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

[oldmanfan]

56 minutes 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. 

I believe he was quoted as saying they were outcoached and outplayed.  What would you like him to do, flog himself over a preseason game?

 

If you are truly like this you need perspective.  If you are doing this just to be contrarian and draw attention you need counseling.

[galept]

It's my family's hometown team. Went to training camps with my grandmother as a kid, so in a way it helps keep me connected with WNY. Plus we've got a unique fan base, and up until recently people around here respected my loyalty to a crap small market team.

 

And I'll be damned if I'm going to wait all these years for a SB and give up now.

[FilthyBeast]

At this stage of my adult life and fanhood it's really to see a SB win especially after growing up in the 90's and taking the 4 straight losing trips for granted.

 

Entering this season though unfortunately my expectations are as low as they've been since the drought years.

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

At this stage of my adult life and fanhood it's really to see a SB win especially after growing up in the 90's and taking the 4 straight losing trips for granted.

 

Entering this season though unfortunately my expectations are as low as they've been since the drought years.

 

But you will miss so much enjoyment! There will be ups and down, wins and losses, but enjoy the ride! That is what life is about!  

[Chaos]

2 hours 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.

Participation is optional 

[lookylookyherecomescookie]

         I've often thought about this, and cannot come up with a reason. I saw my first Bills game 63 years ago (their first season) at the age of ten. I have been a fan ever  since. I'd rather they win, but was a fan when they were horrible. It's more fun when they're exciting, but was a fan when they were horrible to watch.

         I have no personal connection with any of the players. With free agency and salary cap, the players come and go, are cut, traded, sign elsewhere, retire.  (I certainly couldn't keep all the Williams straight during their heyday).  Few if any live in Buffalo full time.  They certainly don't represent me.  Yet I'm still a fan .

      I don't even live in Buffalo anymore,  yet will often exchange "Go Bills" with perfect strangers if I see one with a Bills jersey or cap. I really can't figure it out. 

[Don Otreply]

It’s “home town Fan stuff, and  a championship, at the same time, I am baffled by “some fans” that allow there day to day life quality to be determined by a football team’s success or lack there in, that kinda screams big time for 2nd hobby or some time with your shrink. It’s just a game after all, a chance to hang out with friends and down a “natty bo” or four, jmo. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Don Otreply

[TheBrownBear]

2 hours ago, Araiza Curse said:

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. 

Whoa! I love the Bills. I'm a passionate fan and I take some pride in it. But at the end of the day, it is just a game, just entertainment, a way to pass time with friends and family. I really don't mean to talk down to you, but you might be in need of some perspective taking.

 

Also, where is this "perpetual ineptitude" that you speak of? The team has been damn good for the past half decade and have one of the most insanely watchable quarterbacks in the history of the game.

[Ralonzo]

 

[LOVEMESOMEBILLS]

58 minutes ago, FilthyBeast said:

At this stage of my adult life and fanhood it's really to see a SB win especially after growing up in the 90's and taking the 4 straight losing trips for granted.

 

Entering this season though unfortunately my expectations are as low as they've been since the drought years.

 

 So your expectation for the 2018 season was higher? That was the worst Bills roster in a long time, especially on offense. No OL, no WRs, no TEs, No RBs besides a quickly declining McCoy and lastly Peterman and a rookie Allen as QBs. 

 

 

[RiotAct]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

[teef]

58 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Participation is optional 

So is being miserable over a sport. 

[frostbitmic]

They didn't lose me during all those years they sucked, they aren't losing me now.

[HappyCat]

4 hours ago, Araiza Curse said:

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. 

Winning is a priority for me.  Family tradition of being a Bills fan keeps me coming back year after year.

[BillMafia716ix]

I’m a fan of football in general. Been around it my whole life. Played it growing up. Now currently coaching it. It’s the ultimate team sport. 

[HOUSE]

6 minutes ago, BillMafia716ix said:

I’m a fan of football in general. Been around it my whole life. Played it growing up. Now currently coaching it. It’s the ultimate team sport. 

I played it, coached it and I fought with parents, I have you beat.

[Chaos]

26 minutes ago, teef said:

So is being miserable over a sport. 

The irony in your reply is pure comedy gold. 

[teef]

Just now, Chaos said:

The irony in your reply is pure comedy gold. 

Ok.  Explain that one. 

[NY to VA to NV to TX to AZ]

Mine is two-fold, it offers something that few other cities have which is a team to cheer for and growing up in western New York it is absolutely embedded in your blood. The second is a championship, which the Bills have already won, but not since it became the NFL. They are both kind of one in the same, but slightly different, either way it’s a team to cheer for, right?

[LeGOATski]

10 hours ago, Araiza Curse said:

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. 

You're not doing anything. You're just watching. You're not competing. You're not winning or losing.

5 hours ago, HappyCat said:

Winning is a priority for me.  Family tradition of being a Bills fan keeps me coming back year after year.

What are you winning?