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

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, MJS said:

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.

Fans that are generally athletic or used to be athletic or wish they were athletic project themselves onto the field, the players are merely a projection of self identity. When they are winning, we are winning. It’s another level of fandom. People cheer for teams they identify with and the fanatics view themselves as part of the process, even if they aren’t the one’s physically performing the tasks. It’s vicariously living, and embodying the spirit of competition. It’s why some fans take it personally, and feel pain or joy when the game is performed. Sometimes a throw feels like I made that throw, as your eyes scan the tv you shout he was open!! Because that type of fandom is just different. It’s fanatical. 

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

 

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. 

 

Serious question: if you (oops…WE) won ONE would you let up? Or is it this way forever? 

 

What keeps my fandom is being entertained and having an even better time when they win and advance. 

[Airseven]

10 minutes ago, Augie said:

why don’t you just go back to the early 90’s?  😋

Yes please!!

[Augie]

So, “Winning” currently has 50% of the vote. Many of you have been here a LONG time, like me. We have gone thru LONG painful stretches of NOT WINNING, yet we are all still here. Therefore, “winning” is not what keeps us here. We are being entertained, whether we admit it or not. 

[LOVEMESOMEBILLS]

 

 Throw another vote in for bad poll options, I didn't pick any of them. I've been a fan for 45 of the 50 years I've been alive, the Bills are ingrained in me. 

 

 What keeps my fandom? The love for this team, the city and loyalty. I can't make players care more, but that doesn't mean I'm going to care any less.

 

 This board has turned into a mess over the last 9-10 months. Guess that's what happens when your team strings 3-4 good seasons together without winning a title, but the crying that occurred Saturday night over a meaningless preseason game was alarming. All the preseason wins from 2019 onwards has won us exactly nothing in the postseason. Maybe the starters getting asses handed to them will be a good thing in the long run this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Serious question: if you (oops…WE) won ONE would you let up? Or is it this way forever? 

 

What keeps my fandom is being entertained and having an even better time when they win and advance. 

I think it would be a pressure release for sure, it would alleviate the symptoms of perennially losing. However, when you are hyper competitive, I don’t think it truly ever lets up and you always want to dominate and win, even after winning. You then want a dynasty, and you want to make your mark on the history books as the best of the best of all time. But for sure the day we finally win one, will be a great day for sure. Hope I’m around to see it. 

[mead107]

Let’s go Saints 

 

[Boatdrinks]

15 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

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). 

Great to be passionate about the game and of course our favorite team. We are fans though, and we don’t really have the power to demand anything. Accountability starts with the players, then the Head Coach , the GM and ultimately the one who can truly demand accountability- the OWNER . We are fans of a game , but that game is a business. One unlike any other. We can swear off watching or attending games and it just won’t matter. They could play this game in an empty stadium - heck , they actually did ! - and would still make money hand over fist. The game will go on regardless as it’s the surest money maker in sports, in TV , in who knows what else. 

[HOUSE]

It's all the wonderful things the NFL does for the fans.

Some sports gouge the hell out of the average fan but not the NFL. They make the games affordable for everyone. 

So if you have a large family, call the ticket office, they are very understanding 

 

 

 

[Milanos Milano]

3 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

Great to be passionate about the game and of course our favorite team. We are fans though, and we don’t really have the power to demand anything. Accountability starts with the players, then the Head Coach , the GM and ultimately the one who can truly demand accountability- the OWNER . We are fans of a game , but that game is a business. One unlike any other. We can swear off watching or attending games and it just won’t matter. They could play this game in an empty stadium - heck , they actually did ! - and would still make money hand over fist. The game will go on regardless as it’s the surest money maker in sports, in TV , in who knows what else. 

I honestly wish I was the owner, maybe we wouldn’t be perennial losers. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Araiza Curse

[Boatdrinks]

Just now, Araiza Curse said:

I honestly wish I was the owner, maybe we wouldn’t be perennially losers. 

Who wouldn’t want to be an NFL owner ? The Bills have done pretty well under the current owners, so I hope they own the team for a long time.

[oldmanfan]

2 hours 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. 

Because they are my hometown team and I have watched them and rooted for them for 63 years.  Not that you have that as a choice.

[Milanos Milano]

2 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

Who wouldn’t want to be an NFL owner ? The Bills have done pretty well under the current owners, so I hope they own the team for a long time.

The Pegulas are 0-8 , that is doing pretty well? 

[MJS]

14 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

Fans that are generally athletic or used to be athletic or wish they were athletic project themselves onto the field, the players are merely a projection of self identity. When they are winning, we are winning. It’s another level of fandom. People cheer for teams they identify with and the fanatics view themselves as part of the process, even if they aren’t the one’s physically performing the tasks. It’s vicariously living, and embodying the spirit of competition. It’s why some fans take it personally, and feel pain or joy when the game is performed. Sometimes a throw feels like I made that throw, as your eyes scan the tv you shout he was open!! Because that type of fandom is just different. It’s fanatical. 

Well, I don't vicariously live through the team, personally. And I find it a little unhealthy to be so fanatical about something. For instance, I try not to let a bad game affect my mood and affect the way I treat other people. I try to take a deep breath and move on. It is only a game, after all.

 

I consider myself a huge fan of the team and of football in general. I listen to multile podcasts each day. I check and post on the message board daily. I think there is a way to be a huge fan but also be nuanced, rational, and realistic with the team. Yes, it means the highs probably aren't as high for me as they are for you, but the lows certainly are not as low either.

[Augie]

3 minutes ago, Araiza Curse said:

I think it would be a pressure release for sure, it would alleviate the symptoms of perennially losing. However, when you are hyper competitive, I don’t think it truly ever lets up and you always want to dominate and win, even after winning. You then want a dynasty, and you want to make your mark on the history books as the best of the best of all time. But for sure the day we finally win one, will be a great day for sure. Hope I’m around to see it. 

 

Are you a player for the Bills? Maybe a coach, weight room or cafeteria guy? 

 

We had two boys. They both excelled,  but in opposite ways. We learned not to take too much credit, or too much blame. I was NOT US. It was them. I didn’t get up at 5am to hit the gym before two a days, or go to a trainer who would make you puke so you are fresh late in the game. I would thank people politely but say it was all on him. 

 

If I’m going to be “competitive”, I’m going to do it in some fashion where my pure existence actually matters. With the Bills I’m hoping for entertainment with a happy ending. Life is too short to let relatively small things upset me like that. That doesn’t mean I don’t love them, because I do and I have since the Rockpile. For me it’s a matter of life perspective, but to each their own. 

[jlgarsh]

2 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. 

How about loving the team? I've been a Bills fan since I can remember, and will always support them no matter what. Of course I want them to win the Super Bowl. These poll options are terrible. Like what are you even trying to find out?

[Alphadawg7]

In the past when the Bills would reach that point in the season where it's clear they still suck, Lakers season would begin and keep me away from the edge of the cliff lol

 

[oldmanfan]

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. 

Then don’t be a fan.  Or talk to a Cubs fan or a Red Sox fan from before 2000 for perspective

[jlgarsh]

13 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

It's all the wonderful things the NFL does for the fans.

Some sports gouge the hell out of the average fan but not the NFL. They make the games affordable for everyone. 

So if you have a large family, call the ticket office, they are very understanding 

 

 

 

This used to be MLB. Per game prices were low since there were 81 home games a season. Not so much anymore unless the team struggles to draw fans.

[Augie]

1 minute ago, jlgarsh said:

This used to be MLB. Per game prices were low since there were 81 home games a season. Not so much anymore unless the team struggles to draw fans.

 

I saw an article or an ad somewhere today that showed all the things you can get for $200 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, widely known for affordable concessions. It was a TON of food and drink. My experience is that it is so cheap you will never get to the front of the line to buy any! I gave up three times at one football game! 

 

Can I buy a wristband that gets me a fast pass to actual food and beverage? I need a suite!!!  

 

Ok, I’m in my calm down period now…..