Always, Always, I will be a Buffalo Bills fan! I was born and raised in the suburbs of Buffalo. And when people find out I’m a Bills fan they are like, “why”, or “I’m sorry” or flat out. “they suck”. Yes, we get a bad rap. My first memories is Joe Ferguson was the quarterback and my neighbor named their dog Fergie after him. I grew up in the Jim Kelly era and we had the best players: Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Steve Tasker, Andre Reed and the list goes on with all the star players. We went to 4 Superbowls in a row in the 90’s, so we lost all 4…who’s keeping track. We had the greatest comeback of all time in 1993 with our backup quarterback, Frank Reich, whom I had a huge crush on. We were down 35-3 in the third quarter to the Houston Oilers. Ended up winning in overtime 41-38. Yes, I bought the DVD of that game. And yes, my kids have watched it. And at that time, they played in Rich Stadium, then it was the Ralph Wilson stadium names after the longtime owner, New Era Field is what it’s called now. I still call it Rich Stadium, millenials call it the Ralph. Regardless of the name, the fans, the “12 man” has always stayed consistent. The “12th Man” is even on the Buffalo Bills Wall in the stadium. We aren’t bandwagoners that love them when they are in the Superbowl years and leave them; like when they go 2 years in the mid 80’s 2-14…ugh or any other time we didn’t win double digit games in a season or when we couldn’t figure out Flutie or Losman or Bledsoe or Rob Johnson or Taylor or Fitzpatrick… But we watch every week wearing our red and blue gear, singing our Bills “Shout” song; the Bills Mafia is strong, supportive and loyal. Yes, we get crazy; the rowdiest of tailgaters. And we get extremely disappointed (so many times we are used to it). We always cringe when the game, ANY game comes down to the kicker…Wide right! I wonder what Scott Norword is up to these days?!
And the Bills community is like no other. Last year when Andy Dalton threw a 49 yard touchdown pass to beat the Ravens , it gave the Bills their first playoff game in 17 years and the fans responded by donating to Andy Dalton’s foundation raising nearly $250K for sick children. When the Bills #1 Superfan, Pancho Billa, passed away earlier this year, the organization and the fans paid tribute to him in a pregame ceremony honoring his life and love for the Bills. And, Pancho Billa didn’t want flowers but wanted donations for kids which raised $100K to an organization that put together 10,000 backpacks with supplies to kids who needed them. What an awesome Bills community!
Now we just beat the Bengals in our home opener and going into week 4 facing the Patriots and we are 3-0! It’s going to be nerve wracking because the Patriots, as annoying and loathed as they are, I hate to say, they really are talented. But we can pull out a win at home, right?! I hope! Lets Go Buffalo…
