Growing up in South Bufffalo everyone's father worked in steel mills, the railroad, the grain mills, Ford or Chevy... Worked hard all week and while on breaks talked Buffalo Bills, they couldn't wait for the weekends.. My first memory of the team was sitting in the living room and my grandfather and father watching the Bills on the old B&W Admirel TV... My Father saying,"Look at that SOB run!" He was talking about Carlton "Cookie" Gilchrist, the first man to gain 1,000 yards in the AFL... My grand dad was drinking a Simon Pure and my father a Black Label.. lol The city was thriving and so was it's football team..
The football team had it's down time but in 1969 we got to draft "The Juice"... Man I still remember watching him play for USC and thinking he is going to be a Buffalo Bill.. He came and went, gave us some fond memories and Lou Saban moved on for the second time...
Chuck Knox flew into town and made us a contender once again.. A few years at the top with Cribbs, Freddy and Fergie but it didn't last long.. About that time the Steel mills started to lay people off, it wasn't a big deal because those mills weren't going anywhere!.. Steel workers were tough and used to strikes, layoff's and lock outs.. Time passed and the Mills did shut down but somehow having the Bills made you forget about your financial problems especially in the late 80's
Marv Levy and company made me proud to be from Buffalo.. I moved out of the area by then because I had to find a job, but I was FROM BUFFALO! Had about a dozen years near the top and sure felt great..
It's been 10 years now, 1 winning season but not good enough for even a wildcard... My parents in Buffalo have passed away, the population of the city is about 1/3 of what it once was, the job market bleak.. But my beloved Buffalo Bills are still there and I still call it home..
It's been 30 plus years of job loss and population decline, an owner in his 90's and I watch the product that was on the field last week and I feel so helpless... I visited town a few weeks back, walked main Street from the Old Aud site to the Theater district.. I was shocked... Not a single department sore remained, Main Place Mall is just about empty, after seeing what my home town has become, I felt empty too..
I've seen what was once a Great American City become a shell of what it once was.. I've seen that City's Football Team Mirror what has happened to My Home Town... I'm sad, depressed and worried that my beloved Buffalo Bills will be playing football somewhere else soon... They will have to leave town just like I did to survive in this economy that we live in...
OK.. I'm done venting, sorry if I offended anyone... I hope you can understand how I feel and what this team has meant to me... Thank You All