cwater10

Great memories... That was my senior year at Bonaventure, then I was on the road as well. I get back at least once a year. I now live in Southwest Florida, but Buffalo will always be home. I think that is the spirit that caught Kelly by surprise once he spent some time here. Houston could never offer that! Glad he came around and happy that he stayed. Following The Bills has been a journey. My family had season tickets from the OJ years and I finally let them go in... 1989. That worked out well. My first four seasons as a non season ticket holder were all Super Bowl years. I figured it was a sign to say away But following from afar has been great, especially since the internet arrived. It always amazes me how many "Bills Mafia!" yells I get wherever I wear my Bills gear around here and out west too! Great fans from all generations... Can't touch 'em... I still remember the "Go Sabres, and Take The Bills With You!" bumper stickers from the 70's. We would see them and laugh. We would have been heartbroken if they ever did go. Thank you Terry and Kim. Everyone is right where they belong. Except for that guy who sat in front of me in section C from 1981 - 1987. That guy belongs in custody! Maybe he is... Good thread. Good night!

Oh man... Like it was yesterday. Thanks for the memory, Albany. My inner Phil Ranalo just smoked a cigar. What's new Harry?

Your question may have been best answered by Roger Waters and David Gilmour in 1979 "I don't need no arms around me And I dont need no drugs to calm me. I have seen the writing on the wall. Don't think I need anything at all. No! Don't think I'll need anything at all. All in all it was all just bricks in the wall. All in all you were all just bricks in the wall." It was easily the most dispiriting time ever to be a Bills fan. The drought of 2000 -2017 was mind numbing mediocrity for the most part. This was something quite different. For Baby Boomer Bills fans, the 10 year period from 1976 - 1986, the experience of waking up every day to read the Courier Express, watching a 4 minute local sports report (or 3) every evening, just trying to live the good life of being a Bills fan, was brutal. And strangely, it was also wonderful. It was, as Marv would eventually say, exactly where and when we wanted to be. It was like a twisted dream that drew on emotions that would have been expected from... let's say: The Great Depression, Woodstock, and some other horrific historical reference that was so inhumane, that a football metaphor would be completely and irresistibly inappropriate for. By the time Jim opted for the USFL and declared that being drafted by Buffalo made him cry, it was just another brick in the wall. Still, it somehow made viscous cosmic sense to Bills fans just like losing that 4th Super Bowl did. In 1976, we came crashing to earth from the euphoric ride of the OJ era. First OJ held out and demanded to be traded to LA. Then, on the eve of the opener, he signed with Buffalo once again, and all seemed normal. We all exhaled that the thrill ride of OJ would continue and at least the offense would keep us on the edge of our seats. After a 2-2 start, Fergy suffered a broken back somewhere in that haze, and they never won again. 2 -12 in 1976 led directly to 2-12 in 1977. OJ tore up his knee, and would never again be relevant (until he was again... in ways that we could not believe, until we had to believe it). Because of prior trades and expansion, those twin 2-12 finishes did not even net us a #1 overall pick. Instead we drafted Phil Dokes. Remember him? If you do, it's just scar tissue. If you don't, there is good reason. Finally, 1979 brought us a good break and the OJ trade gifted us the #1 pick overall. After much fanfare, we selected a linebacker, Tom Cousineau from Ohio State. Cousineau was apparently a role model for future Buffalo highly drafted stars. He said thanks, but no thanks and opted to sign with the freakin' Montreal Allouettes of the CFL. Seriously... we lost the #1 overall pick to the CFL. Can you imagine the Twitter meltdown if that happened today? Yep, it was another brick in the wall to feed tortured Bills fans souls. More hemlock please! Somehow the Bills landed on their feet and had a great draft anyway, landing foundational players in Jerry Butler, Fred Smerlas, Jim Haslett, Jeff Nixon and good depth in Rod Kush and Ken "Baby" Johnson. A pleasant 1979 turnaround to an encouraging 7 - 9 (sound familiar), actually did usher in a brief period of Woodstock like euphoria for Bills fans. 1980 began with breaking the Miami "curse" of the 1970's (0-20). The curse was every bit as vile in the 70's as "The Drought" was for modern day Bills fans. Soon the city was all singing "Talking Proud" and players were dancing and partying on field. Goal posts came down. Chuck Knox was the football messiah that we had been dreaming of. With the # 1 defense and Ferguson in a groove, Super Bowl dreams were real, even likely. And then more bricks.... Fergy with a gruesome ankle injury on the eve on the playoffs followed by an apparent playoff victory in San Diego blown up in shocking and sudden Billsy fashion as Rod Smith (who?) goes like 85 yards with a minute left. WTF? Another playoff season followed in 1981. 1982 arrived with promise of more playoff fun, and the Bills started 2-0 after a thrilling come from behind home victory over Minnesota on Thursday night. Times were good, right. Look out! INCOMING BRICKS! At that point the NFL Players went on strike for a month or two, and nothing was ever the same for Bills fans. For added foreshadowing effect, 3 days after that thrilling Bills victory over Minnesota, the beloved Courier Express just went out of business. The player strike followed a day later. Bricks everywhere! When the smoke cleared the Bills were a mess and just tanked the rest of the abbreviated season. After the season ended in misery, Chuck Knox said "get me outta here" and decided that Seattle would be a nice place to live. An angry Joe Cribbs would soon decide to spend what seemed like an eternity demanding more money or a trade, while checking in daily with reporters from "his mother's home in Sulligent, Alabama", instead of on the field with The Bills. He would soon take his talents to Birmingham, Alabama of the USFL. One last ray of hope was that The Bills had recouped some measure of compensation for the Tom Cousineau debacle in the form of an extra first round pick in the upcoming draft when Cousineau decided that The CFL was not so cool and he wanted back into the NFL. Buffalo traded his rights to Cleveland for a first. Yes, Cleveland Rocks! That pick, of course, became Jim Kelly. A moment of silence to digest the kick in the gut that we all felt when, almost on queue, Kelly turned around and pulled a "Cousineau" and refused to come to town. It really was the final brick in the wall. 1984 brought 2-14. 1985 brought 2-14. Darcy Regier never imagined this kind of suffering. So, in summary... for those of you that were not around, don't remember or maybe don't care, this should give you a sense of why we lined the streets in welcome when Kelly finally came to town in 1986. The 4 Super Bowls that followed were so great and so Buffalo! I would not have missed a minute of any of this. God bless Tim Russert's soul, and "GO BILLS!"

Klay Thompson, Ken Griffey Jr, Andrew Luck, Clay Matthews III, Barry Bonds, Brett Hull, Kobe Bryant and Cal Ripken would all like to apply for inclusion into your club. Archie Manning isn't quite sure what to make of it all and Nick O'Leary was last seen running from this thread with one glove on. Even Marcia Clark and Mark Fuhrman know, These Gloves Don't Fit!

Hilarious... You are insulted that you had to waste your time clicking on a thread titled " Allen or Darnold: Who Would You Rather Have?" to see what it was about, if it was worth your time, or if it was of interest to you? What were you expecting the thread to be about, the meaning of life? In the immortal words of Mr Rodgers, RELAX! We are neighbors here, eh?

Great! Send us back Jason Peters and we will send back McCoy.

"Heroic run to 1 - 4"

Because Buffalo signed Beast Mode to a one day contract, stopped the game in the final minute to put him on the wall of fame... And then handed him the F8c^^n** Ball!

Somewhere, P.T. Barnum is laughing.

So, you are saying that while Kelly raised the level of play of his of his teammates, Luck has not?

I think my ex wife has somehow created 743 unique profiles on TBD. Virtually every post reads like she is screaming the words at me.

Perhaps I can be the one to interrupt what must be a really bad trip. You appear to be quite agitated and traumatized by the notion that Brandon is doing "football things" by executing his duties as CEO and President of a professional football team. This slip down the looking glass appears to be exacerbated by the omission of some fantastical, mythical football god who would, in theory, be more adept at doing this "football stuff". Don't look down! Because what you may see lurking down there below the ledge that you have found yourself are these mythical, fantastical "football guys" doing "football stuff" that Brandon has hired to do this "football stuff". They are guys named Nix and Whaley. One is walking away and one is walking straight at you. Do not look him straight in the eye! If you do, he will telekinetically burn a big orange "S" into the dark recesses of your struggling psyche. Be careful out there man. And even though these football dudes are invisible to some, it is rumored that they do indeed, now do the football stuff thinking down there in Orchard Park Wonderland. And just because neither of these invisible wizards hail from the evil kingdom of Syracuse, they still opted to listen when the football community of other football wizards whispered in hushed tones about one very highly acclaimed football coach whom several other football guys sought for their own football kingdoms. If only they had turned an run when they spotted the big orange "S" clouded from their view under that cleverly worn visor. Then we could all just climb back out of the chess board and resume screaming at the other demons that plague our daily hells....

The Mayan calendar thinks this question is messed up...

And apropos of everything: "Adversity does not build character. Adversity reveals character" - Marv Levy

They did. They signed Byrd for 6.9 million. The last time I checked, that signing counts against their cap for this year and will result in Byrd taking the field for the Buffalo Bills in 2013. That signing needed to be taken into account when evaluating the decision on Levitre. Reality is real! As the man said, "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts."

Sorry Vince, but that dog won't hunt. You are presented with a list that includes Eric Wood, Kyle Williams, Stevie Johnson, Fred Jackson, Mario Williams. Then you choose Urbik and Pears to illustrate your point about not keeping your top players. Really? BTW, I would guarantee you that very few NFL GM's, particularly that successful ones, would have been found throwing 8 million per in the direction of Andy Levitre. He is a solid and consistent player, but not $8 million solid. If your point is that the Bills have not been successful in re-signing their top talent in recent years, I beg to differ. Look back at the list and tell me that again. I don't see how you arrive at that conclusion when presented with those names. Would I like to go back and add Pears and Urbik to the list? Yes, without question. The Bills did have one of the top rated OL's in the league over the past few years. You don't get there without those type of signings. Or are you suggesting that success was all the result of A Levitre's awesomeness?

That would be the same front office that has re-upped Eric Wood, Kyle Williams, Stevie Johnson, Fred Jackson, Leodis McKelvin, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Scott Chandler and numerous others as well as shelling out serious $$ for Mario Williams and handing over 7 Million to Byrd as franchise tag recently. What is it about reality in the salary cap era that proves so confounding for some fans? You have to pick your spots in today's NFL. It is no longer a viable option to keep every player that you would have in previous decades. Give credit where due. And next year when we are having this conversation about CJ Spiller, Byrd round 2, and Dareus, will you still be lamenting the lack of an $8 Million annual commitment to a guard? Which of those 3 would you choose Levitre over?

This post caused Da'Rick to experience a glaucoma flare up and seek treatment. </Relevance>

Have you ever noticed that Tea has a very bitter after taste.... a little like astro turf...

Thank them and seek help for your annoying case of ODS...

They are horrific as journalists. As entertainers, they are much worse. I like to listen to sports talk when I drive, so I hold my nose and listen. I must say, the stench is growing out of control. BTW... what is the deal with that station and Lee Evans. To hear them tell it, The Bills just traded Jerry Rice for a roll of ankle tape. Evans was a stand up guy, but let's face it, he is not much of a receiver by 2011 NFL standards. Results are what matter in the NFL and his are not the stuff to build around. Good grief, let it go guys....

What you said... I think you just caused a mass panic in some meeting room at WGR550. Can you imagine the horror if people start to suspect the Bills are not in the midst of a massive exodus conspiracy... Oh no! Take it back!

Some guy named Tasker did OK after being waived by the Oilers...

The Reading Department has developed an on-line tutorial to help you prepare for the Reading portion of the test. In the Reading Comprehension section of the test, there are two types of questions that are designed to measure your ability to understand what you read. The PRACTICE TEST consists of twenty questions that will test the same reading skills as the Accuplacer using the same types of questions. After choosing an answer, you will be shown the correct answer as well as explanations as to why each answer is either correect or incorrect. The tutorial also has links to websites that will provide additonal practices to strengthen both your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Links to study skills sites are also given to provide you with time management, test-taking and various other study strategies. The menu on the left provides links to all of these sites. Good Luck!

Vanek is lazy...