Dragonborn10 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I'm 41. Haven't lived in Buffalo since 1988. I'm curious. If you were born after 1990 why do you watch this team? I was fortunate/cursed to become aware of the Bills and went to my first game in 1979. My first taste of Bills' heartache was Ferguson's twisted ankle followed shortly thereafter by Ferragamo and Dufek and 2-14 and 2-14 and Stephenson. I was in college/medical school for the SuperBowl years making many trips back for games. The nonplayoff streak is older than my marriage and my sons. How did some of you survive the 1970's? If you are my age with kids, how do you explain to your kids that they should follow the Bills and not Brady, the Mannings, or now RG3. I live on the West Coast and fortunately the Seachickens are awful too. My two sons' first jerseys were Lynch and Poz. I have no idea what to get them next - Dareus(probably will hold out and demand a trade), Super one tackle Mario, or Spiller (can you where a back-up RB jersey?). Would love to hear your stories... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) Fun thread. I'll play: I'm 35, and live about 40 minutes away from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. I grew up in New England, but they were an awful team in the 80's when I discovered football and were never on TV. My father, a life-long die-hard Patriots fan, had similar reservations to many of you here today about raising me as a fan of an entrenched loser with terrible ownership and a legacy of failure, so he let me go my own way (Except in 85'. That year I was forced to wear a John Hannah jersey every Sunday for the last 6 games of the season. To this day noone is allowed to speak ill of Steve Grogan in his presence.), and by the time 1988 rolled around I was an entrenched Bills fan. Fast forward to today. <cue "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin> I have become my father. My heart and soul are held prisoner by a franchise marred by a legacy of failure and ineptitude. Our stadium looks like it a discarded pile of concrete from 1970's era East Germany. Our owner is out of touch with his fan base, and sees his franchise not as the lifeblood and legacy of his community, but as a slow and steady stream of income. Our roster, long past it's glory days, seems like an endless parade of "has been's", "never will be's", and "who the !@#$ is he's". My Sunday ritual osilates between displays of incredulous anger and apathetic malaise. My recliner is my Titanic, and Ralph Wilson is the captian. My children, however, will not be like me. I am breaking the cycle. They are being raised as Bills fans, and when our version of Robert Kraft steps through that door, and turns the tide, my children and I will celebrate our victories together. Had my Dad stuck to his guns and raised me a Pats fan, today I'd be an incredible douchebag, but my father would know what it was like to celebrate a Super Bowl victory with his son. Edited September 13, 2012 by TakeYouToTasker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Fun thread. I'll play: I'm 35, and live about 40 minutes away from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. I grew up in New England, but they were an awful team in the 80's when I discovered football and were never on TV. My father, a life-long die-hard Patriots fan, had similar reservations to many of you here today about raising me as a fan of an entrenched loser with terrible ownership and a legacy of failure, so he let me go my own way (Except in 85'. That year I was forced to wear a John Hannah jersey every Sunday for the last 6 games of the season. To this day noone is allowed to speak ill of Steve Grogan in his presence.), and by the time 1988 rolled around I was an entrenched Bills fan. Fast forward to today. <cue "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin> I have become my father. My heart and soul are held prisoner by a franchise marred by a legacy of failure and ineptitude. Our stadium looks like it a discarded pile of concrete from 1970's era East Germany. Our owner is out of touch with his fan base, and sees his franchise not as the lifeblood and legacy of his community, but as a slow and steady stream of income. Our roster, long past it's glory days, seems like an endless parade of "has been's", "never will be's", and "who the !@#$ is he's". My Sunday ritual osilates between displays of incredulous anger and apathetic malaise. My recliner is my Titanic, and Ralph Wilson is the captian. My children, however, will not be like me. I am breaking the cycle. They are being raised as Bills fans, and when our version of Robert Kraft steps through that door, and turns the tide, my children and I will celebrate our victories together. Had my Dad stuck to his guns and raised me a Pats fan, today I'd be an incredible douchebag, but my father would know what it was like to celebrate a Super Bowl victory with his son. Amusing post! "My recliner is my Titanic, and Ralph Wilson is the captian." [sic] ....beautifully poetic phrase. Suggestion: change "is" to "was" and have it engraved on your tombstone. I would love to be strolling through a WNY cemetery and see that epitaph engraved in granite or marble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsrcursed Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I was 10 when we moved to Buffalo in the summer of 1989. I was a Giants fan (coming from Connecticut). The second half of my school year after that Superbowl was pure hell. I was forced to become a Bills fan after that year. Being the new kid and the fan of the team that just broke the hearts of millions of Buffalonians isn't the way to make friends, and kids are mean, real mean. I blame every kid in that 5th grade class for my now torment and misery. Guess I should have sucked it up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 BTW - the average age is approximately 38 - which coincides with when time began standing still in Buffalo. This explains why Canadian rockers Rush are still in heavy rotation on local radio and why Buffalo women still request the "winged-front-bangs with a mullet" hairstyle at their favorite "beauty parlor". Not sure if the emergence of Mighty Taco played a hand in the Buffalo Time Stagnation Effect (BTSE), but there are some in the scientific community who suspect a link. It's also about the same time talk of waterfront development began. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwight in philly Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 im 60, went to my first game at the rockpile in 1960, against the vertically-striped socked denver broncos. i guess i am a guy who likes to be tortured by my football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Trooth Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 The average age is 14 I'm over 100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 43, but still acting like a 12-year-old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 49 going on 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Just turned 64. I've experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of the feet--being trod upon by the AFCE. I prefer wide right to why suit up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garion Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 39 with a life story similar to the OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoggyHog Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 40 and I'm not too sure if I drink too much because I'm a Bills fan, or I'm a Bills fan because I drink too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 58 - Been a fan since early 60's, became a big fan around the time of AFL Championships. Have lived through the ups and downs and torture every season. Moved away from Buffalo in 1987. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 55 in 10 days always a Bills fan growing up in Roch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Projay89 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I'm 40 and live in Dayton Oh. My dad had alwaysbeen a bengals fan. In 1991 I decided that I needed to be my own man and pick my own teams to follow. Shortly after one of my roommates offers me a random $10 bet on an NFL game, I take the Bills, and they win. I stick with the Bills thru the season with the same bet, needless to say they won more than they lost in those days. By playoff time I own my first Bills gear, a sweet hat I bought at a drive thru, and billieve me, my mullet looked wicked bad hanging out the back. I had a houseful of people tellin me to turn off the Comeback game, so we could fire up the Street Fighter 2. OHH no, that aint happening, Ive got the Bills fever by this point, im all in. And do you guys know what those Bills did? They won!!! I said they could do it and they did!! I had hope and God love em they didnt let me down. Im an admitted bandwagon fan from 1991, but ive been as loyal as a local since then. never wavering in my support, which at this point may be a sign of insanity. Ive been to 2 home games, both losses to the fish. But up until last season, every trip to Cincy was well rewarded with victory. My red Explorer is covered in Bills logos, half of my clothes are Bills logoed. Its been a long time since the glory days, but Im still cheering. Go Bills!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 51. First game 1967 against Broncos. Also went to the last game in Rockpile against Detroit in '71. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Anderson's Lunch Pail Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I'm 28 years old. I remember the Super Bowls, but I was too young to care. My full blown addiction began in the '96 season, when we got bumped out of the playoffs by Jacksonville. It has been a looooooong 16 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) 32. I was born in NYC and we moved to Elmira (Southern Tier area) when I was 6 or 7. My parents were both from Buffalo, and it broke my Dad's heart that I was rooting for the Jets for a couple of years. Then he took me to my first game, Bills vs. Jets, 1988. By the end of the first quarter I was completely on the side of the Bills, and I've never stopped rooting for them. It was an incredible game, an incredible memory, and hopefully I'll get to share something similar someday with my son, who should be born any day now. Fred Smerlas is still my favorite player, even if he is an !@#$. Edited September 13, 2012 by Captain Caveman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 27. I used to say that I would love the opportunity to watch the Bills in the Super Bowl with my dad in his lifetime. I have since woken up and changed Super Bowl to playoffs. If things dont change soon I might have to change playoffs to winning season. CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 5 years older than the Bills, so my Dad & I became fans together. I unwittingly handed down my fandom to my kids - who curse me for it virtually every Sunday. BUT, I won't do it to my Grandkids. One is an Eagles fan -her Dad's team, and the Grandboy likes the Gators. After a dozen years of utter futility, the only Bills fans I meet anymore are ex-WNYers. Forlorned lot that we are.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts