schoepfel1

The culture of the region changes today. And you thought Buffalo bills fans were passionate before we became a playoff team today lol? Today wasn't just a win for the Buffalo Bills, It was a win for everyone who has lived in this region for some time. Many people that I know from grade school that are not even bills fans were going crazy today just because a win for Buffalo is a win for Western New York. The residents of WNY are resilient hardworking caring people and what transpired today was a great representation for what our city stands for

The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. As crazy and at times painful today was, it was one of the greatest days of my life. I can promise you that no New England Patriots fan has ever experienced the joy and satisfaction that I experienced today. when a team like New England experiences such little adversity and hardships as a team, The fans don't even get that excited when the pats scored because it is expected and just so normal to them. The pain over the years makes today just that much sweeter. I can die happy honestly. But ****..... now I'm thinking I might actually see the Lombardi trophy hoisted in Orchard Park in my life time. Anything can happen going forward and I believe that all that pain we went through the past 17 years is gunna make the story that much greater going forward. -

Im 29 years old and I have never seen my Buffalo Bills reach the playoffs. I remember in 6th grade watching the music city miracle at a friends house thinking that my dad was going to be pissed haha, little did I know that that moment would haunt not only me but bills fans to this day. I didn’t like the bills until around 8th grade, but once I was hooked, it was like heroin. I remember going to games as a child, Bills crushing any team to step into orchard park, an atmosphere of positivity, and spending time with our fellow neighbors. I remember going to games and hoping that the opposing teams would score touchdowns because a lot of the Jim Kelly games I remember would be straight beatdowns of the other team and often the game would be wrapped up by halftime. As a child who didn’t understand how epic this time must have been for the city and for the community during some of the most depressing months of the year sounds like a dream come true right now. I would kill to see the bills lose 4 super bowls straight as sick as this sounds. Around the time of the changing of the bills jersey and retirement of eric molds was the time that I was all in on this team The bills losses would be so devastating for me growing up that if the bills would lose it would not only make the drive home miserable and bleak, but would also make the beginning of my week of school miserable until around thursday when the pain would subside and I would start getting excited to see who the bills were going up against that week. This process has lasted my whole life. It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I was able to take the bills off of my most important things in life and try to focus on making a career. The past year or two I have been resentful towards the bills because they have been so cruel to me that my values no longer aligned with anything about the bills (I hated the constant poor choices made by upper management which has included everything from changing coaches every 2-3 years usually along with a gm to trading away first round draft picks or very talented players (hogan, lynch, watkins, darius, woods, just examples) for literally dog ****. On top of the loses the uppermanagement decisions just seemed to be the icing on the cake for me. I think a lot of the fans would consider it similar to an emotionally abusive relationship. Ive visted many citys, been to many stadiums across the NFL socialized with fans of many teams and the conclusion is plain and simple, bills fans are the most dedicated and resilient fans of any NFL team. Tell me this, Name one team in the NFL that can lose 15+ seasons straight, have little to nothing really to look forward to of a future really BUT have 60,000 fans plus show up year after year, game after game to only be embarrassed for doing nothing other than loving their city and their team. Plain and simple the performance and culture of our buffalo bills does not align with what the people and city of buffalo respresent. The fans show up every sunday, the buffalo bills show up just enough each year to keep the fans invested the whole way through only to crush their soal at the end. (pittsburgh buffalo, 3rd stringers). The lasting impact of having a losing culture is toxic. Our regions fate is depending on my generation and we need as many leaders and role models as possible in our community so we are a place that people want to live, not a place everyone is in a hurry to leave. I lived in colorado for 4 years and that is what was required in order for me to figure out that my home of rochester is where I am needed for the rest of my life. Its embarassing that our team is known for tanking on the national stage and losing in breathtaking fashion. If that is how the rest of the country views buffalo then it makes me sad. 80,000 people show up on sunday in Buffalo NY to have a good time . Its definitely not because the bills are winning games. The people around me deserve better, they deserve to know that in the real world when you show up everyday and commit to something even when its kicking you in the ass and you wanna quit that the Reward is waiting for you if you just go that extra mile. The buffalo bills are only reinforcing to my fellow fans on why something is not possible or can’t be done. I am very curious to figure out how bills fans mindsets would be different if we had the success of the new england patriots. Mindset is an important attribute that affects every aspect of our lives. One with a negative mindset may never reach close to their potential where as a person that is resilient and can hold that positive mindset through even the darkest of hours have the capability to not only change their lives and the people around them but communities as a whole (george eastman, Robert Wegman, Tom galisano). I am curious if the bills losing culture has rubbed off on my fellow peers of my generation. The Bills are going to make the playoffs. Im not sure when but when they do, the feeling will be the greatest feeling that only a select few fans ever experience (Red sox, Cubs, Cavaliers). When the bills do make the playoffs and then make the push into the Super Bowl and finally bring the Lombardi trophy to Orchard Park; all the pain during the process will have been worth it and it will be THE Greatest underdog story of all time. I wrote this up a few weeks back when i was thinking about the impact of a losing team on a region of people. I'm not an english major, i'm just a die hard bills fan who has been reading these threads for the past 10 years and has never posted. The Bills will end their 17 year playoff drought today and it will be a glorious New Years in western new york this evening. Remember The darker the night, the Brighter the Day!!! The losing culture ends today Seya all in Jacksonville!!!!!!