It's not just a football game... sentimental alert!

[WinBeforeYouLeave]

My father and I have always been close. If there was a problem with our relationship, it's that our interests were very different, and we were running the risk of drifting apart. He picked up the tab for season tickets in 1992, as we had been fans for years and caught single games here and there. We made the commitment to ride back and forth from Rochester, having great conversations and a lot of laughs along the way. He plays a great straight man to my moronic ramblings. He's 67 now, and I don't know how long he can physically do this with me- we can't afford fancy seats and sit in the upper deck.

 

We've met a lot of great people that have come and gone, some became close friends- attended weddings of fellow ticket holders, you all know the drill. During these rides, Dad and I discussed the birth of three kids, a marriage break-up, a retirement and the maddening decisions made by the front office. I don't think we'd still be so close- like best friends- without the shared passion for the Buffalo Bills.

 

It sucks to say it, but we both lost the belief this organization really wants to win. I think the 90's may have been a magical fluke, as the bookends of the 80's and the last ten years show a lack of focus that makes it awful tough to billieve any longer. I hoped that the team acquired a taste for success through the playoff runs, that the Donahoe era would be an aggressive change, etc. Nope.

 

I'm sure Ralph feels keeping the team in a financially depressed market is enough of a commitment, that no further financial investment makes sense. Fine, I can understand that. What he has to understand, is he's messing with more than a football team, many of us in WNY have precious little else to do with our entertainment dollar and NEED the Bills for several reasons. I hoped against hope his advancing years would lead to a splurge, a phuck it attitude that was driven by an urge to finally get it done. Clearly, that's not the case.

 

Dad and I used Bodine (great people) to visit Yankee stadium this year. Maybe that's where our interests need to go, the Yanks are bloated and gluttons, bullies, yeah... But they want to be the finest franchise in sports. Ya gotta respect that. The long bus rides make for a great opportunity to keep the dialog going. Kiss my ass Bills... You've sucked the joy out of a lot of us.