JGMcD2 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) I’m currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight to Boston. I went to school in Massachusetts so going with a bunch of college buddies... first time we’ve all been together since graduation. Really pumped up about this weekend for numerous reasons. I’m actually EXCITED to play the Patriots... I used to dread it during school. Pats fans are just brutal but I’m finally CONFIDENT - even though we’re going into Gillette. This will be my 5th game this year (WSH, CLE, MIA, PIT) and I have to say the vibe around the team and fan base is so different this year. 2017 was the first playoff game I’ve ever seen (being 2 in 1999 I didn’t get to watch) and while I could feel excitement in the atmosphere of Rochester/Buffalo the week leading up to Jacksonville... it didn’t quite feel like this. Being there when we clinched was electric. I’m walking around the airport in a Bills jersey getting “Go Bills” or having people chat me up about the game, even the guys at TSA were excited about the Bills. I’m super proud of growing up in WNY, I guess it’s just nice to see WNYers proud of their team. It gives me a little glimpse into what the 1990s must’ve been like and makes me think of all the stories my parents told me about the Bills growing up. My friends from Massachusetts don’t have an appreciation for this feeling, if one team is doing poorly they just flip their allegiance to one of their other teams inevitably doin well. I’m so glad I’m a Bills fan and stuck through because this feeling is great. That was a lot of early morning airport rambling ... GO BILLS! Edited December 20, 2019 by JGMcD2 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritBill Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I had this feeling once the draft was over this team would be different. Maybe not in terms of amazing individual talent but playing and acting in a way which would win games and also give everything they had to a fanbase so deserving of a special team. I didn't think we'd be sitting here at 10-4 before Christmas. I didn't think we'd be going into Foxborough in week 16 thinking, no, expecting a win. It might might not happen but there's a belief there now. And while I'm sure you guys having an attachment to the city of Buffalo and WNY itself feel it stronger, I've not felt so strongly about a Bills team than I ever have before. I knew in April this team had something, some kind of spirit. I'm so glad I made the effort to get over for a game in September and witness it for the first time. For the first time ever we're getting respect here in the UK NFL media. It did have to be earned. This is just the start. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroutDog Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 As a guy who has been a fan since the 70’s, I can tell you that the feeling only gets better as they do! Be prepared for a LOT of fun...it’s coming! I was at SBXXV and, man, what a game and time to be a Bills fan! Round 3 (for the Bills), here we come! 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Good stuff. I was at UB during the SB run and you haven't finally "arrived" until the Bills win the AFC Championship and the city becomes Shanty Town with kiosks popping up on street corners selling Bills merchandise. It's awesome. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Boy Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Nearly forty years into my Bills ride , if there’s one thing I have it’s patience. I AM really looking forward to tomorrow because I Billieve we have the best shot we’ve had in decades at Gillette. Before the season I predicted 11-5, split with the Pats and at least one Playoff win. We are still on pace for all of that and I will be very happy if we get that. I knew the O and JA were a work in progress and am still patient with their production. IF half the drops in the losses were caught this year I believe we would have one more win. The Knox drop down the seam in the first NE game still haunts me and is my “ Worst Drop of the season”. When Allen gets receivers he believes in and trusts he is going to become a beast!!!!! 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedbuffaloblue Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Good stuff, hope you really enjoy your trip! My wife and I are off to the Boston area ourselves for Christmas, but won’t be leaving until Sunday. I too will be all decked out in my Bills gear. Win or lose tomorrow it will be great to be in that area and sporting Bills garb. Both of our daughters live in the Boston area and married guys from there so of course they are Pats fans. Luckily both daughters are avid Bills fans having grown up in Syracuse. Always fun when the family gets together and the football trash talking amps up. Gonna be different this year I am sure. I fully expect a Bills win tomorrow and can’t wait to hear all the crying from the Pats fans! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 2 hours ago, JGMcD2 said: I’m currently sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight to Boston. I went to school in Massachusetts so going with a bunch of college buddies... first time we’ve all been together since graduation. Really pumped up about this weekend for numerous reasons. I’m actually EXCITED to play the Patriots... I used to dread it during school. Pats fans are just brutal but I’m finally CONFIDENT - even though we’re going into Gillette. This will be my 5th game this year (WSH, CLE, MIA, PIT) and I have to say the vibe around the team and fan base is so different this year. 2017 was the first playoff game I’ve ever seen (being 2 in 1999 I didn’t get to watch) and while I could feel excitement in the atmosphere of Rochester/Buffalo the week leading up to Jacksonville... it didn’t quite feel like this. Being there when we clinched was electric. I’m walking around the airport in a Bills jersey getting “Go Bills” or having people chat me up about the game, even the guys at TSA were excited about the Bills. I’m super proud of growing up in WNY, I guess it’s just nice to see WNYers proud of their team. It gives me a little glimpse into what the 1990s must’ve been like and makes me think of all the stories my parents told me about the Bills growing up. My friends from Massachusetts don’t have an appreciation for this feeling, if one team is doing poorly they just flip their allegiance to one of their other teams inevitably doin well. I’m so glad I’m a Bills fan and stuck through because this feeling is great. That was a lot of early morning airport rambling ... GO BILLS! Great stuff my friend! Have a blast, and cheer on the Bills. I was in middle school when the Bills team started turning the page in the late 80’s. My cousin and I would watch the games with our fathers. Back then we had to go to sports bars with our dads in Atlanta to see the games. Even then trying to get the Bills on a TV was usually a hassle. Things were different back then, we went into every game expecting to win. We as fans expected that someone on our team would make a play and that would be that. I think that’s what I notice more than anything is that confidence. When Beane and McDermott talk about changing the culture I think that’s what they wanted. Hard working football players who were confident and resilient. It is a different time and this Pats game marks the change for good. When we look back, years down the road, we will point to this season and this game in particular as the change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Yeah, but McDermott is too conservative and Beane actually set us back because he is the one who actually created the salary cap mess. We could have still had Sammy Watkins and Marcel. Just imagine how good we would have been if we still had those guys. Just imagine how good we would be if McDermott wasn’t so conservative always playing Jauronball. We got lucky! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan_34 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) Hopefully you will have the opportunity to help tear the goal posts down and hoist em over the endzone seats like I did! What a great time to be a Bills fan. I feel the tide turning. Even if we end up WC it is OK - our trajectory is up. My season prediction was 10-6 with 11-5 at best so there will be no disappointment for me. Have a safe and fun trip!!! Edited December 20, 2019 by billsfan_34 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan_34 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Buffalo Boy said: Nearly forty years into my Bills ride , if there’s one thing I have it’s patience. I AM really looking forward to tomorrow because I Billieve we have the best shot we’ve had in decades at Gillette. Before the season I predicted 11-5, split with the Pats and at least one Playoff win. We are still on pace for all of that and I will be very happy if we get that. I knew the O and JA were a work in progress and am still patient with their production. IF half the drops in the losses were caught this year I believe we would have one more win. The Knox drop down the seam in the first NE game still haunts me and is my “ Worst Drop of the season”. When Allen gets receivers he believes in and trusts he is going to become a beast!!!!! If we beat the Pats then the Jets and Miami loses the following week to the Pats will we be one of the only team at 12-4 to go on the road as a WC? I am too lazy to research lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBills Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 6 minutes ago, billsfan_34 said: If we beat the Pats then the Jets and Miami loses the following week to the Pats will we be one of the only team at 12-4 to go on the road as a WC? I am too lazy to research lol Seattle or San Fran will be in a similar situation in the NFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codyny13 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Ahhh this board is so much nicer when we win. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJ Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Well, I don't spend much time in enemy territory, so I can't really get a feel for what that is like, but there certainly is a sense that Buffalo did not get to where they are this year by luck. There was some of that earlier in the year when Buffalo was only beating the dregs of the league, but looking at their whole body of work, they played the two highest regarded teams in the AFC toe to toe, and only came up a little bit short (New England - first game, and Baltimore). They look like a team that can score playoff wins. There are only a few small things they really want to tweak. They earned a playoff spot with two weeks left i n the season. They did not back in on the strength of an improbable desperation play in the last week of the season in a game other than their own. The thing is, as much better as this team is than the one that squeaked into the playoffs two years ago, I think next year the Bills will be better than they are this season. We are going to see the full fruits of the Beane/McDermott rebuild. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan1959 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, JGMcD2 said: 2017 was the first playoff game I’ve ever seen (being 2 in 1999 I didn’t get to watch) I'm feeling old Actually, my son was only 8 when they made the playoffs in 1999 and, along with the rest of us, has not had much to cheer for since. We talk every week after the Bills game and I can hear the difference in his voice these days - and it makes me happy. I do believe this team is on the rise and and I hope that my son and others, like you, have the opportunity to experience a sustained period of time when this team is one of the top teams in the NFL. It's a good feeling. Enjoy the game. Like you, I do not fear the Pats***; but, win or lose this weekend, I still feel there are really good things on the horizon. Go Bills! Edited December 20, 2019 by billsfan1959 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finn Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I live in New England, and I agree that Pats fans can be brutal. This year is indeed different. The sneers and insults aren't carrying the same conviction, and you can detect fear and resignation in their smug boasting about how many Super Bowls Brady has been to. Like us, they sense a changing of the guard, and they don't like it one bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngjebrey Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Great post! I’ve lived in Boston my whole life and vibe here is definitely shifting. This fanbase is brittle. They’re not built like Buffalonians. I can’t wait for their first .500 season. This fanbase will literally collapse and people will be jumping ship by the thousands. Mark my words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, billsfan_34 said: If we beat the Pats then the Jets and Miami loses the following week to the Pats will we be one of the only team at 12-4 to go on the road as a WC? I am too lazy to research lol The Chargers did it just last year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlonce Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Magox said: Yeah, but McDermott is too conservative and Beane actually set us back because he is the one who actually created the salary cap mess. We could have still had Sammy Watkins and Marcel. Just imagine how good we would have been if we still had those guys. Just imagine how good we would be if McDermott wasn’t so conservative always playing Jauronball. We got lucky! Huh? Beane fixed the cap mess. That’s what he was hired to do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwai San Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Magox said: Yeah, but McDermott is too conservative and Beane actually set us back because he is the one who actually created the salary cap mess. We could have still had Sammy Watkins and Marcel. Just imagine how good we would have been if we still had those guys. Just imagine how good we would be if McDermott wasn’t so conservative always playing Jauronball. We got lucky! This makes no sense on many levels. Daboll might be too conservative and Beane got the Bills OUT of salary Cap hell......whatever yer drinking this morning pass me a glass of it....I need some alternative reality too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnycage46 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Magox said: Yeah, but McDermott is too conservative and Beane actually set us back because he is the one who actually created the salary cap mess. We could have still had Sammy Watkins and Marcel. Just imagine how good we would have been if we still had those guys. Just imagine how good we would be if McDermott wasn’t so conservative always playing Jauronball. We got lucky! There's always one. My god! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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