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Topic of the day 7/5: Rivalries, do they matter?


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!@#$ the fish, !@#$ the *cheatriots, !@#$ the jests and !@#$ the colts. Anyone thats been in the AFC east since i've been watching football is a rival in my book.

I think rivalries do matter and I know as a fan that the games verses the teams I mentioned get my blood running a little hotter than the rest of the league.Rivalries have changed in that way for me too, I don't hate the opposing players as much as i did during the time you mentioned. Now its just the teams.

A big part of the reason is because of the effect of free agency...back in those days, the players were going to be on those teams until you didn't want them anymore so you grew to hate the players and teams they were on...it also helped that both us and the Dolphins were good for extended periods of time then as well...

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I hate them all including the Colts from the old AFCE. I look forward to 6-0 every year against the AFCE and love when we beat the Colts every three years. It was a great start when we demolished the Colts in week 1 last year. It was fun sweeping the Jets and Fins last year and just pisses me off we can't at least split with the Cheatriots.

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I learned to hate the Dolphins the most by watching their fans prance around in tee shirts and flip flops while I sat by the fireplace in our basement trying to thaw out. Oh yeah, and we lost for a decade....

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The only great rivlary was Bills/Fish. And it was great.

The pats** only know they play the Bills 2x a year and circle the W column when the schedule comes out. Not much of a rivlary happening there.

But that's what the Fish thought from 1970-80. Even with the Electric Company, the Juice, Fergs, and so on. OJ ran for 2003 yards in 1973 in 14 games yet we couldn't beat them once?

 

I hate them all. The love fest again for the Dolphins on some media outlets letting go better younger players for older players like Mario is a joke. The Jets can't even sign Fitz even though Rex figured out he can't throw to the outside which is why he game planned to smother the middle of the field. He made strides with taller better athletes in their older WR, but we let Fitz have nothing.

 

Don't tell me we don't have old time rivals I can't stand. Reminds me of my athletics and would always circle certain games (football/baseball) or meets (wrestling/powerlifting).

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A successful season can be 2-14 providing those two wins are over Miami.

 

This.

 

It is/was one of the true NFL two-sided rivalries. And to me, it always will be.

 

Whether the Bills win or lose, the only other score I care about is the Miami game, and whether some players got hurt.

 

That's all I care about.

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The easy answer was Miami. But when Thurman Thomas, my favorite player of all time and a career Dolphin killer, signs with them for his final year in the league - you know there are no rivalries left in the NFL

 

this made me throw up a little in my mouth.

 

It showed me that you, Thurman, dont really HATE them the way we do.

 

I understand u need money, but there's 30 other teams you could'a went to. Why stab me in the heart?

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Personally, I think rivalries only matter to fans. I don't see players suddenly playing better for Buffalo because they're playing the Jets in lieu of the Patriots of Dolphins and vice a versa. Where I see it occasionally playing out is when a player is let go by a team and feels slighted. Next time he plays against his old team, he's a bit more motivated / emotional about it. Whether that translates to better play is still a question. For fans, I don't think there's any doubt that it exists. Losing out of the division stings far less than losing within. Sure the Dolphins and Jets disgust me, but I hate losing to the Patriots the most because they've won the division so many times in the last 15 years and have mostly had my teams number.

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Bills fans from 1970-1979 hated the Fins ... Blood would boil simply upon hearing anything about Miami. Today it's the cheatriots* and their QB. What thoughts do you have about rivalries?

I think they evolve, for me its the Patriots as the most hated team for me but it changes

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I think they evolve, for me its the Patriots as the most hated team for me but it changes

 

I used to hate the Dolphins .. but I think that's because I never cared for Marino. I hate the Jets now FAR more than I've ever hated the Dolphins. But I think that hatred came from the Ryan years. I actually found myself rooting for them to make the playoffs last year because I like their new coach and I still have a soft spot for Fitz. I've never hated the Patriots. Don't get me wrong ... I always want them to lose. But I've always respected them, for the most part. I think the Carroll era was the only time they actually made me sick. And even he grew on me when he went to Seattle.

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I used to hate the Dolphins .. but I think that's because I never cared for Marino. I hate the Jets now FAR more than I've ever hated the Dolphins. But I think that hatred came from the Ryan years. I actually found myself rooting for them to make the playoffs last year because I like their new coach and I still have a soft spot for Fitz. I've never hated the Patriots. Don't get me wrong ... I always want them to lose. But I've always respected them, for the most part. I think the Carroll era was the only time they actually made me sick. And even he grew on me when he went to Seattle.

I grew up in NYC and became a Bills fan when the Jets moved to NJ in 1983 so as you can imagine I REALLY hate the Jets but I agree with you about Fitzy. I wanted the Bills to lose that last game last year for two reasons, the most important was it meant a better draft pick and two I liked Fitzy. BTW I am also a HUGE Mets Fan, Let's Go Mets!

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I remember when the Browns of the Century Division had a rivalry with the Cowboys of the Capitol Division.

Then, with realignment, the Browns developed their rivalry with the Steelers which made more sense and was far more bitter. All cool stuff.

 

And I used to think the Bills-Dolphins rivalry was pretty meaningful. I was at the January 1993 playoff game in Miami when the rivalry still mattered and the fine folks of Miami harassed us Bills fans relentlessly before, during, and after the game. Great fun.

 

But the Bills have been irrelevant so long that our rivalries have become irrelevant. In Buffalo, New York and Miami we all just want to see the end of Patriot dominance.

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Even though it has no juice anymore, and the Pats have tormented us for 15 years, I always get an extra bit of satisfaction beating Miami.Call me old school but I'll hate that team beyond the grave.

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I think the major factor in a rivalry is that my TEAM hates your TEAM.

 

Its not that I, as a fan, hate ur team and therefore there is a rivalry. But sometimes, if the whole fanbase unites in hatred of a particular team, then the home team kind of picks up on it.

 

And still, its not a rivalry if you dont hate me back. I'm not sure there's too many rivalries anymore. And definitely not for the Bills.

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Tough developing true rivalries when division teams have been beating the tar out of us for over a decade.

 

 

I agree. If you think Pats fans think of us as rivals your delusional. They look at the schedule & say "cool, we got 2 sure wins against Buffalo."

 

BTW, there are ton of rivalries in College Football. One of many reasons why College Football is far superior to the NFL.

Edited by Gordio
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