MJS Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 I've never lived in Buffalo or even anywhere close. I've lived in the Western US most of my life. My dad is from Buffalo so I inherited the fandom. I was probably 15 or 16 when I thought "You know, maybe I shouldn't just be a Bills fan only because of my dad. Maybe I should try to follow another team." So I looked at images of all the football helmets and decided that Tampa Bay had fairly cool helmets, so I started following them. Didn't last long. Tampa was even worse than the Bills and only won a few games that year (must have been 2006). I learned they were the losingest team in NFL history. Jumped back to the Bills. I had a soft spot for Tampa for a couple years but by now that's completely gone. Couldn't care less about them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 19 hours ago, Smitty75 said: New fan here, i’m from France so It’s complicated to find a attachement with a specific team. I started following the NFL in 2011, i watched a ton of different teams but i never found the one who made me want to stick with them. I’m a Raptors fan in the NBA, the fact that the Bills is the most popular team in Toronto, the Bills Mafia, and the snow bowl are the 3 reasons who made me decided to be a fan. ? You are coming in a good time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCOrange Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 Sort of. I grew up in a family of Bills fans and spent my childhood going to training camp in Rochester and watched their games on TV with the family all the time, but Tampa Bay was my favorite team growing up. After I moved away, I basically used the Bills as a way to maintain a strong connection with my family and cousins and stuff and eventually Buffalo became my favorite team. I still watch Tampa a good amount and root for them as long as they aren't playing the Bills, but the Bills are the team that I make sure I don't miss any games for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanderPoke Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 (edited) I followed Josh Allen here. Now I own a Bills hat and a JA jersey. Used to be a luke warm Broncos fan. Wasn't hard to switch allegiance because Buffalo is an easy team to root for. Now I want to visit western NY! Edited February 28, 2020 by LanderPoke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dopey Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 14 hours ago, Gugny said: I wasn't a real football fan as a kid. When I was about 10 (1981), I liked the Steelers. Back then ,where I live, most kids either liked the Steelers or the Cowboys. When I got to high school, my best friend was a big football fan and his team was the Broncos. I loosely latched onto the Browns, just because they were rivals and I was playfully going against my buddy. When the Bills played the Giants in the Super Bowl, I was in the Navy. I was at a shipmate's house to watch the game. I figured that was the best time to finally pick a team, since both teams were NY teams (kind of). I told my friends that I was flipping a quarter - heads, I root for the Bills; tails, I root for the Giants. And whichever team I ended up with, I'd stay with for the rest of my life. It landed heads. And here I am decades later. You could have deferred. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 Just now, Dopey said: You could have deferred. ? Ha! Sometimes I think about what it would have been like had the coin landed on tails. Three Super Bowls. A three-hour commute, instead of 5.5 hours. But everything happens for a reason. Being a Bills fan has brought me good times and even better friends. I'm glad it landed on heads. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rc2catch Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 1 hour ago, MJS said: Interesting. That's pretty surprising. 1 hour ago, Happy Gilmore said: This is interesting. Most people ran away from the Bills when the team collapsed and started wandering through the desert in the 2000's. In fact, the younger to mid aged people I have met over the past several years, who have hailed from upstate NY, are typically Patriot fans. My dad is a huge Bills fan. And weird enough a cowboys fan too, so it might of had to do with not wanting to cheer for the same team. I also really enjoyed that flashy Atlanta Falcon team, loved the black uniforms and all the flashy players. I also tend to go for the underdog teams. I’ve always followed the Bills and will always be a fan though. I just couldn’t get behind the Super Bowl teams. Too young to understand what they were Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 No I was born and raised in Buffalo...my best friend was a Raiders fan growing up so that 51-3 beatdown in the AFC Championship game was bragging rights for a long time...I still bust his chops to this day about it, haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 My dad was a football fan, but didn’t really have a favorite team. We moved a few times as I was growing up so we would just watch whatever games were on. After college I settled in the Utica area in 1979, and one of my new coworkers who became a good friend was originally from Fredonia and was a lifetime Bills fan. He was the one who got me started watching and rooting for the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBillsFan Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 It was the only NFL team on TV. The Giants came on later on NBC but CBS covered the Bills where I'm from in upstate NY. My dad never liked pro sports but I did. I watched my first game as a kid in 1989. Watched them ever since. No longer live in upstate NY but there is no way in Hell I'm rooting for another team. Ohhhhh I've been tempted. The spirit is strong but the flesh is weak but I overcame my temptation. Praise the Lord! Testify! j/k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 2 hours ago, SF Bills Fan said: You are coming in a good time might be good to get shocked out of memories the last 20 years and start with a tabula rasa as a fan Gimme gimme shock treatment 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 1 hour ago, LanderPoke said: I followed Josh Allen here. Now I own a Bills hat and a JA jersey. Used to be a luke warm Broncos fan. Wasn't hard to switch allegiance because Buffalo is an easy team to root for. Now I want to visit western NY! We have a good number of Wyo fans who came in with Josh Allen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanderPoke Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 26 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: We have a good number of Wyo fans who came in with Josh Allen. You guys probably have no idea, but I would say that the Bills are likely the second most popular NFL team (after the broncos) in our tiny (by population) state. My entire family converted to Bills fans and we've got a big family. There's tons of such cases. Josh is a big deal for the whole state of Wyoming. And I think Wyoming fans see parallels between Wyoming and Buffalo so it makes Buffalo an easy team to root for for us. When I bought my Josh Allen jersey the manager of the store said I was lucky to get one and that they could not keep them stocked. They sell immediately. Bills are popular here! 1 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandhill Mike Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 Living in South Carolina in the seventies, I grew up a Steelers "fan". Casually pulled for Boomer Esiason's Bengals in the late eighties until I watched the Bills-Browns playoff game in 1989. Many of you probably remember that that hard fought game in which the Browns dodged a late bullet to hang on and advance... but man, did the Bills impress me. That team was so much fun to watch and little did I know what excitement lay ahead. I jumped on the bandwagon just in time as the 1990 season was a total blast and the beginning of the Super Bowl run. I've been an addict ever since. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 3:32 PM, TPS said: Grew up in SoCal a Rams fan. Moved to Buffalo in 1990 (for a job), the start of their Super Bowl run. Easy to become a fan, then Rams moved to St. Louis, so I never looked back. Love the city, the team, and the people. Now that's something you don't see too often. Usually it's the other way around . What kind of job did you move to Buffalo for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 It wasn’t until the 3rd grade that I knew I was hooked. Is that later in life? This was mid 60’s. My dad pulled out the newly arrived season tickets at the dinner table, and we went thru the schedule to see who would join him in the other seat for each game. I almost went over the table at my sister when she said she got the Raiders. We had 4 seats the next year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 1:28 PM, Rc2catch said: In my younger years I was an Atlanta Falcons fan. Loved Jeff George and Andre Rison and Jamal Anderson and the “dirty bird” I later converted to a Tennessee Titans fan with McNair and Jevon Kearse. I always followed the Bills but I’m one of the few who didn’t actually like the Super Bowl teams. I was never a big fan of Thurman or Kelly although I did like some of the other players. After the Super Bowl runs ended and the team blew up I became a much more dedicated fan. So, most likely you will be onto another team in a few years. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said: So, most likely you will be onto another team in a few years. Or.......maybe.......he finally got it RIGHT! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 1 minute ago, Augie said: Or.......maybe.......he finally got it RIGHT! I’m just busting his chops......I picked him out of the crowd. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frostbitmic Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 I started out as a fan of the Baltimore Colts, when they moved to Indianapolis I started following the Steelers. The Steel Curtain, Franco, Swann etc were cool to root for for a few years. Eventually I got bored with them and rooted for the Chargers for a few years. Became a Saints fan after that and they're still my favorite NFC team. Became a Bills fan in the early 80's when I was in my mid 20's and have been a fan through good and mostly bad since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rc2catch Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Binghamton Beast said: So, most likely you will be onto another team in a few years. Lol you question my fan hood sticking by the team through the last 20 years?? Only to jump to another team now. I’m here in East Tennessee with my Bills flag hung proudly in my yard in good years and bad years all the same. As a fan I take a beating in all sports between the Mets, Knicks and Bills. Nobody gets their heart broken in sports possibly more than me the last 20 years. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty75 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, SF Bills Fan said: You are coming in a good time I think so too, but i'll stay even during the hard times ! Edited February 29, 2020 by Smitty75 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 3:02 PM, Smitty75 said: New fan here, i’m from France so It’s complicated to find a attachement with a specific team. I started following the NFL in 2011, i watched a ton of different teams but i never found the one who made me want to stick with them. I’m a Raptors fan in the NBA, the fact that the Bills is the most popular team in Toronto, the Bills Mafia, and the snow bowl are the 3 reasons who made me decided to be a fan. ? Smitty doesnt sound very French Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 15 hours ago, Rc2catch said: Lol you question my fan hood sticking by the team through the last 20 years?? Only to jump to another team now. I’m here in East Tennessee with my Bills flag hung proudly in my yard in good years and bad years all the same. As a fan I take a beating in all sports between the Mets, Knicks and Bills. Nobody gets their heart broken in sports possibly more than me the last 20 years. Nope, was just breaking someone's balls and I happened to pick you out of the crowd. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty75 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said: Smitty doesnt sound very French Ahaha you right, to explain to you guys my pseudo my favorite player used to be Steve Smith. He’s the first player that i really enjoyed watching when he was playing with Carolina, so as a fan of the player, I decided to choose his surname. Edited February 29, 2020 by Smitty75 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 12:43 PM, Another Fan said: Reading through posts on the couple years I’ve been a member here it seems most were Bills fans since childhood. They were born into it. Im curious if anybody became a Bills fan later on in life or any converts from other teams. I mean my opinion on people for one thing has changed over the years. Same with TV, music, movies, cars, etc.... Reasons per say can just be as simple as say I never liked football as a kid. Or I went to a Bills game and really loved the atmosphere. Wouldn’t make someone any lesser a fan imo. Quit couple years after SB run. Watched some other teams casual Stopped watching football for a couple years actually. Started paying attention again when Marrone and his Little Buddy Nate gave it a shot. Watched some Gailey time, but that made me sad. Glad i stuck to it this time. Last few seasons have all year round interesting and major fun.! Go Bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Nobody chooses this. When I was born my dad chained a 20 lb iron ball to my leg and said, “I’ve been carrying this thing around my whole life, now you’ll do the same.” That’s being a Bills fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 2 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said: Nobody chooses this. When I was born my dad chained a 20 lb iron ball to my leg and said, “I’ve been carrying this thing around my whole life, now you’ll do the same.” That’s being a Bills fan. Awesome. Dad did you right that day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dopey Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 23 hours ago, Rc2catch said: Lol you question my fan hood sticking by the team through the last 20 years?? Only to jump to another team now. I’m here in East Tennessee with my Bills flag hung proudly in my yard in good years and bad years all the same. As a fan I take a beating in all sports between the Mets, Knicks and Bills. Nobody gets their heart broken in sports possibly more than me the last 20 years. I dropped the Knicks during the Isaiah / Starburry fiasco. Never looked bad. Dolan is a $&#$! Idiot!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rc2catch Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 27 minutes ago, Dopey said: I dropped the Knicks during the Isaiah / Starburry fiasco. Never looked bad. Dolan is a $&#$! Idiot!!! I 100% agree. The Carmelo trade almost killed my fandom for them. Traded away all those young pieces for a one on one selfish player. I rarely watch them anymore but I follow their moves. They are still a long ways away from ever being relevant. They need what we got in buffalo when Ralph passed. New blood top to bottom and tear the whole thing down and start from scratch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSHMEAB Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On 2/28/2020 at 7:38 PM, Rc2catch said: Lol you question my fan hood sticking by the team through the last 20 years?? Only to jump to another team now. I’m here in East Tennessee with my Bills flag hung proudly in my yard in good years and bad years all the same. As a fan I take a beating in all sports between the Mets, Knicks and Bills. Nobody gets their heart broken in sports possibly more than me the last 20 years. As to the OP; I became a Bills fan at age 9 and never looked back. Mom is from Buffalo and I was hooked immediately. As far as heartbreak, I think I got you beat buddy. I "love" 3 teams; The Bills, the Tigers, and Michigan BASKETBALL. Since I became "of age" in terms of sports, those teams have played in and lost a combined 10 STRAIGHT championship games/series. You'd be hard pressed to find 3 random teams with that kind of record over a 30 year span. The Bills obviously lost 4 straight starting in 1990. Michigan basketball has lost 4 straight starting with the FAB 5. The Tigers have lost 2 (2006/2012). When you consider a team has to be really good to even reach a championship, most of these are more or less a coin toss. Three teams; 10 STRAIGHT losses. Please forgive my cynicism when it comes to the teams I support. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 3:02 PM, Smitty75 said: New fan here, i’m from France so It’s complicated to find a attachement with a specific team. I started following t,he NFL in 2011, i watched a ton of different teams but i never found the one who made me want to stick with them. I’m a Raptors fan in the NBA, the fact that the Bills is the most popular team in Toronto, the Bills Mafia, and the snow bowl are the 3 reasons who made me decided to be a fan. ? Smitty, I have family in Alsace. Their daughter lives/works in Paris. Good people, my wife & I have visited them a couple of times. Ever go to that wine festival they have in August in Chateau neauf du Pape? It's really a party! Welcome to the Bills! Greatest fans in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIZ Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Used to be a diehard Raiders fan. Read “Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders” book over a hundred times. I took it out so many times at the school library, that the librarian gave it to me. Kenny King, Fred Biletnikoff, Ken Stabler, Todd Christensen, Lester Hayes, Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen, Cliff Branch, etc. were my favorites, but Dave Casper was my all time favorite. My Dad was a Bills fan. He took me to a Raiders-Bills game at Orchard Park when I was a youngster. I was in such absolute awe of the tailgate experience, stadium, and fans, that by the end of the game, I was a Bills fan. I’ve been a Bills fan ever since. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsfaninSB Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 From central NY but got sucked into the Steelers vortex. But cared a lot about the Bills. Heartbroken when they lost to the Giants. Slowly that reversed and firmly landed on the Bills side 10 - 15 years ago. I actually was just as much an AFC fan as anything. Even the Patriots. Grew weary of the NFC winning all of those SBs. But I have grown to love the Bills and as a result really dislike all other 31 teams. Especially the Patriots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Better to switch to the Bills, on Curb tonight Larry’s friend committed suicide over the Jets disappointing him so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) Invoking Sefarian-Jenkins and a little bit of the Knicks ? Edited March 2, 2020 by row_33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty75 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 12 hours ago, RevWarRifleman said: Smitty, I have family in Alsace. Their daughter lives/works in Paris. Good people, my wife & I have visited them a couple of times. Ever go to that wine festival they have in August in Chateau neauf du Pape? It's really a party! Welcome to the Bills! Greatest fans in the NFL. Awesome ! Alsace is a really nice region, «Strasbourg» is a city that you should visit there, if it’s not already done I never been to this festival because I’m not a wine guy ahah. Thanks for the Welcoming ? #GoBills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritBill Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 I was about 10/11. Football was being shown on free to air TV in UK and it was the early 90's. The Bills were in the Super Bowl every year and it looked like it would be that way forever. I chose them then. I'm still glad I did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSE Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 I converted from the AFL to the NFL. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 41 minutes ago, HOUSE said: I converted from the AFL to the NFL. Does that count? It depends on when. Now if you had converted to the CFL, that would have been something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts