The NFL Finally Gives Us First Place in Something…..Where Were You

[Best Player Available]

We were living in San Rafael, Ca. Actually was taping the game but turned the VCR off at half time. Had minimal interest at the start of the second half. Then it broke loose. I have always been pissed I was not one of the 2 million fans in attendance.

[Beerball]

I was in NYC (visiting for art stuff, before I made the move there) watching the game on a TV in a bar, my girlfriend and I drank a bit too much beer and were kind of tanked after the 1st quarter. At half time we decided to call an artist (who is really old now and was from Buffalo or has some kind of Buffalo connection and was actually pretty old then) we knew and go visit his studio, it was a great studio visit and we both enjoyed it.

 

The next day on the subway I saw someone reading the Post. On the back cover was a picture of a Houston play with his hands on his head and a headline that read "they choked!". I said "no effing way!" My girlfriend looked at me funny and said "what"? I pointed it out and we went to buy the paper. I couldn't believe I had missed it. I still have never seen the whole second half just the highlights.

Wow, that's a cool story.

 

Have any pics of the GF you'd be willing to share?

[Woody]

Was in an old apartment of mine in Albany, hungover big time on the couch. Kept getting up OCD-like off the couch to follow the same pattern of steps through the place after every score (as if I had some sort of special powers). What a glorious hangover it was. I never felt so bad and so good at the same time before (or since).

[walstib]

I was in either N2 or N3, had seasons low in N2 but we moved up to the top row at halftime. Why? Because my fiancé (wife now), her brother and a friend of ours had snuck in a bunch of beer in a duffle bag and with so many people leaving, we didn't want to get caught. Security then wasn't what it is nowadays, plus we had a couple friends that worked security that actually came up and would bring confiscated beer up to us (thanks to all the Canadians that always got caught btw).

Anyway, we watched the exodus of people from up top while I bitched that we should probably leave too and listen to Van on the way home. My wonderful fiance(whom I met at a game several years prior) talked me out of leaving and we enjoyed one of the greatest games (still love the raiders and phins championship games) that I've ever been too. A truly amazing day to be at a Bills game.

 

My experience is very similar. I started the game with family: my mother, brother, cousins and aunt, all boozed up in the section my father worked in as an usher (Section M). At half time, I wandered behind the scoreboard to meet some friends and lament the end of our reign over the AFC. Upon returning to our seats to begin the 3rd quarter, my family had scattered and were no where to be found. I headed to the very top row (Section M, somewhere) and watched the comeback with a group of drunk Canadians. I'll never forget the "just go for it - on every play" attitude that permeated everything; especially after the pick six we gave up to start the second half. There was a point in the 2nd half when there was a timeout, TV or otherwise, just before the Oilers were going to attempt a field goal. During the delay before lining up for the snap, the crowd was going absolutely berserk, exhorting the football gods to show the Bills some love. As if on cue, the wind picked up and the weather turned from relatively fair to *extremely* foul just in time to screw up the Oiler's snap. Talley recovered the ball and the Bills kept the points off the board. That may have been the most fortuitous gust of wind in Rich Stadium history.

[chaccof]

I started watching the game at my house. At 21-0 I told my wife I was going to go play golf. At 28-0 I actually got off my butt and went to the course. At 35-3 I teed off and was feeling pretty good about my decision. After nine holes I stopped in the clubhouse for a beer and the game was on - bartender told me the Bills were about to score to take the lead 38-35...I nearly crapped myself. I watched them score, jumped in my car and raced home while listening to the game on the radio...Got home just in time for OT kick off...My wife and mother in law (who was visiting) walked in the door from shopping five seconds after the Bills kicked the game winning FG - I was virtually in tears, jumping around yelling "it was the greatest comeback in NFL history...." They both thought I was nuts (their from Philly)...I still feel bad that I gave up on them but I know I wasn't the only one...

[Just Jack]

I still have never seen the whole second half just the highlights.

http://www.amazon.com/NFL-Game-Archives-Buffalo-Playoffs/dp/B000VAHQYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337112100&sr=8-1

[The Rev.Mattb74 ESQ.]

Went to my friends house to watch the game on his dish. His house was packed, and at halftime we went outside to play flag football. After a while his wife stuck her head outside and told us that we had to get inside. We saw them go up 38-35, then when the oilers tied it up in my head i thought I was jinxing them. Stayed and watched anyway.

[xsoldier54]

Watched the game on TV from Gov't quarters at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

[Bruce]

I remember listening to the game on the radio b/c it wasn't televised...

 

You sure about that?

 

I can remember being in my living room at home, watching the game in North Tonawanda.

 

I can specifically remember it, too...because the announcers made a big deal after having taken a commercial break that Don Beebe stepped out of bounds and that it shouldn't have been a touchdown.

 

I can remember sticking around, despite the what, 35-3 shelling about to turn the TV off, when it all started.

 

I know that this game was broadcast. I watched it.

 

I think that you're confusing that most fans left when the Oilers came out to score another touchdown right after halftime, and I can even remember the announcers talking about how fans were clamoring to get back IN the stadium because the comeback started.

[Adam]

You sure about that?

 

I can remember being in my living room at home, watching the game in North Tonawanda.

 

I can specifically remember it, too...because the announcers made a big deal after having taken a commercial break that Don Beebe stepped out of bounds and that it shouldn't have been a touchdown.

 

I can remember sticking around, despite the what, 35-3 shelling about to turn the TV off, when it all started.

 

I know that this game was broadcast. I watched it.

 

I think that you're confusing that most fans left when the Oilers came out to score another touchdown right after halftime, and I can even remember the announcers talking about how fans were clamoring to get back IN the stadium because the comeback started.

It was blacked out. I remember fans complaining that they wanted a replay on tv, because they didn't get to see it.

[stony]

I was at my uncles in Alden because he had one of those spiffy satellites.

 

Am I dreaming this, but wasn't the game blacked-out that day? I remember being at his house because the dish was able to pick up games that were blacked out.

 

I was only 7 at the time so my memory is weak,

Edited May 15, 2012 by stony

[stony]

It was blacked out. I remember fans complaining that they wanted a replay on tv, because they didn't get to see it.

 

Thought so too.

 

Also, Bubba McDowell is Fred Jackson's doppelgänger.

[bowery4]

Wow, that's a cool story.Have any pics of the GF you'd be willing to share?

Old girlfriend and she wouldn't like that much, so no sorry.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/NFL-Game-Archives-Buffalo-Playoffs/dp/B000VAHQYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337112100&sr=8-1

cool thanks!

 

You sure about that? I can remember being in my living room at home, watching the game in North Tonawanda. I can specifically remember it, too...because the announcers made a big deal after having taken a commercial break that Don Beebe stepped out of bounds and that it shouldn't have been a touchdown. I can remember sticking around, despite the what, 35-3 shelling about to turn the TV off, when it all started. I know that this game was broadcast. I watched it. I think that you're confusing that most fans left when the Oilers came out to score another touchdown right after halftime, and I can even remember the announcers talking about how fans were clamoring to get back IN the stadium because the comeback started.

One of the good things about being in NYC was that it was blacked out and we could go see it, at least as far as my ****ty memory can recall.

[BuffaloFan68]

I lived in MD at the time just north of DC & I had drove 2 hours down near Richmond to watch the game with my Brother. At half time my fiancé wanted me to come home & my brother said that I might as well go home. I said, "if any team can pull this out, it's this team" & I stayed & watched the best comeback ever without missing a play. It took me a good 4 days to get my voice back.

 

That was a very special team & I feel like we are making something similar now!

Let's Go Buffalo!!!

[Beantown Bills]

I was at the game with my cousin Joe and his friend (can't remember his name)...but I do remember he was an Oilers fan! He was actually a good guy. Didn't even gloat when the Oilers were up. But he definitely heard it from the crowd with every Bills score. We stayed the whole game...I have no idea why but we were so glad we did.

 

I'll never forget the look on his face at the final whistle.

[SF Bills Fan]

I drove back from college with my friend Matt. I've known Matt since I was two. Anyway, when things looked grim at the half I remember telling Matt that if they don't come out, score and then hold the Oilers, we may as well go since we had to drive 5 +hours. Well we didn't score and hold them (as we all know) but I remember Matt and I agreed this would be last game for the year so we may as well tough it out. We stayed the rest was history. Recall the surreal feeling in the stadium after the win. That is the best sporting event I have ever been to still to this day.

[GoBills!]

I skipped my game and I was in the lower bowl with my dad, surrounded by oiler fans and was getting pelted with snow balls all game, we ended up moving closer at half time and I remember looking back and celebrating right in their face and throwing snow balls at them while my dad was half in the bag... probably from watching the dismal first half...I sometimes think we only stayed because he had too much to drink to drive...but it all worked out !!

 

still have my ticket stubs...

Edited May 16, 2012 by GoBills!

[Jim in Anchorage]

You sure about that?

 

I can remember being in my living room at home, watching the game in North Tonawanda.

 

I can specifically remember it, too...because the announcers made a big deal after having taken a commercial break that Don Beebe stepped out of bounds and that it shouldn't have been a touchdown.

 

I can remember sticking around, despite the what, 35-3 shelling about to turn the TV off, when it all started.

 

I know that this game was broadcast. I watched it.

 

I think that you're confusing that most fans left when the Oilers came out to score another touchdown right after halftime, and I can even remember the announcers talking about how fans were clamoring to get back IN the stadium because the comeback started.

It was not broadcast. I went to a bar on Orchard park road[Flattery's?sp] to watch it and left because people were literally hanging on the rafters to see the screen.

[rstencel]

I was working a mall job at time, catching updates from guy working a kiosk outside of store when noone was in store.

[OCinBuffalo]

I was in a bar(shocking, I know) with a fake ID in Orlando. My parents and younger siblings had decided to go to Disney World that day. The thought it being a "small world after all" was repellent to me. I had no interest in dopey rides, etc. And, there was a Bills playoff game that day. I was stunned that my parents would miss the game, and they even said "well, we just can't go through it again, we are here to see Disney, your siblings, etc."

 

I decided to hit the hotel bar. No one was there, except the bartender...an Oilers fan with an extremely high pitched voice, a brutal southern accent, and a complete idiot, so of course he bought the fake ID. Just listening to him talk schit before the game made me laugh. I hesitantly told him I was a Bills fan.

 

We know happened in the 1st half. It took every last drop of my self control not to squish this guy: "woooo, Andre Reed ain't schit, you yankees just don't know football" So, I just kept on drinking and said little. The cheap draft beers were now going down at an alarming rate. At half time, I'd had it. I was going to go back to the room. I went outside, but then I thought: "F this guy. There's no way I'm gonna leave. I will show him what a real fan is". So, I bet him. $20 if we lose, free bar tab for the rest of the week if we win. Skinny chucklehead took it immediately. After the pick 6 to start the 2nd half: "Easy $20...man you yankees are dumb". But, I reminded him, part of the bet was: he had to keep his mouth shut when the game was on. That alone made the $20 worth it.

 

If the beer was going down fast before....when Reed caught that TD, and you could just tell that something was going to happen even though we were still down by a lot....yeah, I might as well have had a funnel.

 

My parents, having guessed my location correctly, walked into the bar right after the winning field goal, to find me laughing hysterically on the floor, and the bartender, so befuddled that he was "accidentally" breaking glasses, and slamming the register. This just made me laugh even harder. I slurred out "thish is gonna be a fun week, isin it, buddy...hey mom, want a shot? Ish free!" I still laugh thinking about it, lying on the floor, in pure hysterical glory. My parents weren't pleased, not even a little bit. But, once they understood what had happened, they were doing everything they could not to laugh.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

There are numerous reasons I made that woman my wife, but her forcing me to turn the TV back on ranks high on the list.....

Very nice.

 

Visalia, CA watching the game at work.

Didn't know you lived in Visalia. My brothers band used to play there quite often. Speaking of improbably places, I watched the Bills drubbing of the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game in a small bar in Jawbone Canyon, CA.

 

It was a Saturday game i believe. I was sitting on the couch at my parents house in Atlanta. I was 17. My dad was at work and kept calling me for updates. He was the pessimist and me the optimist.

He quit calling by halftime....i started calling him as the comeback mounted.

 

Sports and in particular Buffalo Bills football was about the only thing he and i could talk about. It was a great day for a father and son. Sounds like more the a few of us had a special day that day, and not just because Buffalo won. Just another reason why Sports are so important and great.

Love it!

 

We were watching it on TV in Syracuse, I was 16. During the second half commercials my dad kept switching the channel to some old Humphrey Bogart movie. As soon as he did that, the Bills started scoring.

 

During every commercial break we would switch back and forth. The "remote" was one of those old cigar box-sized jobs with a cord that ran to the cable box. It had 3 rows of 13 channels. You had to use big buttons and a toggle switch on the side to reach the desired channel. Seemingly low tech for 1993, but that is really what they gave us then.

Awesome!

 

I started screaming, I started shouting and I was on my feet. The dog went and cowered by the back door. My neighbors heard me from across the road 300 feet away. I couldn't talk for a week after and saw the doctor b/c my throat was so raw.

 

To this day my voice has never been the same, but it doesn't matter. Now I sit in south Florida a a little local bar every Sunday and always will. Bills for life.

First good laugh of the day. Thanks!

 

I lived in MD at the time just north of DC & I had drove 2 hours down near Richmond to watch the game with my Brother. At half time my fiancé wanted me to come home & my brother said that I might as well go home. I said, "if any team can pull this out, it's this team" & I stayed & watched the best comeback ever without missing a play. It took me a good 4 days to get my voice back.

 

That was a very special team & I feel like we are making something similar now!

Let's Go Buffalo!!!

So many great anecdotes.

 

My wife took her daughter to the game. Daughter wanted to leave at halftime. Wifey said, no… "you always finish whatever you start and besides, anything can happen. They still have a chance."

 

The lesson must have made an impression. That girl doesn't give up at anything… her life is defined by her determination.

 

Bruce, the game was locally blacked out. I watched it from Faherty's on Elmwood. Never left the bar, didn't even think about it. But if it had been on TV, I would have watched it at home.