Devon513 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I will start off by saying that the Bengals are my #1 team. Bare with me. Almost 25 years old, born and raised in Cincy. Never stepped foot in Buffalo or New York State. So how did I become a Bills fan? Well, back in 2008 when Palmer went down, good ol Ryan Fitzpatrick came in and played 13 games for us. That was an awful year for the Bengals. But we actually kind of liked Fitz. 7th round pick from Harvard coming in with no expectation doing a solid job? We love underdog stories. Did we want him to replace Palmer? Hell no. But, we knew once Palmer went down the season was done. With zero playoff expectations, Fitz didn't do all that bad.. as a back-up. He did his job. He came in for a hurt qb and did a solid job. Heck, it eventually earned him a starting job with the Bills. Following that year when Fitz went to Buffalo I sorta kept tabs on him, hoping he'd be successful there. I have to admit that after the win over New England last year I was officially on the bandwagon and rooting for Fitz and the Bills to takeover the Patriots and win the AFC East. We all know how that went. So, I hopped on as a bandwagon fan. But during the meltdown of 2011 when all those other bandwagon fans were jumping off... I stayed on. Why? I have no idea. The amount of frusration coming from lifelong Bills fans makes you wonder why anyone would start rooting for the franchise now. Maybe the fact I'm a Bengals fan plays a part. We know frustration. We know how years of losing feels. Watching other teams in the playoffs while your team is taking an early vacation. Each fanbase has been through years of disappointment. But in Cincy, we've seen that getting the right personnel (Dalton, Green, Gruden, Zimmer, etc) in can turn everything around despite the teams history. First time we've made back to back playoffs since '81-'82. WOW. What I saw in the Bills: A team with a ton of heart that was sick of losing. Guys like Fred Jackson and Steve Johnson. A frustrated but very LOYAL fanbase that simply wants the owner to "want it" as bad as they do. A fanbase that braves subzero temperatures and ridiculous weather to support their team. No matter what. Oh and i've heard stories of the tailgating. That doesn't hurt. Buffalo With all the hype surrounding Buffalo before the season with the addition of Williams, Anderson and Gilmore, I was excited for the season to get underway for the Bills. I of course watched the Bengals and attended some games, but I watched every Bills game on NFL.com Rewind. So how do i see things as probably the newest Bill's fan on here? WOW. What a disappointment this season was for the Bills. I thought the team was poised to go 9-7 and maybe get a wild card. * Chan sucks. Needs to go. How you don't give the ball to Spiller 20 plus times a game should be enough to get him fired. The offense should be built around him. * Fitz needs to go. Brought me to the Bills in the first place. Great back-up. Gotta go. As much as I'd hate to see either of them go, hire Jay Gruden ( Bengals OC) or Mike Zimmer (Bengals DC) as head coach. Gruden has done great with grooming Dalton and Mike Zimmer could get the defense into shape. What a letdown of a year. Bills should have been great against the run. Well, i know this was long. If I can see these things as a Bills fan for less than 2 years, why can't the Bills front office see it? Well, hopefully they do and Chan is gone tomorrow. Also, this documentary played a good part of getting me into the Bills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL9zAFl5OG4 Don't know what i've gotten myself into.. but go Bills in 2013. I will root for the Bills unless they're playing Cincy. Unless say, the two teams meet in the future and the Bengals have no playoff chances and the Bills need a win to get them in. I hope to make it to Buffalo to see a game someday soon. Go Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbag Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 you willingly chose this path? at least the rest of us can blame our parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills of Boston Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Run and don't ever look back! In all seriousness welcome to the board, many awesome fans here that I enjoy talking football with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) I can only blame my birth place. Welcome to the Bills nation! Edited December 31, 2012 by Fan in San Diego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDinRTP Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Who dey? Count me in as a Bills fan rooting for the Bengals in the playoffs. Welcome to Bills Country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalpika Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I moved to Cincy 4.5 years ago and thank god I started pulling for the bengals as my 2nd team when I got here. Makes it a little easier to have someone else to root for (and neighbors to party with) when this team is always irrelevant half way through the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple haze Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Embrace the pain Devon. You might feel a lot of it. Welcome in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbillsfan Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 There's a lot of pain to share. Welcome aboard, get in, hold on, & the Bills could be your worst nightmare. We've been there & back, but we are fans forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 It surprised me zimmer hasn't gotten more play here. Our defensive talent fits his scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito1 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Live in columbus - been a bills fan since 8 growing up in WV. Why I chose the bills at that young age will haunt me forever Although I had no prior affiliation with WNY - I love it there. Now a season ticket holder and go there 3 or 4 times a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbag Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 It surprised me zimmer hasn't gotten more play here. Our defensive talent fits his scheme. does that mean that his scheme sucks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 does that mean that his scheme sucks? Means he runs a 43, as opposed to all the Rex and rob Ryan, 49ers, etc.... Candidates that get drooled over regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon513 Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 I moved to Cincy 4.5 years ago and thank god I started pulling for the bengals as my 2nd team when I got here. Makes it a little easier to have someone else to root for (and neighbors to party with) when this team is always irrelevant half way through the season. Welcome to Cincy! Who dey? Count me in as a Bills fan rooting for the Bengals in the playoffs. Welcome to Bills Country. Hell yea. Gonna need to step up against Houston I understand joining Bills nation may involve being put through more pain than even the Bungles, errrr...Bengals have caused.. but it can be turned around. If they don't fire Gailey.. it may be worse than i originally expected lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) I will start off by saying that the Bengals are my #1 team. Bare with me. Almost 25 years old, born and raised in Cincy. Never stepped foot in Buffalo or New York State. So how did I become a Bills fan? Well, back in 2008 when Palmer went down, good ol Ryan Fitzpatrick came in and played 13 games for us. That was an awful year for the Bengals. But we actually kind of liked Fitz. 7th round pick from Harvard coming in with no expectation doing a solid job? We love underdog stories. Did we want him to replace Palmer? Hell no. But, we knew once Palmer went down the season was done. With zero playoff expectations, Fitz didn't do all that bad.. as a back-up. He did his job. He came in for a hurt qb and did a solid job. Heck, it eventually earned him a starting job with the Bills. Following that year when Fitz went to Buffalo I sorta kept tabs on him, hoping he'd be successful there. I have to admit that after the win over New England last year I was officially on the bandwagon and rooting for Fitz and the Bills to takeover the Patriots and win the AFC East. We all know how that went. So, I hopped on as a bandwagon fan. But during the meltdown of 2011 when all those other bandwagon fans were jumping off... I stayed on. Why? I have no idea. The amount of frusration coming from lifelong Bills fans makes you wonder why anyone would start rooting for the franchise now. Maybe the fact I'm a Bengals fan plays a part. We know frustration. We know how years of losing feels. Watching other teams in the playoffs while your team is taking an early vacation. Each fanbase has been through years of disappointment. But in Cincy, we've seen that getting the right personnel (Dalton, Green, Gruden, Zimmer, etc) in can turn everything around despite the teams history. First time we've made back to back playoffs since '81-'82. WOW. What I saw in the Bills: A team with a ton of heart that was sick of losing. Guys like Fred Jackson and Steve Johnson. A frustrated but very LOYAL fanbase that simply wants the owner to "want it" as bad as they do. A fanbase that braves subzero temperatures and ridiculous weather to support their team. No matter what. Oh and i've heard stories of the tailgating. That doesn't hurt. Buffalo With all the hype surrounding Buffalo before the season with the addition of Williams, Anderson and Gilmore, I was excited for the season to get underway for the Bills. I of course watched the Bengals and attended some games, but I watched every Bills game on NFL.com Rewind. So how do i see things as probably the newest Bill's fan on here? WOW. What a disappointment this season was for the Bills. I thought the team was poised to go 9-7 and maybe get a wild card. * Chan sucks. Needs to go. How you don't give the ball to Spiller 20 plus times a game should be enough to get him fired. The offense should be built around him. * Fitz needs to go. Brought me to the Bills in the first place. Great back-up. Gotta go. As much as I'd hate to see either of them go, hire Jay Gruden ( Bengals OC) or Mike Zimmer (Bengals DC) as head coach. Gruden has done great with grooming Dalton and Mike Zimmer could get the defense into shape. What a letdown of a year. Bills should have been great against the run. Well, i know this was long. If I can see these things as a Bills fan for less than 2 years, why can't the Bills front office see it? Well, hopefully they do and Chan is gone tomorrow. Also, this documentary played a good part of getting me into the Bills. https://www.youtube....h?v=BL9zAFl5OG4 Don't know what i've gotten myself into.. but go Bills in 2013. I will root for the Bills unless they're playing Cincy. Unless say, the two teams meet in the future and the Bengals have no playoff chances and the Bills need a win to get them in. I hope to make it to Buffalo to see a game someday soon. Go Bills. Welcome to the board. Very well thought out post...you don't belong here (j/k). What you'll get with this team is a lifetime full of heartache and frustration. Other than that, it's great being a Bills fan. Good luck to your Bengals in the playoffs. Edited December 31, 2012 by ExWNYer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 A Bengals fan for 25 years and just when they might be good you take up with the Bills? LOL You sound like one of those women who always seek out the wife beaters and then cry about why they never meet any nice guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Live in columbus - been a bills fan since 8 growing up in WV. Why I chose the bills at that young age will haunt me forever Although I had no prior affiliation with WNY - I love it there. Now a season ticket holder and go there 3 or 4 times a year Was just in Columbus, my fiancées family is in Chillicothe. I have to say I loved it up there and it wasn't what I expected. Great city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 if i were u i would becomea colts fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon513 Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 A Bengals fan for 25 years and just when they might be good you take up with the Bills? LOL You sound like one of those women who always seek out the wife beaters and then cry about why they never meet any nice guys. Notice i said Bengals are still my #1 and would still go for them against the Bills. I know what you're saying though. Lol And I don't mind the Colts. But cant stand their fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meathead Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 one word: electro shock therapy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan714 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 The Bengals and the Bills? Wow you are a glutton for punishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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