Numark Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Not a season goes by I scream and wonder why the hell I am a buffalo sports fan. The answer is, I don't know. It kills me, but I love it for whatever reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoho Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 When I was 7 years old, one Sunday afternoon my Dad did something he had never done before. Instead of watching what my Mom wanted to watch on the television, he took me to my parents bedroom where the old TV was and turned on the Bills game. It was 1960. My Dad had been an usher at War Memorial Stadium and when the NFL absorbed the Browns, 49ers and Colts from the old All American Football Conference and left the Buffalo Bills behind, my Dad never forgave the NFL. Now, there was a new Buffalo Bills franchise and he was thrilled and was going to share it with his 7 year old sports fanatic. Just 4 years later, we were watching the Bills win the AFL championship (two years in a row). Those Sundays became a religious experience. Until my Dad passed away in 81, there is at least one thing we had in common and could talk about. Now I have a 30 year old son, and he is a Bills fan. So, for all you Ralph Wilson bashers, you have no clue what this team meant to Buffalo and those growing up in the area. So , that is why I am a Sports Fan. It is a connection to my growing up, my family and my friends. It is an underdog City that was never in the news except for too much snow or economic downturns. It unified Williamsville and Lackawanna not to mention Pittsford and Hamilton. Go Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 I'm writing a paper about why sports are so important to our culture and i want to include TBD in the paper. So I'm asking Why are you a sports fan? What drives you to devote the time, money and energy rooting for a team? (not just the Bills, any team) Any help you can provide would be very useful and assuming i have everyone's permission I will use some quotes from here in my final paper. Thanks in advance guys! At this point much comes down to my loyalty to the Bills, NYS, and the reigon of WNY. As much as we bicker, Bills Fans are a pretty cool, funny and interesting group of people imo. Despite the losing, one benefit I have gained is that my daughters have a no quit mentality, and are successful in part to this. Being a Bills Fan helped them to develop the desire to forge ahead in the face of defeat. My oldest daughter took some time off after college before going to law school and took a job in a fairly big company. A big, reigonal boss came in and said he was an "Ex-Bills fan" from Syracuse. Her response was, "Ex-Bills Fan. How flimsy." She is a Dartmouth Grad and wanted to apply for both coach and GM of the Bills. Her logic was that she could do a better job than than Levy and Mauron if the Bills insist on hiring Ivy League Grads. That's my girl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 At this point much comes down to my loyalty to the Bills, NYS, and the reigon of WNY. As much as we bicker, Bills Fans are a pretty cool, funny and interesting group of people imo. Despite the losing, one benefit I have gained is that my daughters have a no quit mentality, and are successful in part to this. Being a Bills Fan helped them to develop the desire to forge ahead in the face of defeat. My oldest daughter took some time off after college before going to law school and took a job in a fairly big company. A big, reigonal boss came in and said he was an "Ex-Bills fan" from Syracuse. Her response was, "Ex-Bills Fan. How flimsy." She is a Dartmouth Grad and wanted to apply for both coach and GM of the Bills. Her logic was that she could do a better job than than Levy and Mauron if the Bills insist on hiring Ivy League Grads. That's my girl! Trust me, she wouldn't find much enjoyment and fulfillment working for Ralph Wilson. She wouldn't be able to crack through the Detroit Mafia whch surrounds him. However, if she got to work with Russ Brandon in the marketing department she would learn a thing or two on how to hustle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair GM Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 That paper is going to receive an "F" Hamdan...pay no attention to a man who wears a pink blazer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 the unpredictability of outcomes makes sports compelling, entertaining and exhilirating. That on any given day, any team or individual may win. that at any moment you may see somethimg amazing or that has never been done before. just trying to correctly predict the winner of a competition with or without a wager is fun and mentally challenging. talking around the water cooler, attending or participating in an event, socially sport brings people together, be it individuals, families, communities or even a nation. As a youth coach, i know there are so many life lessons that children learn through sports (teamwork, sportsmanship, racial tolerance, etc...). i personally enjoy debating or second guessing coaching strategies and player personnel decisions amongst friends or in a Forum like TBD. that is why i am a sports fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 It's because we like being represented. Any time you see someone wearing an article of clothing that brands a team name or logo, you are showing your support for your desired team(s) Everyone has their own reason why they support the team(s) that they do, and some of the stories may have signifigant meaning or simply a family tradition or reminds that person of better times. Then there is that bond you form with strangers who support the same team(s) as you do. I'm sure there has been a time when you see a stranger wearing a Kelly jersey and you may or may not have said something to them letting them know you support the same thing. It all comes down to the bond with others that support the same team(s) as you and the fact that in a way you feel like they are playing for you, because anytime they win you feel better or in our case since the Bills have gone 10 years without a playoff appearance so when people find out that we are Bills fans, the reaction usually isnt supportive or positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 Bump Go BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 There are a whole bunch of reasons why people watch sports it usually breaks to to being a simple form of entertainment for most. Sports is like the ultimate form of human dram and reality TV. Its live, unscripted, and there is no doubt to the authenticity to the event. Now the reason I watch sports is because its the process of being a fan. What makes being a fan of any team (A real fan one that 1- doesn't switch teams once you reach the age of 13, 2- Always sticks up for his team even during the bad times, 3- roots against teams in the same city that play the same sport) is that you have to put the heart ache and disappointment on the line in order to achieve the feeling that goes with victory. See if you just front run you don't get that same feeling as the who was there through the bad. When the Bills make the playoffs again that is going to be a sweet feeling for us true Bills fan because we put up with the decade of crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Because it's one of the last remaining facets of life that designates, definitively, a winner and a loser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBaroo Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I'm writing a paper about why sports are so important to our culture and i want to include TBD in the paper. So I'm asking Why are you a sports fan? What drives you to devote the time, money and energy rooting for a team? (not just the Bills, any team) Any help you can provide would be very useful and assuming i have everyone's permission I will use some quotes from here in my final paper. Thanks in advance guys! What kind of a paper is this?! - Who assigned this ---either our civilization is really coming apart or you just go to Buff State Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dog14787 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Sports athletes are like great frontiersmen, forever pushing the limits of what a mind and body can do, going where no man/woman has gone before, sometimes through a collective effort, sometimes an individual one and when a team or individual triumphs in honor of his or her City or Country they also triumph and bask in the glory. Sometimes Its the story behind sports athletes though, real people like you and I in many ways, striving to be the best that they can be, is what makes it extra special. We learn about them, the schools they attended,their personal accomplishments, even what they like to eat and drink, and a connection is made. You are no longer cheering for just a team or just an athlete, you are cheering for the person inside the athlete. Some of the many reasons why I'm a big sports fan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninSixburgh Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 First my Dad taught me to play sports (back in the 60's there were only three sports we played - football, baseball and basketball). Back then, you played sports with your friends. Every day, at recess, after school, all weekend and all summer. There were no XBoxs, cell phones or 24 TV channels. Of course you watched the Bills or the Browns. (Again, it was the 60's - one or two games a week on TV. Usually either the Bills (AFL game) or Browns (pre 1970 NFL) team. In the winter you listened to Little Three or Buffalo Braves basketball, or the Sabres on the radio. Then Joe Namath came along, I was about 10. Any self respecting male in 1969 wanted to be Joe Namath (even Bills fans) From there, sports in general and football (Bills football) in particular became a common bond among family and friends. As another poster said, sports is the "original reality TV". Here are just a few examples I remember vividly: -Jets beat Colts in SB III '69 -Mets beat Orioles in '69 series - St. Bona goes to Final Four in 1970; Lanier blows out knee against Jacksonville in semi's - OJ goes for 2003 against Jets and the "Run OJ Run" commercial (long before the LA Bronco chase) - Dr J dunks over Kurt Rambis in '83 NBA Finals - Villanova beats Georgetown in 85 NCAA - Jim Kelly takes the field at Rich for first time against Jets in '86 home opener - 51-3 - Reich leads Bills to Greatest Comeback in NFL History in '93 Even...WIDE RIGHT..(as painful as it was and still is)...is all great drama. And usually the joy or heartache is shared with family and friends, especially if its your team. Even last night, Duke-Butler was one of the best basketball games ever to watch. If that last shot had gone in, it would have arguably been the greatest basketball game ever played. These examples and thousands more are better than any "will Jake pick the 'Ho or the Librarian?" on The Bachelor scenario that are manufactured for television today. And when you get older, they are all good memories......even the bad ones... So tip your glass to all those Bills fans who are no longer with us who over the years said... "Maybe they will win JUST ONE before I die!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddaryl Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I'm not a sports fan. I'm just a Sabres and Bills fan because that is what I grew up with. take away the Sabres and the Bills and I don't really even follow sports much at all. Got better things to do then pay too much attention to spoiled rotten athletes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninSixburgh Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 My family has a similiar story. My brother and I were introduced to the Bills by our Dad when we were kids in the 60s and 70s. He was blue collar, but sent us to college. As we got on with life, my brother and I moved out of WNY and led lives much different than our blue collar WNY roots. One of the few things that we continued to share in common with our Dad until he passed away was the Bills. Every phone call home usually started with " So wha'dya think of the Bills this week Dad?" Good or bad, it was the one thing he loved talking about. Last football season, I was talking to my brother who has lived in the South for almost 20 years now. He told me he got his 4 year old son his first Bills jersey and they were watching the Bills game and the Bills were getting embarrassed by someone. I thought about my own kids who are now in their late teens, have never lived in WNY, but are die hard Bills fans. So, I said to him "You know, my kids never saw first hand the Kelly-era Bills and have really never known what it's like when the Bills have been "winners". You don't live in WNY anymore, why do you want to put your son through the same thing?" His response. "I bleed red, white and blue, and my son will bleed with me!" That's what being a Bills fan is all about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PS 56 Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 1. Its great entertainment. 2. It provides a basis for conversation with other fans. 3. We can no longer kill gladiators in the arena of feed Christians to lions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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