nick in* england Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 (edited) So herewith is the long awaited story of my 6,000 mile round trip. Be prepared, this will be a long post - but trust me - you will be jealous if you make it to the end. Should I put this in the Blog for posterity? I think I will. But first: Thursday I arrived in Toronto after a bumpy flight thanks to the Jet Stream and a very early morning schlep accross London on the tube (most of which were f*cking cancelled or late). Canadian Immigration welcomed me the only way they know how - submitting me to everything but an anal cavity search... Satisfied I was not attempting to bring all my worldly posessions and take up residence in Canada on the benefit system, I was allowed to collect my belongings (which were then also searched) and head for the rental booth. At the rental booth (where I was expecting a Full Size upgraded to a premium) they offered me a Toyota Camry. I wasn't pleased. The woman did say that I could take a small upgrade fee option and go for something different. The only option was an Escalade which I gladly paid for (on my Dad's credit card ) and set off for my friends house in Milton. Needless to say - I put on some Dr Dre on the Bose sound system, cranked it up to 11 on the dial and BEAMED! I was a happy man. Coupla pints in the Pub in Milton, ON saw me thru to 12pm when we finally went home and crashed out asleep. Friday Woke EARLY. Like 4am early - it feeling like 9am and all. I looked outside to be greeted by about a foot of snow! Slept on an off but eventually got up and headed for a Truck Stop breakfast. A bit of pottering around Milton and I was headed for Buffalo with a rendezvous with the Bills. Driving an Escalade is really fun - I almost crashed a number of times while I was playing with all the gizmos! I arrived, in Buffalo at about 2.30pm and headed straight for the Ralph. I had arranged to meet with [name deleted] (I need to protect the identity so people don't go nuts asking for this kind of treatement - it was a once in a lifetime offer). Once I arrived I waited around and Ralph Wilson walked out - I thought it might be something cute to meet me, because he walked so frickin slow - but it turned out he was heading to his car. I said Hi and shook his hand. He just seems so old now - shockingly so having met him in the flesh. I'd seen his picture in the paper that morning and he didn't look as old as he did stood in front of me in an old Bills jacket with the hood pulled up. When I was finally greeted, I was shown straight to the equipment room to meet Woody Ribbeck, the assistant equipment manager. He showed me round the equipment room - I was like a kid in a candy store. I wanted to take a jersey - but they wouldn't let me. They have sooooo much stuff in there it is untrue. From Game jerseys, practise jerseys, pants, under armour, shoes, helmets, decals, balls, jus everything! From there Woody showed me into the rehab area and introduced me to Bud Carpenter and new guy Shone Gipson. They let me walk around the treatment rooms, pool, hot and cold tubs and then into the Weight Room. The place was huge!!! 3,000sq feet of weight room. 9 squat racks, 15 running machines with TV's built in... The best weight room you ever care to see. What's more Brad Roll wandered in, I got introduced and we spent 10 minutes talking politics and how Brad loves Tony Blair. Surreal. From there we wandered past the Badminton court (!) to the Fieldhouse and I got to run around on the turf for a c oupla minutes. Apparantly the Kickers and Punters have tried to kick a ball to the roof of the fieldhouse but never made it... I also got to see the meeting rooms, players lounge and everything else in the practsie facility... I would love to be a Bills player and get pampered with all this stuff. From the practise facility my guide headed me into the administration block. We spent a few minutes with Denny Lynch and then wandered along the front office rooms where the D coaches live. No one was in, but we got to the end of the hall and Ol' Whitey was in his room watching some game tape. My guide interrupted him and I spent a few minutes chatting with Tom D. He was clearly undera lot of pressure, but was nice enough to enquire about me and what I was doing. Disconcertingly when I said that i was 3-1 when watching the Bills live, he commented that he would take that record and the Bills needed some luck come game day. After Tom D we headed round the corner and bumped into Tom Clements. He really looked shabby - he hadn't shaved and he looked really tired. I din't get to speak with him, as next door down Mike Mularky was sitting in Tom's office with some charts and some tape. I guess they were game planning. Further round the coner I went into the office of John Guy. A funnier and niver man you will not meet. His office is covered floor to ceiling with depth charts of each team, players out of football, players listed by contract status, NFLE players and the Bills roster. He talked me through the various lists. I gave him a hot tip - my buddy who went to Raiders camp - and asked him why Deion was at the top of the Cornerbacks Free Agent list... Fortuinately he said it was because they were listed by experience in the NFL! Not by order of who they like. However - 2 guys were highlighted as targets - Kevin Thomas for re-signing and Charles Woodson. You heard it here first. We then headed downstairs to see the rest of the organisation - media suite stuff... I spent some time with Gregg Pastore - the website guy. He has taken a lot of my ideas on board for the Bills Backers and wants more. I promised to email him more of my ideas. He was very impressed - I tried to blag a job - but no dice just then! Last stop was in the press briefing area... Chris Brown was in his office and I stopped to talk with him. My guide introduced me and as we chatted (I said I appreciated the work he does on the Blog on BB.com and he asked a few questions about what the fans like to see in Digest) Scott Berchtold walked by. My guide introduced me and as we talked about what I do, and why I was in Buffalo, Scott told my guide to hook me up with Press Box tickets!!! Next thing I know I have 2 passes with mine and my Dad's name on!!! Anyway - I went back to talking with Chris, and asked about Eric Mould and what the deal is with the suspension - he told me that from his position close to the team and coaches, there really is an awful lot more goin on than the public is aware of. He wouldn't be specific - but the problem MM faced/faces with Moulds is just a fragment of what has been speculated on in the media and by fans... Feeling thoroughly special at this stage my guide bade me farewell. She is a superb lady (really great looking too! ) and she couldn't have been kinder. I owe her so many drinks it is not true - such a superb represewntative for the team and a demonstration of why I believe the Bills really are the greatest NFL franchise. I went to mooch around the store for a couple of minutes before Driving the Escalade round to Hammers house. Hammer was his usual hospitable self - Buddy the Wonder Dog had a sniff of me, decided I didn't smell like something he wanted to eat, and begged for some food. He does this awesome trick where he barks for the number of biscuit he wants! Great stuff! Hammer and I went down to Hamburg to a place called Mammosers - a pub that served some good local beers and great Wings - the crispy style. We had medium, but I think we coulda gone to Hot - although Mrs Hammer got some Suicidals to take away and Hammer tells me the ringpiece mighta been sore if I had those! After Hammer drove me around (Trey Teague was parked up at the Big Tree) I headed to the airport to pick up my Dad. Jet lag caught up with both of us and we fell asleep as soon as we checked in. Saturday I'll keep this brief. We did an architectural tour of Buffalo, taking in the buildings downtown, then the cemetary, then some places in north Buffalo towards the Albright-Knox (which has a suoerb display of Chinese art right now) and then to the Walden Galleria. In between times we ate at the Anchor Bar (wings were wayyy to juicy for me, too much sauce, not enough crispy) and later ate some dinner back in Orchard park at Danny's. I really reccommend you visitors to Buffalo to check out the architecture - especially the Frank Lloyd-Wright designed Martin House up on Jewett and Summit, just off Delaware park. Superb if you like architecture and even if you don't. Sunday Arrived good and early at Lot 1, queued to get in and parked up in the top part of the lot. Dad and I took a walk early thru the Field house to get out of the snow for a little while. Dad wanted to hit the store too - so we got that out of the way too. The field house was fun - catching balls from the JUGS and giving fake canadian details to get a free Bills towel. We headed back outside to drink some Phin&Matts beers I picked up on Friday and we headed down to see Pinto Kenny. We hadn't been there 2 minutes when I spotted the grey coat of a man I know as Rockpile. Tom was with his daughter and a couple of friends and as we chatted and caught up, Rock legged it off to his car and came back with a gift... It was an original clipping from USA Today (UK edition) of the Bills vs Eagles American Bowl that I attended in London! It was such a fantastic gift - I was so touched. That game is what started my love affair with the Bills - and the clipping will be framed and displayed in my house by the end of the week! After I dropped the clipping in the car we headed for pole 6 to meet more of the Two Bills Drive crew. Lori, Jay Rubeo, G. Host, Lancaster Steve, BuffaloBob, Guffalo, Rockpile, Bob Lamb, Cablelady (Brilliant ) and more (sorry if I forgot - it was all too much to take in!) were there. We hung out - and the guys kindly shared a beer with me... Best of all - Bob opened his trunk to reveal a 19lb Turkey in the cooler... You know what was coming.... yes - he even brought a deep fat fryer to cook it in. I was all at once disgusted, interested and excited... (more on the Turkey soon)... We headed back into the Fieldhouse because I wanted to listen/see part of the pre-game show with Murph, Alex Van Pelt and the gang... I went right up to the podium and introduced myself to Alex Van Pelt - told him it was the first time I had travelled to Buffalo, and no offence, but this was the first time that there was zero chance of him playing QB! He was pretty sad about that, but he shook my hand and welcomed me anyway On hearing this exchange, Murph demanded that I ask a question on air - the only thing that popped into my head was about Lionel Gates and how come (after a good camp) he hasn't cracked the Roster. I has asked Chris Brown the same question the other day - and Drew Haddad gave me a similar answer... the deal with Lionel - is that he just can't contribute enough. You really want your backups to be good special teams players - and Gates is a returner only. With McGee and Parrish ahead of him on PR/KR and Willis/Shaud ahead in the RB chart, he really doesn't have a role to play. Chris Brown said the coaches just need more time in Camp to see what he can do. By now it was getting close to game time - so my Dad and I headed into the stadium to find our seats and the press box. We intedned to spend some time in the Press Box but the majority down in the stands... Man were we ever surprised when we got to the Press Box. They had allocated us seats right on the 50 yard line - better still, I was seated in between Tom Modrak (who I said Hi to) and Hall of Famer (and Bills legend) Van Miller!!! Laid out on the table in front of me was pack of information for the game: program, roster card, flip chart, NFL week notes, game notes, inactives, etc - just superb. Also - there was free food and drink in there so we decided to watch the first few series up there. The game got going, first couple of series went well OK - the D plugged them up but the O did nothing (a sign of things to come)... After the first O series Van Miller piped up in my ear and said he has an awful lot of concerns about JP - really he is not impressed by what he sees week in week out - that his arm is powerful, but he believes JP's mind and accuracy are not up to the NFL standard. Tom Modrak's face went pallid as Van Miller ripped on JP. Anyway - we headed in the TV timeout down to our seats in the Tunnel endzone - great seats - but sadly - you could see all too clearly that the OL were just not creating ANY holes to run through. It was brutal. And from row 11 123, you could also hear the fans booing and cursing the team something chronic. EVERYONE around me was cursing the team bad. 'Go shotgun one more time and I'll go find a shotgun and kill you with it' is a phrase that stuck with me. Also - we started a chant that went like this: Losmans pass inteded forrrr Losmans pass intended forrr, anon as JP fired pass after pass into the turf. Horrible. As the snow started to come down harder and the Patsies scored again Dad and I decided that the Press Box was wayy more welcoming. If we wree going to watch this half bred loserville of a team, we were going to do it from the warmth and great view of the Press Box - so we headed inside. Van Miller was still there and greeted us like lost cousins. He spent the rest of the game regaling us with stories and jokes from his 55 year broadcasting career. He was truly magnificent. He even demanded my business car so he could send me a signed copy of the program from his very last game!! He also went off and fetch a copy each of the media guide for free! As we chatted I noticed he was wearing the two AFL Championship rings. When I asked about them Van immediately took them off and handed them to me! I had in my hands the Bills 64 and 65 Championship rings! I was stunnded. Van has so many jokes - I can't remember them all - and I have some written down in my pack - but I don't have them with me now... The mood in the press box got ugly in the 3rd Quarter. It was quiet in there most of the game - but as the boos started outside, the noise level in the press box rose (Tom D had left there sometime in the 1st Q as people started casting glaces to the back when the Pats scored). People were audibly cussing the Bills - particularly the O Line - until Van Miller said virtually at the top of his voice - "this Line STINKS! The Worst line in football!" Nods all around... When it looked like Flutie was warming up - there was a buzz too - when he came on the press box clapped. They even laughed when he ran that bootleg and almost outran Schobel... We had to leave at that point - it was 5 mins before the end and we were escorted down to the tunnel. We watched the last 5 mins from the tunnel - and we were there to slap the players on the shoulder as they came off. I was within 6 feet of Brady and Bruschi and had to restrain myself from killing and fellating them respectively as they came past... Or not. The Bills were clearly upset - the likes of Sam Adams, JP, Willis, Jason Peters, London Fletcher, Nate Clements and Lee Evans virtually ran from the field and look really upset. I slapped Shelton on the shoulder and told him to keep his head up and keep trying. He shrugged and bowed his head. I got some good and bad pics of this all going on - but is was such a rush some are just horrible! From there we headed into the press conference with JP and then coach Mularky. JP was visibly upset and did a commendable job of heaping the blame on himself. Dunno if it was an effect of the cold - but he looked clsoe to tears on his way in. He admitted that the bad throws were down to him and not the wind/snow. He accepted that the team played badly - very badly - and said he didn't understand it because they had a great week of practise. The hurdle in his eyes is transforming good practises into good plays on the field. I know how he feels. But - the kid's mental toughness is starting to com into question now if you ask me. He looked shaken - bad - and really appeared to be in a daze. He was visibly angry - and when asked how the poor OL play was affecting him, he hesitated, then blamed himself again - but body language clearly indicated his view of the OL. Not good. MM was next up - after keeping us waiting a LOOOONG time. We were also told it would be short as he was pissed off. He walked in and I thought he might announce he had just been fired. He really look shell shocked, upset and angry. But most of all he looked like he didn't know what to do anymore. He gave the usual spiel at the podium but there was no doubt that everyone in the room saw this as the point where MM lost his job. It was that bad - the air in the room was supercharged. To be honest the media were pretty tame - didn't ask any hard questions (which I was dying to ask) and reall didn't hold the coach to account like I might have expected. Once he was gone, Mike Calinari stepped over to say Hi (he recognized me from the pre-game show) and to ask me what I thought. I said it dodn't look good - that MM looked like a rabbit caught in headlights - and he told me that the feeling he gets is that the WHOLE front office is going to be cleared out. He said that everyone including the owner had lost faith in what the team was trying to do and that come January there will be noone left from today. That said - the Journos were like you and me - all specualtion and expert opinions. Remember that when you see the news and read the papers - what you see/hear and read is rarely a 'real' view. For that your best bet is Chris Bown. But he is heavily censored. And so on leaving the post-game conference, we sneaked out onto the field! We took pictures of each other in the endzone and out on the field. We got to spend about 10 minutes goofing around on the field before a security guy moved us on... But from there we just hung out in the tunnel and waited for players to leave. I got to meet with London Fletcher and Troy Vincent before we got bored and decided to head back to the lot. Cortey Dillon walked by - as did Tom Brady - but most everyone else had gone home in the time we were in the interviews and on the field. Back in the lot the Turkey was almost cooked. When it was fished out of the oil - i grabbed a slice and to my surprise, it was the greatest Turkey I have even eaten in my life! So sweet and juicy!! God it was the perfect end to the day!! Good work Bob! It was getting close to 7pm when we left- I had to get Dad back to the Airport for his flight to NYC - so we went and grabbed stuff out of the hotel and I drove him to the airport. After that I tried to go to a couple of bars - but everything was dead. So I went back and had a few beers at the Hotel and headed to bed. Monday With the trip at an end I went to FedEx to send some money and some candy around the country... And went back to the Walden to do some Xmas shopping. Finally - I dropped in on my friend in Milton again and went tobogganing before heading back to the Airport and home. All in all - this was the BEST EVER weekend trip I have ever taken. It was a Bills fans dream - and apart from the result of the game - couldn't have gone better. Even though the team sucked, the organisation treated be like royalty - and I will forever be in their debt. So. Questions? Is anyone still reading? Edited December 14, 2005 by Nick in England Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 great stuff Nick...there were some interesting insights that you got...Charles Woodson? Also, good to hear that concerns are being heard at OBD and they may finally see that this team does indeed have a number of problems. And your post would make FFS jealous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Thanks, Nick! What a good tale to tell. And don't forget - you are our conduit come the World Cup this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofiba Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Wow. Sounds like a great weekend. Is it true that you are on the short list for head coach of the Bills next year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Thomas and Woodson, eh? It sounds like you had a great time in our little 'burgh. Thanks for the post, but now we're 3-2 with you at the games. You need to work on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 With the trip at an end I went to FedEx to send some money and some candy around the country... That was the best part of the story Seriously though, I'm sure everyone here is EXTREMELY jealous of you! Sounds like you had a great time, and what any of us wouldn't give to have that same experience (sans jetlag, of course) Definately post this on your blog so that it doesn't get lost in the coming weeks. Excellent story! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Thanks Nick. I am glad that you had such a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofton80 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Great recap. Interesting to hear the atmosphere and observations from the pressbox and post game press conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 I'm jealous. I'd live in England for 50 years and be a Bills fan all that time if only I could have a day like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 nick, where in the UK are you from? in UNI? I lived in London for about 1.5 years all together (was there from end of 03 to mid 04, did a stint in HK and then came back to London from jan 05 till july 05). good story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 nick, where in the UK are you from? in UNI? I lived in London for about 1.5 years all together (was there from end of 03 to mid 04, did a stint in HK and then came back to London from jan 05 till july 05). good story! 531952[/snapback] I'm from London and have lived in the UK since birth... Not in UNI either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 We headed back into the Fieldhouse because I wanted to listen/see part of the pre-game show with Murph, Alex Van Pelt and the gang... I went right up to the podium and introduced myself to Alex Van Pelt - told him it was the first time I had travelled to Buffalo, and no offence, but this was the first time that there was zero chance of him playing QB! He was pretty sad about that, but he shook my hand and welcomed me anyway On hearing this exchange, Murph demanded that I ask a question on air - the only thing that popped into my head was about Lionel Gates and how come (after a good camp) he hasn't cracked the Roster. I has asked Chris Brown the same question the other day - and Drew Haddad gave me a similar answer... the deal with Lionel - is that he just can't contribute enough. You really want your backups to be good special teams players - and Gates is a returner only. With McGee and Parrish ahead of him on PR/KR and Willis/Shaud ahead in the RB chart, he really doesn't have a role to play. Chris Brown said the coaches just need more time in Camp to see what he can do. 531924[/snapback] I heard you on the radio. I wonder if there are any other British Bills fans who have actually made the trip to the Ralph. I'm impressed with your dedication. http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showt...22entry529022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 I'm from London and have lived in the UK since birth... Not in UNI either. 531953[/snapback] Which Premier league team do you support? P.S. I saw England play Portugal in Euro 2000. I had the best time with the England supporters. ENGLAND!!! CLAP CLAP ENGLAND!!! CLAP CLAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 I was within 6 feet of Brady and Bruschi and had to restrain myself from killing and fellating them respectively as they came past... Or not. Thanks for a great read summarizing your excellent adventure. Will be looking for some of Van's jokes to be posted as well (suitable for public consumption..?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanNC Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Sounds like a wonderful trip. Mammoser's wings are great aren't they? I grew up just around the corner from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 I heard you on the radio. I wonder if there are any other British Bills fans who have actually made the trip to the Ralph. I'm impressed with your dedication. http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showt...22entry529022 531957[/snapback] A few Bills fans from the UK have headed out this year - and a few go out each year... None have the power of the President tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 Which Premier league team do you support? P.S. I saw England play Portugal in Euro 2000. I had the best time with the England supporters. ENGLAND!!! CLAP CLAP ENGLAND!!! CLAP CLAP 531958[/snapback] I'm not into the Premiership... I like sports - so I watch periodically just so I can keep up with the England team... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 A few Bills fans from the UK have headed out this year - and a few go out each year... None have the power of the President tho 531968[/snapback] So if I setup the Bills Backers of Bulgaria and become president of the chapter, I too can have the royal treatment at a Bills game...? It might be worth moving to Bulgaria for that... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick in* england Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 So if I setup the Bills Backers of Bulgaria and become president of the chapter, I too can have the royal treatment at a Bills game...? It might be worth moving to Bulgaria for that... CW 531973[/snapback] Hmm - It's more than just being the President of UK Bills Backers... But you could try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWVaBeach Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 So. Questions? Is anyone still reading? 531924[/snapback] That was a great post. Read every single word. Thanks for sharing what had to be an unbelievable experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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