Being a Bills fan helped me today and it taught me something

[KDIGGZ]

cool story. you can meet Bills fans in the most unlikely of places and situations. with the drought being as long and depressing as it has been you wouldn't think the Bills would have so many fans around the country. but we forget that the Bills were so dominant in the 90's that we probably amassed a lot of fans in their late 30's-40's who grew up watching some really great teams

[Canadian Bills Fan]

Nice story!

 

 

 

CBF

[KD in CA]

Cool story. Not sure why some are trying to turn it into something it's not.

[KDIGGZ]

Cool story. Not sure why some are trying to turn it into something it's not.

amen. not sure how you can take such a positive story and twist it up like that but just leave it to TBD i guess

[fansince88]

Being African American the common narrative is its never a normal course of business. And there are cases where there's no such thing as common interest. Not trying to race bait at all. Just not that common where I'm from for a white law enforcement officer to have a decent convo with a African American especially after pulling him over.

We are in a military comunity and our local school is largely integrated. My daughter was in the musical this last school year and the discussion came up umong the black kids about being called African American and unanimously they wished to be called black. 12 kids in all. I believe we all have a prejudice in us wheter white black or otherwise. Lets just face it. All said what if you dont mind my asking is your reaction the the kids choice?

[fansince88]

Btw, I work in a receiving department in a medium sized distribution center for a drug chain. I can tell you that the issues you most likely have with DOT is brought on by them having to deal with drivers of all races that are dirtbags.

[WotAGuy]

Great story and thanks for sharing it. I read the race references as just context for how special this experience was for you, since the news is filled with stories of the opposite experience.

 

It's the internet; no matter how positive the story is, someone will twist it into their own narrative and blame you. Ignore it.

 

Peace

[fansince88]

Great story.

 

BTW like others have said character trumps everything

 

Trumps everything. Oh, you are in trouble now!

[CanadianFan]

That's cool. I thought you were going to say "being a Bills fan taught me how to endure pain in a one-sided relationship".

[Gugny]

Great story and thanks for sharing it. I read the race references as just context for how special this experience was for you, since the news is filled with stories of the opposite experience.

 

It's the internet; no matter how positive the story is, someone will twist it into their own narrative and blame you. Ignore it.

 

Peace

 

It wasn't a twist. It's how I interpreted it. I was clearly wrong and I apologize to the OP and for anyone else who was offended by my apparent misinterpretation.

 

Peace, indeed.

[Cherrybone]

I had three positive interactions with African Americans at work, just last night. Not one of them was a Bills fan, though.

That's cool. All are not bad. It's about giving people a chance to show you who they really are. Blacks have the tendency to think that every white person they come across don't like them because of their skin color and that's far from the case. Everytime me and my family visit Buffalo we enjoy not only the game but the hospitality extended to us by people of all race. I'll be there this year for the Broncos game.

[ddaryl]

I drive trucks for a living. Today in PA I was about to enter interstate 81 and a DOT officer pulled me over. I noticed he had a Bills sticker on the computer he was using in his vehicle. As he's running the info I told him I'm also a Bills fan. He asked me what made me a Bills fan being from Jersey. I explained to him why and then he told me what made him a Bills fan being from PA.

 

We went over so much as far as history, Sammy Watkins, Tyrod and all of our hopes. We talked so much that we were on the side of the highway and he didn't even want to go over my truck. I normally get agitated when I'm stopped by DOT, and all he was doing was his job. With all that's going on with law enforcement and the African American community I hope some people that rode by got to see that a relationship can develope and all it take is level heads and sometimes common grounds. This officer was very cool and I pray more are like him or he rub off on the ones that don't care to be like him somewhat.

 

Overall being a Bills fan finally paid off as of late. And I hope and pray that law enforcement and all communities find a way to coexist and weed out the bad on both sides.

 

 

Like you said common ground. Now if the officer had a New England Patriots sticker this would be a much different thread

[WotAGuy]

 

It wasn't a twist. It's how I interpreted it. I was clearly wrong and I apologize to the OP and for anyone else who was offended by my apparent misinterpretation.

 

Peace, indeed.

 

Kudos Mr. G!

[BadLandsMeanie]

That's cool. I thought you were going to say "being a Bills fan taught me how to endure pain in a one-sided relationship".

This is a) funny b) daring because making a joke in a thread that has sensitive aspects to it is like walking on a high wire without a net.

 

I appreciate your work here!

[Cherrybone]

We are in a military comunity and our local school is largely integrated. My daughter was in the musical this last school year and the discussion came up umong the black kids about being called African American and unanimously they wished to be called black. 12 kids in all. I believe we all have a prejudice in us wheter white black or otherwise. Lets just face it. All said what if you dont mind my asking is your reaction the the kids choice?

To your question. I don't see anything wrong with them wanting them to be identified with the only description they're familiar with. Either way is good with me. I think they just don't hear the term African American as commonly as our generation did. What I wish people would realize is that nobody have a say in the matter as far as what race, or color they are going to be born into. And if we did have a choice we would still be a diverse group of people anyway. My skin don't say anything about who I am. For the most part when I speak I speak with respect, when I get to know exactly who a person is then I speak from within. I will always be that way.

[boyst]

Welp, -since nobody else is gonna say it....

 

F___k tha po-lice!

did you work at a McDonald's drive thru recently?

[BringBackFergy]

That's cool. All are not bad. It's about giving people a chance to show you who they really are. Blacks have the tendency to think that every white person they come across don't like them because of their skin color and that's far from the case. Everytime me and my family visit Buffalo we enjoy not only the game but the hospitality extended to us by people of all race. I'll be there this year for the Broncos game.

Be sure to take a walk trough Hammers Lot and taste some of Mead's stromboli....he and Mrs. Mead push that stuff until you're hooked (cheeseburger stromboli and breakfast sausage ones are amazing).

[boyst]

I've been to Paducah and you sir are no Paducahan.

 

Off topic question for you.

 

Why to truckers, in general, do everything possible to pull over to the left when another truck is sitting on the shoulder with flashers on, but, y'all don't mind blowing by a soccer mom on the shoulder with a minimum of clearance.

I got this one for ya buddy.

 

Better view of the soccer milf. Duh

[Cherrybone]

 

It wasn't a twist. It's how I interpreted it. I was clearly wrong and I apologize to the OP and for anyone else who was offended by my apparent misinterpretation.

 

Peace, indeed.

Apology accepted would just like to move on. Situations like this is the reason why it's hard to come together as one and live our lives without constantly degrading one another. That's why I can't stand all of these slave movies and history remakes that keep popping up over the past couple of years. Its like somebody want to keep picking at the wound and not letting it heal. There's a movie coming out called Detroit I think. To me right now it serves no purpose. If anything it will cause a further divide. That's why I'm saying let's move on and get ready to support our Bills. Thanks and God bless.

[Mark80]

Jeez, cut the OP a break. Tells a nice story and people are jumping all over him.

[BadLandsMeanie]

I drive trucks for a living. Today in PA I was about to enter interstate 81 and a DOT officer pulled me over. I noticed he had a Bills sticker on the computer he was using in his vehicle. As he's running the info I told him I'm also a Bills fan. He asked me what made me a Bills fan being from Jersey. I explained to him why and then he told me what made him a Bills fan being from PA.

 

We went over so much as far as history, Sammy Watkins, Tyrod and all of our hopes. We talked so much that we were on the side of the highway and he didn't even want to go over my truck. I normally get agitated when I'm stopped by DOT, and all he was doing was his job. With all that's going on with law enforcement and the African American community I hope some people that rode by got to see that a relationship can develope and all it take is level heads and sometimes common grounds. This officer was very cool and I pray more are like him or he rub off on the ones that don't care to be like him somewhat.

 

Overall being a Bills fan finally paid off as of late. And I hope and pray that law enforcement and all communities find a way to coexist and weed out the bad on both sides.

That's a very nice story thanks!

[BuffaloHokie13]

Nice story OP. Cool to see Bills Mafia is all over the place.

 

Jeez, cut the OP a break. Tells a nice story and people are jumping all over him.

Yeah. It's the OP's perspective. I'm not going to argue just because it differs from my own. I grew up with a father in law enforcement, so I follow all the standard courtesy steps every time I'm pulled over.

- Turn on interior lights

- Window down and hands on wheel by the time they're at your door

- Ask before reaching for or opening anything (wallet in back pocket, registration in glove box, etc.)

- Try to make small talk, refer to them by Officer *insert name from uniform*

[Meathead]

Blacks have the tendency to think that every white person they come across don't like them because of their skin color and that's far from the case.

 

thanks for sharing your story

 

ive studied this topic on an amateur level for decades (also married and divorced a crazy black woman) and man are you correct

 

by my estimation, black folks over-estimate instances of racism by AT LEAST 400%. that means for every 1 time they really do have do endure some racist white !@#$ being a dick, they are CREATING four more racist instances in their heads

 

some guy cuts them off in traffic: racism. some guy doesnt nod hello as he walks by: racism. some woman clutches her purse tightly in a mixed crowd: racism. some guy votes for a blowhard charlatan: racist

 

no wonder most black folks see racism everywhere ... they are manufacturing most of it in their minds

 

as we continue to work hard to erase as much of the old-timey white racism as we can, we have to remember black folks have their powerful biases as well. that includes this dramatic over-estimation of perceived racism, as well as wide spread bias against whites that for some crazy reason we still hesitate to call racism

Jeez, cut the OP a break. Tells a nice story and people are jumping all over him.

 

true

 

but lets keep in mind we as a culture just spent the last ten plus years mercilessly broadbrushing heartland whites as virulent racists by default.

 

i grew up with those ppl, most of them indeed were horribly racist back around 1970. but that slowly improved over the next couple decades (too way too damn long) and finally flipped over about 1990. since then most whites absolutely have NOT been racist. we still saw a lot of racism simply bc theres 197 million whites to 38 million blacks, but the fact remains that whiteness FINALLY overcame their roaring bias (took them waay too long) as a percentage of population

 

amazingly, since then its been an almost non-stop attack against whiteness as being 'racist by default'. in case you havent realized it yet, this is what fueled the election of an incompetent buffoon, a sea of pissed off ppl sick and tired of being labeled automatically racist when they know they (mostly) werent

 

so bottom line is white ppl have a little bit of hyper-sensitivity on the issue right now, as we saw in this thread. give it some time, it will pass in due course once they get it out of their system

Edited July 21, 2017 by Meathead

[#34fan]

did you work at a McDonald's drive thru recently?

 

Do I remind you of a co-worker?

[4merper4mer]

 

You created where it's heading.

Actually you did.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Similar thing happened to me in Richmond VA. It was a couple of years ago, can't even remember the reason, getting off an I-295 exit, but I used to take my lunch to work, in a BILLS cooler lunch bag. The kind that holds 2 six packs but mine just had my lunch. So the officer sees the bag on the front seat, and asks if I'm from Buffalo? Of course that was a YES, nice conversation from there ending in have a good day and GO BILLS.

[yungmack]

You created where it's heading.

Get a grip. All he was saying was, in this day and age, with heightened awareness on tensions between police and black men, he thought that for passing motorists to see the two of them having a pleasant moment rather than a confrontational one was a good thing. That it came because of a shared interest in the Bills is why the story belongs here. Cherrybone wasn't "racializing" some otherwise innocuous, minor detail; the race aspect of this moment between a cop and a black man was the essence of his story.

[JM2009]

Yeah but I don't go by color or race. Character is the only way for me.

yep.

[billykaykay]

 

My brother lived in Paducah, KY whilst in the Navy. A black news personality - after his first night on the job - had a cross burned in his yard. He didn't go back for day 2.

 

I'm a bleeding heart liberal. I know racism is alive and well in our country and I'm well aware of the strained relations between police and the African-American community.

 

But this is a routine pullover in Pennsylvania. Let's not act like MLK's dream just came true because a white cop and a black guy bonded over the Bills.

Relax Gugny. It's just a nice story.

[cba fan]

 

My brother lived in Paducah, KY "whilst"

 

Welp, -since nobody else is gonna say it....

 

F___k tha po-lice!

 

 

 

My brother lived in Paducah, KY whilst in the Navy. A black news personality - after his first night on the job - had a cross burned in his yard. He didn't go back for day 2.

 

I'm a bleeding heart liberal. I know racism is alive and well in our country and I'm well aware of the strained relations between police and the African-American community.

 

But this is a routine pullover in Pennsylvania. Let's not act like MLK's dream just came true because a white cop and a black guy bonded over the Bills.

 

Just wondering. I see these words used more and more. Are you guys English or recent English immigrants?

 

As to the OP very nice story. I am always happy when any driver, especially a driver who makes his living driving, does not get a ticky tack fine for some mundane reason that just a hay get this fixed next garage visit would suffice. I know DOT is trying to keep the roads safe but I hate this backdoor tax the DOT and police performs sometimes.

Edited July 21, 2017 by cba fan

[Gugny]

Actually you did.

 

 

Get a grip. All he was saying was, in this day and age, with heightened awareness on tensions between police and black men, he thought that for passing motorists to see the two of them having a pleasant moment rather than a confrontational one was a good thing. That it came because of a shared interest in the Bills is why the story belongs here. Cherrybone wasn't "racializing" some otherwise innocuous, minor detail; the race aspect of this moment between a cop and a black man was the essence of his story.

 

 

Relax Gugny. It's just a nice story.

 

Perhaps you didn't see my apology further downstream, which the OP accepted and kindly asked to drop it.

[The Tomcat]

Being African American the common narrative is its never a normal course of business. And there are cases where there's no such thing as common interest. Not trying to race bait at all. Just not that common where I'm from for a white law enforcement officer to have a decent convo with a African American especially after pulling him over.

That's a pretty sad statement.

 

 

PS...I don't care what color you are...stop by any of our tailgates, introduce yourself and you'll find the same type of people.

Edited July 21, 2017 by The Tomcat

[Uncle Joe]

Nice story and much appreciated during these tense times.

 

Yes. Born and raised in one of the worst cities Newark, NJ

 

I am white. My Dad was born and raised street smart in Newark while his father was off fighting in WWII. He started as a coin collector for the phone company in Newark and I heard a few stories about some site visits. Later living in the burbs he went to work during the Newark riots. He wasn't going to let the snipers keep him out of his home town. Needless to say as a youth I worried about his safety.

 

I grew up playing sports. It taught me not to judge someone by the color of their skin. One's ability and character would define my teammates and foes.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Uncle Joe

[dulles]

I've been to Paducah and you sir are no Paducahan.

Off topic question for you.

 

Why to truckers, in general, do everything possible to pull over to the left when another truck is sitting on the shoulder with flashers on, but, y'all don't mind blowing by a soccer mom on the shoulder with a minimum of clearance.

Most likely because of the other soccer mom's and dad's that are blocking the truck from changing lanes! There is nothing worse than seeing mindless drivers hang out beside a truck - totally oblivious to the danger they are causing for everyone else on the road.

[WotAGuy]

Nice story and much appreciated during these tense times.

 

 

I am white. My Dad was born and raised street smart in Newark while his father was off fighting in WWII. He started as a coin collector for the phone company in Newark and I heard a few stories about some site visits. Later living in the burbs he went to work during the Newark riots. He wasn't going to let the snipers keep him out of his home town. Needless to say as a youth I worried about his safety.

 

I grew up playing sports. It taught me not to judge someone by the color of their skin. One's ability and character would define my teammates and foes.

 

And there's Uncle Joe - he's movin' kind of slow......

[Uncle Joe]

 

And there's Uncle Joe - he's movin' kind of slow......

 

Actually my moniker is a tribute to my Uncle Joe who introduced me to the Bills in 1964. WWII vet who was a navigator in B52s. RIP.

 

No offense taken...

 

"Who wants to break the news about Uncle Joe

You remember Uncle Joe

He was the one afraid to cut the cake

Who wants to tell poor Aunt Sarah

Joe's run off to Fire Lake"

Joe's run off to Fire Lake

 

[Cherrybone]

That's a pretty sad statement.

 

 

PS...I don't care what color you are...stop by any of our tailgates, introduce yourself and you'll find the same type of people.

I will take you up on that. This will be my 5th yr in a row making a Bills home game. I will definitely say the Bills have the best fans in the world. My family love the atmosphere and the hospitality afforded to us every time we come. Never once have I had a bad experience. It's like everybody at the Ralph is color blind. I love it and the people there.

[Gugny]

I will take you up on that. This will be my 5th yr in a row making a Bills home game. I will definitely say the Bills have the best fans in the world. My family love the atmosphere and the hospitality afforded to us every time we come. Never once have I had a bad experience. It's like everybody at the Ralph is color blind. I love it and the people there.

 

Do you normally go to Hammer's?

[Augie]

Perhaps you didn't see my apology further downstream, which the OP accepted and kindly asked to drop it.

I saw it (well done, not easy - some people just can't do it! ) and agree that now it's time for people to move on and get off your back. The OP graciously accepted and moved on, so should we all.

[BadLandsMeanie]

I got stopped by a cop at a checkpoint. They have them here to get their tickets all done for the month in one day I think.

 

So the officer saw my Bills Jacket and asked if I was a Bills fan.

 

So I say yes I am! And he says, well how about you circle your wagon off to the side of the road right there, and he gimme 7 tickets! Bastard was a Fins fan.

 

 

(This is an untrue post)