You don't get it

[Stenbar]

If that is what you think you are free to be a fan of some other team. The OP and the many of us like him who have lived through many ups and downs, and far worse Bills team than the current (and far better) are also free to be fans and continue to hope for the best and look forward to a turnaround. It is very tiring listening to the constant unconstructive whining. My suggestion is to enjoy it while it lasts because sometime soon this team will be elsewhere. Then you can be a Pats fan full time if that is what you want.

Now where in my posts did I say I wanted to be a fan of another team? I've lived through all the ups and downs also and its gotten worse. Unconstructive whining? Lol...none here just my opinion. If your opinion is you want them here regardless of being a doormat for other teams that's your choice to defend them against fans such as myself who will say they want a winner and are willing to see a change and in my opinion the change has to be the owner in order for them to succeed.

[JTO]

I hate to say it but the Bills are better off with a new owner.

 

I've been following the Bills for years and have been a die hard fan but enough is enough. It's time for Ralph to start appreciating bill fans and putting out a great winning product for all to see and love for many years to come. I can't continue to billieve, no pun intended, year on year out only to be disappointed by week 4.

[Albany,n.y.]

Here are my thoughts on this thread's topics.

 

1) I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist. The team has very little talent on offense, especially the O-line, and it's defense will be relying on 2 LBs who haven't shown recently that they can play anything near a full season. Anyone who sees more than 5 or 6 wins isn't an optimist, they are delusional.

 

2) I believe in the good of the team long term, not game by game. If they're bad enough to be a 10 or 11 loss team, then I hope they're bad enough to be worse & get the top pick in the draft. I'm not talking tanking games, I just think if they're that bad, why not be the worst and get something out of it. One more bad year, which is going to happen anyway, may as well be really bad so we can get the impact QB who can win for us for the next decade. As a ticket buying fan, I have the right to root for anything I want to. I'm not rooting for them to lose from opening day, but if they're 2-10, I'd rather lose out and go 2-14 than see 2 meaningless December wins that cost us an impact franchise changing player. If you have any doubts how meaningless wins by a bad team hurts the long term health of the franchise look at the most recent drafts. Darius, a no-brainer at 3 looks like a can't miss. When they won a couple of more meaningless games & drafted out of the top 10, they ended up with Maybin & McKelvin. Even at 8, they selected Whitner. The higher the pick, the less room for error. Even in the Big Mike draft, once they got below Peppers, they were in crap shoot territory because that year class was so bad.

 

3) Ralph is not cheap. Look at him over the years. He spent with Polian. He jammed up the cap with Butler & spent in the early Donahoe years. Again-he's not cheap-he just doesn't like throwing good money after bad. As a result, Ralph opens his wallet when he feels he has the QB to win with & build around, but closes his wallet when he has no faith in the QB. Based on his actions, he does not have any faith in the current QBs to open up the wallet. That will only solve itself with a franchise QB to get Ralph excited again.

 

4) I hate to say this, but I have no faith in the Nix/Gailey duo. One was taken off the retirement scrap heap & the other off the coaching scrap heap after getting fired as an offensive coordinator. If this year gets bad enough to shake things up enough to get rid of both of them, I'm more than willing to watch 1 more year of bad football and have Ralph bring in the equivalent of what he did in 1978 when he brough in Chuck Knox.

[CarolinaBillsFan]

My optimism in preseason begins at 100 and usually is about 15 by the time mid season rolls around.

[Rico]

Sez who? I say that the optimist is less of a fan that the realist. Try sitting in my shoes for 52 years. Lost season after lost season. Blown draft picks. Horrible trades. Inability of the bean counters to keep their hands out of the football side of the business. I could go on, but you catch my drift.

 

And year after year where am I? Behind the Buffalo Bills.

 

Meanwhile the pollyannaish fans see every day as sunny, every season as successful whatever the real outlook, no matter the final score.

 

You tell me...who's the REAL fan?

 

I say it's me.

You are absolutely 100% correct.

 

But again for the record, I see nothing wrong with the Pollyannas, they are entitled to their opinions just like anyone else. As long as they don't cry and whine about those who don't agree with them, it's all good,

[Yoho]

You are absolutely 100% correct.

 

But again for the record, I see nothing wrong with the Pollyannas, they are entitled to their opinions just like anyone else. As long as they don't cry and whine about those who don't agree with them, it's all good,

 

As the person who started this thread, my point was I begin every year anew. I know that every year teams come out of nowhere. I can always paint the scenario where we are one of those teams. This year it is the Merriman, Dareus, Williams trio that gives us some playmakers that change games around. I know we open versus Kansas City who has weaknesses of their own. I refuse to give up in preseason because they don't look good in a game they didn't even game plan for (why would you when you play them in the regular season?) I can't spend my time bashing Ralph because 1.) I dont believe he wants anything but success for the Bills (he may lack the patience and management skills to make that happen) and 2.) beyond all odds the Bills are still in Western New York (nothing else is). I guess I can deal with disappointment but I find the season so much more enjoyable going in with hope. If that makes me Pollyanna so be it. I just cant imagine watching the Bills waiting for Ralph to pass away, being convinced that we are going to be 4-12 and having no hope in the second week of pre-season.

[Rico]

As the person who started this thread, my point was I begin every year anew. I know that every year teams come out of nowhere. I can always paint the scenario where we are one of those teams. This year it is the Merriman, Dareus, Williams trio that gives us some playmakers that change games around. I know we open versus Kansas City who has weaknesses of their own. I refuse to give up in preseason because they don't look good in a game they didn't even game plan for (why would you when you play them in the regular season?) I can't spend my time bashing Ralph because 1.) I dont believe he wants anything but success for the Bills (he may lack the patience and management skills to make that happen) and 2.) beyond all odds the Bills are still in Western New York (nothing else is). I guess I can deal with disappointment but I find the season so much more enjoyable going in with hope. If that makes me Pollyanna so be it. I just cant imagine watching the Bills waiting for Ralph to pass away, being convinced that we are going to be 4-12 and having no hope in the second week of pre-season.

Except for your take on Ralph, I would tend to agree with most everything you said, even though I wouldn't say it on here. Nothing wrong with being an optimist, nothing wrong with a pessimist, it's all good.

[Ronin]

Unlike you, wholly original garbage.

 

You know it's funny, every year fans of the team rise and set like the sun.

 

It's all gung ho, anyone that can't waste their money watching B-grade football isn't a fan, but you know what's the most hilarious thing about it, come November, if not earlier, the people bitching the loudest and uttering the most &^#%ing's will be people such as those that started this thread and those that "are gonna show everyone what it means to be a 'real fan'."

 

LOL

 

It's like clockwork. You guys go from this mode into full-blown psycho mode at the end of the season making the critics today seem like optimists still hopeful that the Bills can make the playoffs from 3-12.

 

It's good humor though. At least as Bills fans we get some entertainment, ... even if it is at the expense of the ones like you.

 

Keep chatterin' though, ... makes it all the more amusing later on.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

You know it's funny, every year fans of the team rise and set like the sun.

 

It's all gung ho, anyone that can't waste their money watching B-grade football isn't a fan, but you know what's the most hilarious thing about it, come November, if not earlier, the people bitching the loudest and uttering the most &^#%ing's will be people such as those that started this thread and those that "are gonna show everyone what it means to be a 'real fan'."

 

LOL

 

It's like clockwork. You guys go from this mode into full-blown psycho mode at the end of the season making the critics today seem like optimists still hopeful that the Bills can make the playoffs from 3-12.

 

It's good humor though. At least as Bills fans we get some entertainment, ... even if it is at the expense of the ones like you.

 

Keep chatterin' though, ... makes it all the more amusing later on.

 

When you insult a Bills fan that has been there since 1960, you make YOURSELF look bad. I don't need to reveal this for it to be so.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

You're definitely saltier ...

You heard this I'm assuming?

[Beerball]

You heard this I'm assuming?

My overactive sweat glands are well documented.

[Yoho]

You know it's funny, every year fans of the team rise and set like the sun.

 

It's all gung ho, anyone that can't waste their money watching B-grade football isn't a fan, but you know what's the most hilarious thing about it, come November, if not earlier, the people bitching the loudest and uttering the most &^#%ing's will be people such as those that started this thread and those that "are gonna show everyone what it means to be a 'real fan'."

 

LOL

 

It's like clockwork. You guys go from this mode into full-blown psycho mode at the end of the season making the critics today seem like optimists still hopeful that the Bills can make the playoffs from 3-12.

 

It's good humor though. At least as Bills fans we get some entertainment, ... even if it is at the expense of the ones like you.

 

Keep chatterin' though, ... makes it all the more amusing later on.

 

Interesting theory but I have not seen that trend at all. The ones who are negative in the beginning seem to revel in the defeats. They seem to believe that it proves their incredible prognostication skills and football expertise. "See I told you we would suck" "See I told we should have drafted (fill in the blank)" You will never see me going into "full blown psycho mode". They are the Bills, I will root for them every week they play. I have been here since Richie Lucas and Wray Carlton. I have seen far worse teams with less potential than this one. So I am glad you find the Bills losing "amusing". I guess we all get our entertainment in different forms.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

Interesting theory but I have not seen that trend at all. The ones who are negative in the beginning seem to revel in the defeats. They seem to believe that it proves their incredible prognostication skills and football expertise. "See I told you we would suck" "See I told we should have drafted (fill in the blank)" You will never see me going into "full blown psycho mode". They are the Bills, I will root for them every week they play. I have been here since Richie Lucas and Wray Carlton. I have seen far worse teams with less potential than this one. So I am glad you find the Bills losing "amusing". I guess we all get our entertainment in different forms.

 

Yoho, I have a few questions for you:

 

1. Did you ever get to meet Tom Sestak, and if you did what was he like?

2. How did you/other fans you knew react when the Bills traded away Daryle Lamonica?

3. Was Cookie Gilchrist really as bad personally as people make him out to be?

4. Any good personal Paul Maguire stories?

 

I always love hearing about the past, even though we are doomed to repeat it.

[Rob T from OP]

I once believed in Santa Claus but then i turned 8 and reality sunk in. As long as Ralph owns this team it will be a Mickey Mouse run organization.( Sorry Mickey for the comparison)

 

 

I have agree with you. This team keeps shipping players out of here because of money reasons. There are examples of of that player leavingy ever year for $$$$$$. It's all about profitality !!! And if the fans start not going to games then they tell us that it's the area's economy. Then the rumors start flying about moving... This act is getting old.

You can't tell me a small market team can't win. Just look at Pittsburgh and Green Bay. They prove it all in how the franchise is ran!!!... Sorry but I'm a fan and I'm sick of seeing the team being a Bottom feeder for over a decade.I'm also sick of seeing this team's better players playing on other teams.... When's the last time a Buffalo Bill Pro Bowl player played to the end of his contract and retired???????

What a JOKE!!!!!!

[Billsrhody]

When it comes down to it, all the people posting on this board are bills fans, none of us can change that. People complain and complain but I dont understand why. Its not like you can just pull a 180 and start rooting for the patriots.

 

As long as we're all doomed to be bills fans, why not be optimistic?

[Yoho]

Yoho, I have a few questions for you:

 

1. Did you ever get to meet Tom Sestak, and if you did what was he like?

2. How did you/other fans you knew react when the Bills traded away Daryle Lamonica?

3. Was Cookie Gilchrist really as bad personally as people make him out to be?

4. Any good personal Paul Maguire stories?

 

I always love hearing about the past, even though we are doomed to repeat it.

 

The only things I can comment on is that there used to be a bar in Buffalo called Sestak's and Maguire's. In those days, players needed a supplemental income and for those guys owning a bar was as good as any. Paul Maguire used to bartend on a regular basis. I was too young to frequent the place but I heard that Sestak was more of a silent partner.

 

As far as the Lamonica trade went, as usual all Bills fans liked the backup qb (Lamonica) more than the starter (Kemp). However what has been lost over the years is that Art Powell and Tom Flores had great years with Oakland and it seemed we were getting this tremendous QB and WR (he was probably a split end back then). What a message board moment that trade would have been if such a thing existed.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Yoho

[RyanC882]

If the Bills are the Clippers they are playing at 4 in the Rose Bowl. Please remember if Ralph Wilson wanted to leave Buffalo he has had every chance to do so and never did. See Bill Bidwell, Art Modell, Robert Irsay... etc. There is NOTHING about my favorite city of Buffalo that justifies an NFL franchise but the fans. If Ralph wanted an excuse, he had a million of them.

 

 

The fans are a HUGE justification. In no other city would people like us continue to go to games after a decade like this last one. Also, you can't just consider "Buffalo" in the Bills market. Rochester, Syracuse, Northern PA (Erie) and Southern Ontario together total around 8 million people. So that's a pretty freaking huge market.

[Buftex]

We are kindred spirits, Yoho.

 

I'm with you all the way… and it would take a huge catastrophe for me to not enjoy the season.

 

I'm expecting the Bills to take a big step towards respectability this year but hey, maybe I am delsusional. If I am, I don't care.

 

I'm a happy person, my life is good, and I love the Bills. None of that is gonna change.

 

I don't know why some people (not necessarily you) can't understand that being critical of the Bills doesn't necessarily make most of us love the team any less...we wouldn't be here, if we didn't. Maybe it is a perverse love, but, I expect nothing better than a 6-10 season for the Bills (and that is optimistic for me right now) but I am so stoked for football season, and I will not miss a second of the Bills season...part of the fun, for some, (me included I guess) is seeing the big picture, or, at least, what we think the big picture is, and offer theories of where the team we love is succeeding and where it is failing. As negative as some may feel I am about the Bills, I will never, ever, ever, stoop to the level of wanting the team to lose games, no matter how unimportant they are, just to secure a higher draft pick...that, to me, is the ultimate in negative...not to get too melodramatic, but, at 46, I do wonder how many Sundays I have left, to enjoy the simple, but amazing joy, of just sitting with like minded people wanting something to happen, no matter how unimportant the results are, bigger picture.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Buftex

[KnightRider]

For some Bills fans rooting for the Bills and being optimistic is not an optional alternative. I am a Bills Fan. I have been so since 1960 when my World War II vet dad let me know how the original All America Football Conference screwed the Bills (the 2nd most successful franchise in the league) and accepted the Browns, the 49'ers and the Colts into the NFL and dropped the Bills. I have been a die hard ever since. I will be an optimist every year. I will find the silver lining in every cloud. I will hope that this year is the year that it all comes together. I am convinced that this year that Merriman, Williams and Dareus will turn this season around. I was convinced that Monte Ledbetter would turn the season around in the late 60's. For those of you that want to lament that we have not made the playoff for ten years and that the franchise will not turn around until the owner dies, the management changes or karma blesses us, you are missing out on the wonderful feeling of optimism that begins every season. Am I fooling myself? Maybe. But the great thing is I wont know until we see how it plays out and until then I am an optimist. I am one of the crazies that spends a large portion of my disposable income on Bills tickets. Guess what, it is people like me that have kept the Bills in Buffalo. So, forgive me for hoping for the best. Sorry for not doing the woe is me routine. If us optimists leave, the Bills are the Los Angeles Clippers.

 

 

Fantastic post... I wish I still had that attitude.

[Yoho]

I don't know why some people (not necessarily you) can't understand that being critical of the Bills doesn't necessarily make most of us love the team any less...we wouldn't be here, if we didn't. Maybe it is a perverse love, but, I expect nothing better than a 6-10 season for the Bills (and that is optimistic for me right now) but I am so stoked for football season, and I will not miss a second of the Bills season...part of the fun, for some, (me included I guess) is seeing the big picture, or, at least, what we think the big picture is, and offer theories of where the team we love is succeeding and where it is failing. As negative as some may feel I am about the Bills, I will never, ever, ever, stoop to the level of wanting the team to lose games, no matter how unimportant they are, just to secure a higher draft pick...that, to me, is the ultimate in negative...not to get too melodramatic, but, at 46, I do wonder how many Sundays I have left, to enjoy the simple, but amazing joy, of just sitting with like minded people wanting something to happen, no matter how unimportant the results are, bigger picture.

 

Being critical is not a problem. I just can't understand how at this time, when none of us have any clue how this season will turn out, you can't turn on the optimistic gene. What if Merriman, Darieus and Wiliams anchor the defense and make big plays? What if Fitz and Johnson and Jackson , Smith and Spiller combine with a break out young WR and make the offense more exciting? I am not predicting this will happen but I can not rule it out either. I guess for some fans expecting the worst and hoping for the best appeals to their negative instincts, I far prefer hoping for the best and if it does not work out, I will cope with it. At this point, I want to believe and there are always reasons to believe. I understand why some criticize the Bills ownership and management, it is just that there are some positive things happening and the constant criticism and whining get really old