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

[BuffaloBillyG]

I find my reasoning has changed the older I've gotten. I grew up with the 90s teams so I was all about seeing the Bills finally win one when I was younger. Man, I really used to let a Bills loss spoil my whole week and it bled out into other areas of my life. 

 

Then the drought hit and it really knocked me on my arse for a few years. About half way through it it became more about the GameDay tradition. The tailgating and spending time with friends I've made through the years. 

 

Now? Much of the same. Enjoying watching the Bills once again play competitive football with any team in the league. And while I'll always hope to see them get juuuuust one (at least) before my time is up, at the very least being able to get out with friends, meet now people and be part of a community bigger than imaginable keeps me around.

 

Much like many, a rather high percentage of my daily attire is Bills related. And just hearing "GO BILLS" wherever I am...be it the grocery store, Disney Land, WrestleMania, the Grand Canyon, and even perhaps a gentleman's club or two always makes me feel right at home.

[teef]

1 minute ago, Araiza Curse said:

You are likely closer to fanatic fan that 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 want 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. 

well no.   i don't take it personally at all.  why would you?  you have no input, no control, and no say in what happens.  it doesn't represent you as a person in any way, so no...i can't bring itself to take it personally.  to let a football team do that just doesn't seem right. 

 

i completely get getting mad. we've all been there.  accountability is more of a gray area to me.  we all wanted it after a loss, but meltdown on a message board doesn't seem productive to me.  i get the discussion and looking for solutions, but some have straight up adult tantrums, and hide behind wanting accountability.  not saying you, but there's a group.  

 

people can cope any way they want.  some will just look like #######s doing it.

[Milanos Milano]

13 minutes ago, teef said:

well no.   i don't take it personally at all.  why would you?  you have no input, no control, and no say in what happens.  it doesn't represent you as a person in any way, so no...i can't bring itself to take it personally.  to let a football team do that just doesn't seem right. 

 

i completely get getting mad. we've all been there.  accountability is more of a gray area to me.  we all wanted it after a loss, but meltdown on a message board doesn't seem productive to me.  i get the discussion and looking for solutions, but some have straight up adult tantrums, and hide behind wanting accountability.  not saying you, but there's a group.  

 

people can cope any way they want.  some will just look like #######s doing it.

Sorry, not you as in you personally. Just saying that “you take it personally” in describing bills fans that care the most about only winning. 

 

I do take it personally, like a lot. To the point to where I feel personally embarrassed as if I’m the one that sucked bad enough to lose. Maybe I do it because I’m a hyper competitive person that views any interests as an extension of themselves even if they cannot directly contribute. We all like to think we have some contribution (ie offering our own talent evaluation, or game analysis on what went right/wrong) or offering up solutions to win. I honestly probably shouldn’t, as it seems the players don’t even take it personally. It doesn’t appear they even let it be an extension of their identity and they just go through the motions. I think that is why people like me truly enjoy the “pureness” of non professional sports, because the spirit of competition does seem to be an extension of personal identity and they do take winning/losing personally. The main reason why people flock to the professional sporting world though ( even if that “pureness” is diminished) is because of the quality level of play is much more entertaining. I’m not sure the NFL will ever encapsulate the spirit of competition ( I think they once were closer to it than they are today), which I think fans like me will eventually lose interest. Especially if the “fakeness” level increases to the point where people start to detach from that kind of fandom. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Araiza Curse

[Success]

I was around for wide right & the rest of it.  I'm too invested at this point.  They either win a SB, or I will have no peace.

 

[Boatdrinks]

19 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

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. 

 

 

Never said that. Bills games are different than the others. Even if the Bills aren’t playing , which is obviously most NFL games , I usually have a team that I’d like to see win. Sometimes it’s  more a hatred for one franchise than caring about the other team. Other times it may be simply players that I like vs dislike. That’s part of being a fan for sure. It still comes down to a love for the game and everything that goes into it. The poll does say as a “Bills fan of the NFL.” I was an NFL fan before I lived in the Buffalo area. 

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

1 hour ago, Araiza Curse said:

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. 

[AuntieEm]

Buffalo is my hometown so I'd never cheer against any home team in any sport.  

 

 

As such I don't require the Bills to be good, I do require them to represent Buffalo well.  I enjoy seeing them win of course and want to see them win the Super Bowl but it is not the priority for me as they will always be my hometown team that could only change if I suffer some catastrophic memory loss but id imagine I wouldn't even know what the sport was in that case.

Edited August 21, 2023 by AuntieEm

[Augie]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

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

 

I don’t see how people can say they are “competitive” about something in which they are not participating and have no affect on the outcome. The team is competing, and we are fans.  Sure, I want to win and I love our Bills, but it’s mostly just entertainment. Both on the field and during non-game days like this. Nobody is competing today, but I’m still here messing around for fun.  

 

It’s much more than just having a team to cheer for, and I certainly can find other things to do. 

 

 

.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Augie

[teef]

31 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

Sorry, not you as in you personally. Just saying that “you take it personally” in describing bills fans that care the most about only winning. 

 

I do take it personally, like a lot. To the point to where I feel personally embarrassed as if I’m the one that sucked bad enough to lose. Maybe I do it because I’m a hyper competitive person that views any interests as an extension of themselves even if they cannot directly contribute. We all like to think we have some contribution (ie offering our own talent evaluation, or game analysis on what went right/wrong) or offering up solutions to win. I honestly probably shouldn’t, as it seems the players don’t even take it personally. It doesn’t appear they even let it be an extension of their identity and they just go through the motions. I think that is why people like me truly enjoy the “pureness” of non professional sports, because the spirit of competition does seem to be an extension of personal identity and they do take winning/losing personally. The main reason why people flock to the professional sporting world though ( even if that “pureness” is diminished) is because of the quality level of play is much more entertaining. I’m not sure the NFL will ever encapsulate the spirit of competition ( I think they once were closer to it than they are today), which I think fans like me will eventually lose interest. Especially if the “fakeness” level increases to the point where people start to detach from that kind of fandom. 

you're into it and i completely get it.  i just had years where the bills did bother me, so i've just refused to let it continue to do so.  not that i don't get frustrated with this team...how could you not after the last 2 playoff loses?  i'm just looking to see how this year plays out.  if they let us down, so be it.  i won't take it personally, but i think i'll finally be ready for change.

[Bill from NYC]

In my case, none of the above. A better question would be, "how could I NOT stay a fan until I die?"

 

I was with them through 4 Superbowls, and some of the most idiotic personnel moves in NFL history. Also, imbecelic drafts which never seem to end, and sadly I'm just scratching the surface. But you know what else I had? The pleasure of meeting Bills Fans and being a part of something that more often than not seemed like a hopeless case. Tailgates in Lot 1 pole 6 at which I was made to feel completely welcome. I can't just turn my back on these people and/or these moments. What would I do? Become a Chiefs fan? Impossible.

 

Yeah, I'm here til the end. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

In my case, none of the above. A better question would be, "how could I NOT stay a fan until I die?"

 

I was with them through 4 Superbowls, and some of the most idiotic personnel moves in NFL history. Also, imbecelic drafts which never seem to end, and sadly I'm just scratching the surface. But you know what else I had? The pleasure of meeting Bills Fans and being a part of something that more often than not seemed like a hopeless case. Tailgates in Lot 1 pole 6 at which I was made to feel completely welcome. I can't just turn my back on these people and/or these moments. What would I do? Become a Chiefs fan? Impossible.

 

Yeah, I'm here til the end. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s not that I could ever be a fan of another team, that is indeed impossible for me as well. If I were to ever lose interest, it would be for the whole NFL in general. I’d likely stop watching games and just focus on something else to do. 

I’m not even sure that is possible, the Bills always manage to suck me in, even through all the ineptitude. I find these last few years to be even more frustrating than the drought years, at least we knew we sucked and were terrible and there was no expectations. We have Josh Allen and we are wasting him, which feels like a crime. 

[Airseven]

Hometown allegiance. A bond strong enough to tolerate this franchise.

[Milanos Milano]

1 minute ago, Airseven said:

Hometown allegiance. A bond strong enough to tolerate this franchise.

Yeah, I know exactly how you feel. The only thing that has begun to wear on that bond is players going through the motions. If it appears to get worse over the next few years, I may just mail it in. How can one be a fan of a sport to where players just go through the motions and nobody is held to any accountability (management or player)? Why can’t McD just acknowledge that what went on against the Steelers was unacceptable and not a reflection of Buffalo? It’s like they don’t care, which make it slowly eat away at my fandom more than anything. 

[Airseven]

1 minute ago, Araiza Curse said:

Yeah, I know exactly how you feel. The only thing that has begun to wear on that bond is players going through the motions. If it appears to get worse over the next few years, I may just mail it in. How can one be a fan of a sport to where players just go through the motions and nobody is held to any accountability (management or player)? Why can’t McD just acknowledge that what went on against the Steelers was unacceptable and not a reflection of Buffalo? It’s like they don’t care, which make it slowly eat away at my fandom more than anything. 

May need to lower your expectations and try to appreciate the entertainment value in it all.

[Milanos Milano]

Just now, Airseven said:

May need to lower your expectations and try to appreciate the entertainment value in it all.

It’s not possible. I can’t do that. I’d rather not even watch NFL games than to stop being so passionate about it and demanding accountability so we can be a successful franchise (Super Bowl victories). 

[Fr. Jerk]

What keeps my fandom? 

 

I was just born into this s***, ya dig?

[Augie]

10 minutes ago, Airseven said:

Hometown allegiance. A bond strong enough to tolerate this franchise.

 

We are GOOD! If you chose to live in the past, why don’t you just go back to the early 90’s?  😋

Just now, Fr. Jerk said:

What keeps my fandom? 

 

I was just born into this s***, ya dig?

 

I mean, this is true too. You grew up in the Bills Family where I was from. It was in your blood in elementary school. 

[MJS]

16 minutes ago, Augie said:

I don’t see how people can say they are “competitive” about something in which they are not participating and no affect on the outcome. The team is competing, and we are fans.  Sure, I want to win and I love our Bills, but it’s mostly just entertainment. Both on the field and during non-game days like this. Nobody is competing today, but I’m still here messing around for fun.  

 

It’s much more than just having a team to cheer for, and I certainly can find other things to do. 

Yeah, I find that a little strange. Nobody can be a fan only because of "winning". Fans aren't winning anything, the players are. If that is the case, the primary reason is a tribal loyalty reason, where you feel you are a part of the team and it is your tribe versus their tribe, kind of thing.

 

The primary reason is entertainment, for most fans. Football is a form of entertainment. There'd be little reason to watch if it isn't entertaining.

 

I love football. I think it is a very intricate and strategic game with amazing feats of athleticism. I love the game itself, and I enjoy watching professionals play it at a high level.

 

I watch and root for the Bills because I was raised that way, and I feel loyalty to them. I've never lived in Buffalo, so it is a purely family thing for me. I don't have loyalty to the city itself, really. A bit, because of the familiarity of the Bills being there.

 

And winning makes it all way more fun to watch, so I want the team to win, and when they do win it feels good. It makes everything better and more exciting as a fan. Losing is not fun and does not feel as good as a fan.

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

We are GOOD! If you chose to live in the past, why don’t you just go back to the early 90’s?  😋

 

I think your definition of good is different than my definition of good. The Chiefs are good, they won a Super Bowl and proven to go there multiple times. The New England Patriots were good, and were good for countless years because of their ability to draft and coach the correct people. We are not good simply because we made the playoffs. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

It is a good topic question.

I will answer it this way. I am a fan of the Bills and will be for life win or lose. I do get enjoyment from winning seasons, just not as much as in years past. I want a SuperBowl win for our city so badly it does take some of the joy away when they fall short.
If the Bills left I would probably stop watching NFL and just watch college. If the Bills signed a player like Deshaun Watson, I would seriously consider putting my fandom on pause. I think I would root for them to lose to rid myself of such a grotesque person. But I’m not sure I am strong enough of character if they won with a guy like Watson. I might still watch. Just being honest