What made you a Bills fan?

[BuffaloBillyG]

Looks like we made it through another week! One week closer to the Bills/Cardinals home opener and the first (possible) step to Super Bowl Glory.

 

And again, I give kudos to those that asked some really thoughtful and thought provoking questions this week. Still, many more topics that can be covered. Looking forward to it.

 

For this week's Friday question of the day I would like to keep it easy and light. One of my personal favorite questions to ask people is simply "why". For many it's just something you're born into through family. For others it's a geographic thing. Yet others are fans of this team and have no ties to the area. No family that roots for the Bills. So the question of the day is:

 

What led to you being a Buffalo Bills fan? 

 

For me, I actually have my Mom to thank for it. She was a single mother in the 80s when it wasn't as widely normal to be such. With me at home she was raising a little boy with no male role model in the picture. She wanted me to have as normal an upbringing as other boys, so one thing she did was learn everything she possibly could about football.

 

And I grew up every Sunday with Sunday Sauce on the stove and the Bills game on watching football with my mother. She actually grew to be a big Bills fan and even took me to my first game. She let me pick 2 friends from school to bring and we were off to see the Joe Ferguson and the Bills take on the Jets. One of my fondest memories of childhood was during that game as I watched my Ma make a Jets fan that was being loud and obnoxious actually tear up and leave the game in the 3rd quarter. Yup. That was my Mom. She's been gone now for almost 28 years, and WHEN the Bills finally hoist that Lombardi, she will be the first person I think of.

 

So, what's your story? What are you the way you are (a Bills fan, in this case).

 

 

[DJB]

I’m a masochist 

[Pete]

Birthright.  It’s in my genes, I have Bills DNA

Edited May 31 by Pete

[GunnerBill]

I have told this story before, but my grandad was Czech, fought in the Polish army in WW2. He was captured by the Germans and put in a prisoner of war camp but managed to escape and make it to France where he was hidden by the resistance and eventually made it to London after the war. He eventually met my grandmother, they married, had kids (including my mum) and then at 61, just before I was born, my grandad had a massive heart attack and died. My grandmother would still go back to Poland and Czechoslovakia (as was) every few years to visit his family and in the early 90s was in a shop with her friend in Poland, overheard English speaking voices and got talking to an American brother and sister who themselves had family history in Poland and were back researching it. They ended up going for dinner, became friends and in 2002 we visited them in California where they now live for a family holiday. It was August and there was a Bills pre-season game (Lions, who else) on the TV and despite living in Cal they were from Buffalo and the guy is a huge Bills fan. So my dad (who had watched bits of the NFL when it first came to British tv in the 80s) and I sat down with a beer to watch the Bills game with him. I was hooked instantly, from a single, pretty ropey pre-season game. In those first few years as a student about to go of to university watching the games was impossible so I'd just follow the scores online. But in 2006 or 2007 Yahoo had a link up with the NFL and did an international streaming service. It was ropey as hell, buffered all the time, and the picture quality was terrible... but I subscribed. Then after a year the NFL took it in house improved the service and developed International GamePass and I think since 2008 I have missed one regular season game (Saints in 2013 under Marrone because I was at Wembley watching the 49ers instead). 

Edited May 31 by GunnerBill

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Was born into it. Who in their right mind would choose it?

 

[PonyBoy]

My dad was a Bills fan, so.... I became a Bills fan. Same with the Sabres. 

[skibum]

I was born this way. 

[sunshynman]

Born in Buffalo, is there any other answer!

[Gman10]

My BIL is a huge football fan (Giants) I never cared about sports outside of MMA and Baseball. Every time Id go to his house football seemed to be on, and I was watching a game and really enjoyed it. I started watching on my own and everytime the Bills happened to be on. They're a fun, gritty, blue collar team so I fell inlove. 
 

I also randomly have a Bills backers bar in my town, ended up wandering in there and meeting some of the nicest people. 

[Gregg]

Born on Long Island. Dad was a Jets fan who had season tickets. Started taking me to the games when I was a little kid back in the Shea days. OJ was my favorite player and that is how I became a Bills fan. Good thing OJ was on the Bills otherwise I probably would have grown up a Jets fan (BARF!)

[SoCal Deek]

What ‘made’ me a Bills fan? Now that I think about it I have no idea, but after SIXTY years and having grown up in WNY it’s too late to question it now. 

[Sundo91]

I'm in central PA. 3 hours from Pittsburgh, Philly, Baltimore, and Washington. 4 hours from Buffalo. My "idol" growing up was my much older cousin. He was a Bills fan. To my fathers chagrin, I shunned his beloved Steelers and fell in love with the Bills. This was in 89. My dad took me to my first Bills game in 98 and saw the Bills blow a lead to Tony F'n Banks and the Rams. I love the Bills. I joke with my wife that they were my first love. lol I'm 40 years old and to this day I have middle school and high school teachers still ask me about the Bills when they see me. 

 

Fast forward and I now have 2 sons and they love the Bills as much as me. I would be completely devastated if they rooted for anybody else. 

[SoTier]

Like others, I was born into Bills fandom.   Both my parents were Bills fans.  We lived on a farm in rural Cattaraugus County back in the day when families had 1 TV (usually a large console model in the living room).   Our tv would always go "on the fritz" some time in May, and my Dad would never be able to get it "fixed" until the first Bills TV game.  In reality, we probably would have been too busy to watch tv anyway since we raised fruits and vegetables for sale at our farm stand, and we kids not only had to help with growing and harvesting but we also manned the stand.

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

Sold my soul to Satan and was punished by God 

[Clyde Smith]

Probably when I was 3-4, I became a big OJ fan. It's been on ever since.

[SinceThe70s]

I'm a life-long Long Islander. Dad was from Chicago, Mom from Boston so there was no allegiance to Jets or Giants. At the time neither of those teams were very good or had much in the way of star power - Namath was on his last legs. Every year I was a fan of a different team until Dad took me aside and explained that being a fan of the Super Bowl winner wasn't really being a fan. I chose the Bills mostly because of O.J. but also the N.Y. connection.

[Stads]

Born into it as well. My Dad worked security there for years in the administration building. It was where the players and coaches came through at the end of each game. I saw OJ walk through there a year or two before the "Goldman-Simpson" incident. At 7 years old, I should've predicted the future and taken him out then. My apologies 

[Buffalo Boy]

First game September 7, 1980

Bills Dolphins with my Dad as a nine year old.

Had never watched football.

He was a mean drunk…. Except at Bills games…. The only place he was actually my Dad. 
He’ll be gone 40 years this October.

And I still suffer acutely from the affliction called Bills fandom.

 

[Green Lightning]

It was 1963. I became aware of a standing buffalo silhouette on helmets and my family yelling and jumping at an old Philco TV every Sunday. I was indoctrinated into the cult and living within it's bizarre code and ritual ever since. I still replay the AFL Championship games in my head. So Tick-Tock boys, I need a Lombardi bad. 

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

I assume I did something horrible in a past life and this is my punishment.