanos Milano]

3 minutes ago, Fleezoid said:

I selected winning Super Bowl. I'll always be a fan, and it's about winning. But I'm having doubts it'll ever happen. Here's why....

 

I came up with these numbers several months ago, so If I'm off, please pass it on.

 

Of the 57 Super Bowls 30 of them have been won by just 6 teams. So more than half of the Super Bowls have been won by less than 20% of the league. 

 

There are 12 teams that still have not won one. In the previous 10 years 2 teams came of that list starting at 14 dropping to the current 12. Philly and Seattle. You could say LA Rams, but LA got a win previously as the LA Raiders. In the next 10 years, how many of those winless teams will come off that list? My guess; probably 2 again, maybe 3. Might not mean much to some of you, but for the older folks, it's something to think about. It doesn't change me as a fan, but it certainly changes my expectations. 

 

So to the point of the OP, I haven't thought much about players not giving their all. I feel it's more like the Bills aren't winning one as a Cinderella team, or a team that catches just enough breaks to pull one out. They'll have to be so dominant to be able to overcome the breaks that go the other way just to eek one out. 

This is a fair take, and I appreciate your input. Some people will view this as a troll thread, but I’m genuinely interested to understand why people are generally fans. Especially knowing and participating in all the terrible years of ineptitude we’ve been through. 

But my question to you is, why not us? Why not the Bills? Eventhough less than 20% of the league hasn’t won a Super Bowl, why can’t we become one of those successful franchises that have won multiple championships? Is it because our owners have been largely too inept or unwilling to spend money to acquire the talent needed? Pegulas seem to be willing to spend all the money needed, so why are we still struggling? That must mean it is because they have hired people that are too incompetent to bring in enough talent to win a championship or coaches to teach the talent enough to win a championships or a combination of both. Or it could just mean the players or coaches don’t really care enough, but which again reflects back on management and ownership on not hiring the proper people to win. 

At some point as a fan who cares about winning over entertainment, you begin to ask hard questions as to why we are not winning. Looking for ways to win it all, and questioning other fans or players about not caring enough to want to win. 

 

We already have Josh Allen, I don’t understand why we can’t get over the hump. The hardest piece has already been found, why can’t management make it work? 

[TheBrownBear]

I grew up in Buffalo and the Bills are just embedded in the lifestyle there.  If you're raised in Buffalo and come from a sporting family at all, you're going to be a hardcore Bills fan.  I've lived in California for the better part of 20 years, but I can honestly say that as long as the Bills stay in Buffalo, I'll remain a fan until my heart stops beating.  The Bills are in my DNA at this point.

[Milanos Milano]

Just now, TheBrownBear said:

I grew up in Buffalo and the Bills are just embedded in the lifestyle there.  If you're raised in Buffalo and come from a sporting family at all, you're going to be a hardcore Bills fan.  I've lived in California for the better part of 20 years, but I can honestly say that as long as the Bills stay in Buffalo, I'll remain a fan until my heart stops beating.  The Bills are in my DNA at this point.

This is also a fair point, and I understand this as I’m from the WNY region. But at some point the pain of ineptitude begins to eat away at your Bills blood. At least it has begun to do that with me. I don’t think I could ever fully quit the Bills either, but my caring levels have taken a hit recently because I just can’t understand wanting to be a fan in what appears to be perpetual ineptitude or  players not caring as much as the fans do. It makes you start questioning the spirt of the game, and it begins to feel fake. I don’t want that, because the moment to where the perceived “fakeness” grows to an unsustainable point, I just don’t see how the love for the professional league can keep alive. Football isn’t really an entertainment to me, it’s a way of life to dominate the competition. To win and to be the best for the spirit of competition. 

[Boatdrinks]

Just love the game and have since I first started watching in the 70’s. While the quality of the game has declined some imo, I still love it. So entertainment for me. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

As a kid I just loved watching the Bills and going to games. Greatest memories of my life.

 

As an adult I have a pain fetish. So the Bills definitely satisfy me.

[MJS]

For most people I'm sure it is mostly all of the above.

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

Just love the game and have since I first started watching in the 70’s. While the quality of the game has declined some imo, I still love it. So entertainment for me. 

So you don’t generally get overly emotional if the Bills lose a game, or if they don’t win a Super Bowl in a particular year? So not much slighted at coaching mistakes or management decisions? You just turn on the game and fully go in knowing that football will be played and you just digest it for what it is? 

 

I kind of wish I could enjoy game day like that, but it just isn’t possible for me. It’s winning or being upset and trying to understand why we lost and how to get better to the point to where we lose less and less. 

 

 

[teef]

this is really a terrible poll.  i want to be entertained, win and win a super bowl.  i don't know why they have to be divided up.  i'm at the point in my life where if the bills are playing terrible and i'm not entertained, i'll just move on for the game and wait for the next week.  fortunately we haven't had many games like this lately, but this poll...

[Milanos Milano]

Just now, MJS said:

For most people I'm sure it is mostly all of the above.

This is true, but if you had to prioritize one, which one do you prioritize? Like I’m happy the Bills are in Buffalo, but at the same time, I’m much much much more happy about winning and dominating the competition. 

1 minute ago, teef said:

this is really a terrible poll.  i want to be entertained, win and win a super bowl.  i don't know why they have to be divided up.  i'm at the point in my life where if the bills are playing terrible and i'm not entertained, i'll just move on for the game and wait for the next week.  fortunately we haven't had many games like this lately, but this poll...

It’s not really that terrible. There are some fans like me where winning is the priority, everything else is secondary or tertiary. Fans that prioritize winning take games personally and want accountability on all fronts so that we stop losing. It’s a different type of fandom, which is why I divided it up. 

[Royale with Cheese]

Because I'm a masochist.  

[teef]

3 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

 

It’s not really that terrible. There are some fans like me where winning is the priority, everything else is secondary or tertiary. Fans that prioritize winning take games personally and want accountability on all fronts so that we stop losing. It’s a different type of fandom, which is why I divided it up. 

wha?  well, i like to be entertained, and winning is more entertaining that losing, so i think it's reasonable to say that most people want to win, and not just you.

 

i get it. this is a weird poll to justify over the top whining or to determine what kind of fan we really are.  i think this is trying a bit too much, but that's just me.

[damj]

[Fleezoid]

8 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

As a kid I just loved watching the Bills and going to games. Greatest memories of my life.

 

As an adult I have a pain fetish. So the Bills definitely satisfy me.

 

Bills fan = 

[LABILLBACKER]

You still need good to great coaching to get over the hump. Brady, Montana and Mahomes all needed quality if not HOF caliber HC's to exemplify their amazing skills.  Josh is a HOF caliber qb but I still see his coaches holding him back.  I guess honestly I could select all 4 options all at once.

[Jay_Fixit]

I’m just a fan and always will be.

 

And no matter the reason, it won’t be any of those terrible options provided.

[Milanos Milano]

7 minutes ago, teef said:

wha?  well, i like to be entertained, and winning is more entertaining that losing, so i think it's reasonable to say that most people want to win, and not just you.

 

i get it. this is a weird poll to justify over the top whining or to determine what kind of fan we really are.  i think this is trying a bit too much, but that's just me.

You are likely closer to fanatic fan than casual fan. You want to win, period. You get mad and want accountability. There are a lot of fans that don’t care about that, they just truly enjoy football being on tv or going to watch it at face value. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with that, but the fanatics view it as complacency and stagnation which breeds indifferent talent on the field. People like me want a continuously hungry team and management that wins super bowls. We always say why not us? Why can’t we be a successful franchise that has won multiple championships in their history. You take it personal. That is a different kind of fandom. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Araiza Curse