School 62

I'm a fisherman and this guy can fly: "Flyrod"

Give a ball to everyone on the D. They played in synch and tough.

Attended the day they played their first game at War Memorial Stadium right after they changed the name from Civic Stadium. Got off the #12 East Utica bus at the Jefferson Ave. stop, walked a few blocks past residences with men with folded newspapers waving drivers to park cars on their front lawns for a couple of bucks. My dad and brothers bought the cheapest tickets and were awed by the improvements to the stadium (last time we were there was for stock car races), the greeness of the field and the size of the players! I was twelve. Even at that age, I knew that with a coach named Buster Ramsey, we were not bound to be good, any too soon. I delivered the Courier-Express from 1959-1962 and read every Bill's article. It amazes me, looking back, that the Bills actually began their long run on the Eastside, my childhood home, but so working class and so not Orchard Park. It has been 48 years since I saw a live Bill's game. My brother and I and our sons have tickets for the Carolina game in September. We will fly in from Portland and Ashland, Oregon, Westchester County, New York and Edgewater, FL. to down a beef on weck with a Jenny and tell lies in Orchard Park. Will we visit Jefferson and Best Sts and lay a wreath for the Old Man? We might.

Buffalo Bills: Built for Last The Bills: All Games are Away Buffalo: Home of the Falls Buffalo Bills Fans: Unconditional Love The Buffalo Bills: Just Wait. Buffalow At the end of the game the king and the pawn go into the same box.

The Herd

I attended my last Bills game in 1965 at War Memorial. I live in Oregon and want to take my grown son who also lives here too for his birthday to see the Bills play the 49ers at Candlestick (or whatever they call it this week). I am really clueless about how to get decent tickets at a fair price. Anyone have experience doing this on line? Thanks.

One of the most jarring statistics anywhere in sports is this one: Sports Illustrated reports that 78 percent of football players are either broke or divorced within two years of retiring. Really? I would sure like to see some support for that allegation. Some doctoral student somewhere has got to be working on the parallels between PTSD and the situation of retired football players.

Anyone have any experience with rugby? I watched a few matches on TV when I worked in England a couple of times. Those guys are big and powerful and as I recall helmet-less and dressed in sweaters and shorts. Do they wear any padding under their clothes? I wonder what the incidence of brain damage is among those athletes. This has been a very interesting exploration of the issue, thanks for all the comments.

I am caught in a hard dilemma. I love football on every level. I am a life-time Bills fan and I admit that I admire these athletes and have followed many of them over the years. Having played lots of football as a kid and high schooler, I am aware of the violence of the game and the courage and skill it takes to play it. I assume I am like most fans in that I don't want to see anyone hurt, but at the same time I know at any moment that a serious injury may occur that well might disable a player for life. I believe in fitness, rigorous training and whatever safety procedures and equipment is required to protect players from injury. At the same time, I am beginning to realize just how damaging the game is to its players and especially the frequency of head injuries which have long-term deleterious impacts on players and their families. I think the fact that this topic has become more openly talked about at the same time that we are seeing a huge increase in head injuries among our troops returning from Iraq and Afganistan has made us all more conscious of this problem and its human dimensions: young men (mostly) doing something we applaud and in the process experiencing devastating harm. My two sons both passed on football and played soccer in high school and college. According to their parents none of my four grandkids, will ever be allowed to play football. Soccer seems much less threatening to a player's long time health. I find soccer interesting but it just does not keep my attention. How do you think about with this dilemma of being a fan of a sport which has many positive features, but has this fly in the ointment that these talented young people may end up terribly wounded and worse?

Bills fan since 1960. Attended first preseason game at Civic Stadium, soon to be renamed War Memorial. The first time I visited Civic Stadium was to watch demolition derby. Things were looking up on the corner of Best and Jefferson when Ralph Wilson put down his first dime. All my life it has been about school so where I studied or taught determind where I lived. School 61, School 62, Genesee-Fillmore Jr. High, Kensington High, Williamsville High, college on the Hudson, seminary and grad school in Chicago, teaching in Southern Oregon since 1975. I left the Eastside of Bflo, but it never left me. Is this the year I see a live game at the Ralph? Been back to Buffalo lots since I left in 1966 but never in football season.

Thank you for Glenn Bass's name. That reminds me that another player I enjoyed watching at War Memorial in those days when kids got in for a buck, is Archie Matsos along with Golden Wheels Dubenion.

Hmm, luck? I don't think so. That was another era. I started taking the bus by myself when I was six. Parents were not nearly as present in a child's life. No one from my family ever attended a game. I rode my bike to all the practices and home games, while the coach drove me to the away games if I arrived at our practice field on time. I did lock my bike to a fence. Why would two celebrity football players do any harm to a kid who just heard them give speeches about hard work, good sportsmanship and leadership? Milk then came in recyclable bottles; the public bus stop was a safe place to be for anyone. A positive memory of growing up on the Eastside of Buffalo in a much more favorable era for working class people.

In 1961 I was 13 and played on a little league football league in the Kensington section of Buffalo. At season's end the team had a banquet at a place on Bailey Ave. near Amherst. I took the Genesee bus and then transferred to the Bailey bus to attend. Al Bemiller, the Bill's center, from Syracuse U. and a wide reciever from Eastern Carolina, whose name I can't recall were the guest speakers. Afterwards, I was waiting for the bus, and a car stopped and these two guys were driving back downtown to a hotel and they offered to drive me to my house near Genesee and Moselle. They were very friendly and engaging and as you might imagine, they have always been my favorite Bills. Now one of you is going to remind me what the wide reciever's name is. He was tall, tanned and had a great southern accent which reminded me of Andy Griffin. I have no idea if they were great players, but was convinced they were good men.

Tennis, anyone?

The stats are important and I appreciate the work put into finding them and sharing them. The intangibles which impress me are his ability to run, but wisdom about when to take off. I like his willingness to block. He seems so resilient. He blows a pass or gets his head knocked off and he is right back in the fight. Under his leadership the O line seems to commit fewer penalties and when he is in charge in the red zone, I no longer assume that the best we can hope for is a field goal, if the other guys don't intercept. In a phrase he is steady while Edwards shook.