Did the Bills Super Bowl run in the 1990's really influence your love of the Bills?

[Nuncha]

Nope....loved them long before the glory years.

 

My Grandpa's name was Bill.  My Dad's name was.  They were both from Buffalo (both were bigtime Bills fans), and are my "Buffalo Bills".  Who else could I possibly cheer for?

Edited March 30, 2022 by Azucho98

[HOUSE]

1 minute ago, Azucho98 said:

Nope....loved them long before the glory years.

 

My Grandpa's name was Bill.  My Dad's name was Bill.  They were both from Buffalo, and are my "Buffalo Bills".  Who else could I possibly cheer for?

 

The Jills

[Nuncha]

1 minute ago, HOUSE said:

 

The Jills

Are they back? lol

[SoCal Deek]

Nope......those years were already deep into my fanhood.  If you didn't live through some of those late 1960's teams, you missed a real mess. 

[Alfredo]

1 hour ago, eee1776 said:

I am old and those 4 years put me into therapy. LOL It never stops.  Wide Right, Music City Mistake, 13 sec, Still love my Bills, its a like love- hate relationship with your wife. There is hope, light at the end on the tunnel . 

 

As I remarked to my brother at the time, the 13-second game was a sort of mandatory initiation into Bills fandom for younger fans (including Josh Allen) who had not yet experienced a truly agonizing playoff loss. Now that we're all initiated .....

[LeGOATski]

Probably not. Half my family is from Buffalo and the other half is from New England. If the team success was reversed in the early 90s, I may have turned out a Pats fan. 🤢

[716to540]

No. My "fanship" for the Bills started about 15 years before the super bowl years.

[Spiderweb]

3 hours ago, Rc2catch said:

I actually disliked the Super Bowl Bills teams. I wasn’t a Kelly or Reed fan. I liked the defense but I wasn’t really a bills fan. I cheered for Atlanta back then as a kid. Loved Andre Rison and Jamal Anderson with the dirty bird. I joined the buffalo fan base after. Lol I’m dumb enough to become a fan after everyone jumped off the bandwagon. So this is all really new for me as a fan actually winning divisions and being a favorite. 

Ahem, Jamal Anderson and Andre Rison both pale in comparison to Thurman Thomas and Andrew Reed. No contest what so ever... So many forgot how great they were, or simply are too young to have witnessed their greatness.

[TheBrownBear]

I'm 43, born and raised in Buffalo, and we had season tickets from 1988-1995 (when I moved to California).  I'm basically in the sweet spot for the OP.  Obviously, I'm obsessed with the Bills and have been since they announced Kelly would be coming to Buffalo after the USFL dissolved.  I had tons of opportunities to meet the big 90's stars, tossed a football around with Andre Reed on the Rich Stadium turf and even appeared in a commercial where Jim Kelly picks me up and lifts me in the air, etc.  So, it's hard for me to say either way, but I'd have to think that the team being so good in my formative years has influenced the intensity of my love for the team.  For instance, I'm a hockey fan, but never had the same level of interest in the Sabres (don't get me wrong, I've always followed them and was insanely excited when the LaFontaine trade was announced, loved Mogilny, Pat, Andreychuk, Housley, etc), probably because they were mediocre in comparison to the Bills at that time.

[phypon]

Cool topic, OP!

 

For me, I'm 47.  I started learning about football and watching in my teens.  I didn't attach fandom to any team at that point.  I remember watching some games the year before the SB runs with a buddy of mine.  The Bills were exciting and electrifying.  I remember my buddy saying, "this is a good team, they're good".  I started focusing on them more.  What really hooked me was the greatest comeback in NFL history.  The never give up attitude those Bills' team had, that underdog mentality, the hard working pick yourself back up and dust yourself off aspect of the the team hooked me.  I've been a loyal fan ever since.  I'm from RI, so not someone that is homegrown.  The fans of Buffalo, how the players at first snub the city only to embrace it, it's special and even though I'm not a Buffalonian, I'm proud to be a part of the the mafia.  The fans have been just as much of a motivating factor for me to remain loyal and love my Bills as the myriad of players that have come and gone throughout the years.  Thank you to all of my fellow mafiosos!

[Chandler#81]

4 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think this question is probably best suited for the those in the mid 30's to late 40's age group but certainly anyone can answer.

 

I grew up in the 80's and started really understanding and loving football right as the Bills started their Super Bowl run.  First memories of watching the Bills was Harmon's drop and then Kelly's pick to Clay Matthews.  My friend tells me if the Bills weren't that good, I probably would have followed another team.  Them being so good attached me to them because kids like to cheer for good teams.  

I disagreed.  My whole family is from Buffalo and football was just our household.  I'm positive that I would have been just as diehard if they were bad....like if my childhood was the Mularkey/Williams/Jauron years instead of Levy. 

 

If the Bills had nothing in their history like the Browns and Lions....would your fandom be as strong?  Without those great 90's teams...would your interest be less today?

What was your interest level during the drought?

Then clarify it’s a ‘kiddie table topic’ in the title. 
No, to answer the question. The ‘64 team did. ‘90’s teams were good. They weren’t great.

[BullBuchanan]

The '91 AFC Championship game against the Raiders was my first game. I mostly remember everyone being very excited and how cold I was. We had a big Super Bowl party and everyone was happy. My Bills fandom was formed and cemented during those years before I knew how to tie my shoelaces.

4 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Then clarify it’s a ‘kiddie table topic’ in the title. 
No, to answer the question. The ‘64 team did. ‘90’s teams were good. They weren’t great.

[BigBuff423]

I moved around quite a bit as kid with my family originally being from CNY and my father and stepmother staying in that area until 2002. So, when I finally came back to CNY as a 13 year old to stay, that's when the Bills really started hitting their stride in the late 80's. By 1990 and entering Jr. High School, they were dynamic and I was hooked. 

 

The fact that I could watch most of their games on the local NBC station, back when NBC carried the AFC games ( I HATED the black-out rule!!!), the color and design of the uniforms, and the fact that they were actually good and fun to watch, all played a part in birthing my fandom. 

 

During the drought years I was very invested because I was in my late teens to mid twenties and still riding high on those 4 consecutive Super Bowl runs, replaying so many moments over and over of what "could have" been....I still remember watching the live Draft when Whitner was taken 8th overall and being pissed and then realizing as much as I loved Marv for a coach, he couldn't be a GM. Also, Russ being a joke and incompetent in a similar role but not really having a GM only making the pain worse. Eventually, I made peace with the fact that they were just going to be bad and I decided to not let my Sundays be ruined and started a family which put it in perspective....

 

Now, with the revelation of Josh Allen - all the years of pain are starting to subside with some clear trauma still attached - and I don't just "hope" the Bills will be good or mediocre, but absolutely KNOW that if Josh stays healthy, the Bills are a contender and at times, a favorite in nearly every game. It's surreal, but so wonderful as a fan to survive the terrible two decades and see the team as it is today...

[Bills1961]

some of us watched them clear the farm to build Rich Stadium, babysat for Bills Player Ed Rutkowski before he was County Exec and were above legal age for the greatest comeback.  We endured the seasons leading to OJ, then the cheered to no avail through the 70's and grumbled about how it really messed up traffic on game day. No matter which of the 5 states I have lived in I have continued to cheer on my team, often alone.  I hang my Bills flag on my door here in New England and always say Go Bills!  No one circles the wagons like those of us who qualify for AARP

 

[Royale with Cheese]

26 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Then clarify it’s a ‘kiddie table topic’ in the title. 
No, to answer the question. The ‘64 team did. ‘90’s teams were good. They weren’t great.

There are people alive who can remember the ‘64 Bills?  

[larrym]

as a little kid i remember flashes of oj simpson on the tv.  I really became a fan when they lost to the chargers in 80.  But those 90s team really have a special place.  It was magical.  Something i really wish i took the time to appreciate.  This team with 17 feels like that but better.  Jim had thurman and a running game that wasn't an afterthought.  Josh does what he does without a HOF running back.  I hope he runs less.  I hope he starts to slide more.  I cringe every time he runs.  He makes it special like the 90s teams.  They didn't influence my love for the team as much as they set a bar.

[DieHardBillsFan]

I would say that there is a chance I might not have been as strong of a fan if the team played like they did in the 2000s in the 90s too. I know I didn't waiver at all during the drought, but without the 90s, would that have been the case?

 

This is a fair question. I know I would be a fan regardless, but may have taken a bit more to another sport. I was a baseball fan before I knew of the greatness of being a Bills fan. Right now I feel all other sports be damned, its Bills and NFL 365 days of the year. I would say that I would still be a Bills fan but may have followed baseball more if the Bills weren't good in the 90s. Keeping an open mind.

[Buffalosouth]

Nope, but I did get to hear a lot of Bills jokes as a kid... never slapped anyone over it though.

[0017]

I became a Bills fan 2 years before their first Super Bowl, but I was about 12 years old, and i could’ve moved to a different team (I grew up in California) but the 4 Super Bowls solidified my love for the Bills for sure! And the heartbreak has been no-stop since!! But I wouldn’t change it for anything 😁

[cwater10]

The Super Bowl runs of the 90's were what I THOUGHT I had spent the early decades of my life waiting for while cheering the Bills through some tough years and then some almost glory years.  I started watching in the mid late 60's and the Bills became hard wired into my DNA by 1972 when Saban came back to town.  With the "new stadium" 1.0 in 1973 and OJ's 2003 yard oddysey, I believed being a Bills fan was living the good life.  And then of course, it wasn't any more, but still loved me some Bills.  The Chuck Knox years were some of my favorite, maybe still my favorite years.  

 

By the time the 90's Super Bowl runs started, I was on into my 30's and  the guys I had season tickets with had been joking for years that we would probably have to rattle the sides of our wheelchairs by the time we ever got to see The Bills play in a Super Bowl.  And then it happened... habitually?  Those years were great.  We thought it was our moment.  And it wasn't to be, but I was long hooked by then.  The drought never pushed me away.  And it couldn't have even if it was still a thing.  

 

So now here comes this kind of shocking wave of success in recent years.  It kind of feels like playing with house money.  4 years into the Allen era, I would say this is likely the most entertaining, fun and likable team of all.  My house really is now full of wheelchairs, lol.  Hoping me and my old season ticket buddies were visionaries.  I want to rattle that wheelchair THIS year and then a few more times just because.  We all deserve a few bonus rounds.

Edited March 30, 2022 by cwater10

[Nitro]

Been a fan since 1965.  Love the team even in those bleak years.

[buffalostu2]

I'm 48 and was a Bills fan growing up like most, instilled by my family.  Even though I rooted for them, it felt like my father's team more than my own.....until I attended the Comeback game.  That changed everything to a fanatical level.   

 

Spending 3 of the 4 Super Bowls years going to school in Boston added fuel as well.  FYI it isn't the Pats SB successes that made New Englanders so annoying, they have always been that way.   It just made it worse.   

[machine gun kelly]

7 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think this question is probably best suited for the those in the mid 30's to late 40's age group but certainly anyone can answer.

 

I grew up in the 80's and started really understanding and loving football right as the Bills started their Super Bowl run.  First memories of watching the Bills was Harmon's drop and then Kelly's pick to Clay Matthews.  My friend tells me if the Bills weren't that good, I probably would have followed another team.  Them being so good attached me to them because kids like to cheer for good teams.  

I disagreed.  My whole family is from Buffalo and football was just our household.  I'm positive that I would have been just as diehard if they were bad....like if my childhood was the Mularkey/Williams/Jauron years instead of Levy. 

 

If the Bills had nothing in their history like the Browns and Lions....would your fandom be as strong?  Without those great 90's teams...would your interest be less today?

What was your interest level during the drought?

Hey Royale,  interesting question.  I’m in my early 50’s so Joe Cribbs and Ferguson winning that first time against Miami just did it for me in 1980.  I just remember my big brother and dad went nuts when we won that September.  I believed in Coach Knox.  He was a hard ass but I belief in him.  The Kelly days were great and I even am in the minority liking Flutie.  That TN game but was so brutal.  I had a national sales meeting the next day in Nashville.

[BillsFanSD]

Yes.  Strongly.

 

I'm 49 and I have no particular connection to western NY.  My wife and I both grew up in Indiana.  I casually liked the Bills in the late 80s because they were an entertaining team with a lot of big personalities.  And they were on television in my area quite a bit because they were good and also because they were in the same division as the Colts at the time.  After they lost SB 25 the way they did, I got especially invested in the team and went from "casual fan" to "fan" and then to "diehard fan."

 

I mean, now most of the memories I have about the Bills involve watching mostly-meaningless games with my son during the drought years.  I am absolutely loving this particular team, in part because they're just an easier group of players to root for than those 1990s teams were.  (Let's be honest -- some of those "big personalities" were hard to take at times).  But if it weren't for the SB run, I'm not sure I would be quite as fanatical about this franchise. 

[Old Coot]

I'm an Old Coot.  I remember Tommy O'Connell handing off to Ritchie Lucas & throwing passes to Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion, Jackie Kemp handing off to Cookie Gilchrist and throwing passes to Dubenion & Glenn Bass.  Ed Rutkowski (former Erie County Exec) was on that team.

 

I remember the loss to the KC Chiefs in the 1966 AFL Championship game.  If the Bills had won they would have played in the first NFL-AFL Championship game.  Somewhat later the annual game was renamed the Superbowl.

 

My interest in the Bills has waxed & waned over the years with the team's success.  It's waxing now.  Hopefully the team will win a Superbowl before I join the Choir Eternal.

[Old Coot]

2 minutes ago, Old Coot said:

I remember Tommy O'Connell handing off to Ritchie Lucas

I neglected to mention that the clothing store O'Connell, Lucas & Chelf was founded by Tommy O'Connell, Ritchie Lucas & Don Chelf (an offensive tackle on the team).

[JohnNord]

7 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think this question is probably best suited for the those in the mid 30's to late 40's age group but certainly anyone can answer.

 

I grew up in the 80's and started really understanding and loving football right as the Bills started their Super Bowl run.  First memories of watching the Bills was Harmon's drop and then Kelly's pick to Clay Matthews.  My friend tells me if the Bills weren't that good, I probably would have followed another team.  Them being so good attached me to them because kids like to cheer for good teams.  

I disagreed.  My whole family is from Buffalo and football was just our household.  I'm positive that I would have been just as diehard if they were bad....like if my childhood was the Mularkey/Williams/Jauron years instead of Levy. 

 

If the Bills had nothing in their history like the Browns and Lions....would your fandom be as strong?  Without those great 90's teams...would your interest be less today?

What was your interest level during the drought?

I’m in the same age bracket as you.  I always liked the Bills because they were local and my family would buy me the gear, but I started watching when the team was rolling in 1990.
 

I do think the Super Bowl years had an influence on my fandom, and in way losing 4 did as well - because they were so close and you wanted to see them get to the top.  Plus it might have been the best collections of talent/personalities in franchise history . 
 

I am pretty sure I would have still cheered for the Bills because they were local but I do wonder if my interest would be like how it is for the Sabres.  You pull for the team, want them to do well, but if they don’t it’s just like “meh.” I don’t lose my mind if they suck.  Then again NHL is not NFL.  

The strange thing for me was seeing so many fans in the 20-30 year old bracket lose their mind when the Bills made the playoffs in 2017.  For some it was the first time they could witness success as a Bills fan.  In fact I see a lot of younger fans tailgating on game days.  
 

So perhaps, you are correct and many Bills fans would be just as fanatical regardless of W-L record.  

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by JohnNord

[strive_for_five_guy]

Yes.  39 here and essentially have beaten dog syndrome because of the Super Bowl era followed by the drought.  If the team can just win one, will feel like a huge part of my life has eventually been fulfilled.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Nope. Was already a HUGE fan.  
 

I’ll bet it pushed more young fans away from the Bills.  

[Southern_Bills]

Definitely influenced my Fandom. I'm a Bills Fan from south alabama, if those teams didn't exist and Buffalo didn't play national games all the time when I was 9-13 years old, who knows if I would ha e ever seen them.

 

It didn't hurt 2 kids from Buffalo relocated to my school and we became friends, but still if the team was trash at that point I would have probably chosen a different team.

[chaccof]

8 hours ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

No. I was born a fan. It was embedded into my blood. Before I even realized who I was, I was in my cradle wearing Bills outfits. When I was old enough to get carted to games, I sat on a beer cooler in the Rockpile  handing out beers and sandwiches to my dad, grandpa and uncles.

 

 I went to the first game at Rich Stadium, I saw OJ running from defenders, not the law. I saw the best and worst of Bills football for 50+ years. And I'll never change my allegiance. 

Right there with ya TBJ!  First game in 1965 when I was five, I mean when you grow up in Buffalo its hard not to follow the team, win lose or draw.  The SB years were great.  The current team has that same feel....fingers crossed.

[Chandler#81]

9 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

There are people alive who can remember the ‘64 Bills?  

Many here.

[BillsPride12]

Yes I would say so, I mean I'm sure I would be a big Bills fan regardless but some of my earliest childhood memories were the Bills Super Bowl teams and everything that came with it.  I'm a very Nostalgic person in general and everything about that time period was special to me.  I'd say for my generation it was a very unique thing to have grown up only knowing the Bills as a powerhouse team going to the Super Bowl every year as a young kid for that to shift into them being a joke every year for the rest of our life until now

[SoMAn]

No.

First attended games as a kid in the old rockpile. That was the seed that was planted. Then, when I was old enough to grasp the nuances of the game, OJ was the biggest name in football, if not pro sports. 

Went to numerous games at Rich, including the first Monday night game in '73, the '80 opener when they finally beat the fish after 20 losses, the Bills-Rams 'encore' game, and many more.

Fandom grew through the Knox era of late 70s-early 80's, then mini-drought, part 1, then Kelly signs in '86, then the 90's, then Wade Phillips, then drought part 2.  17 of years in search of an elite QB.

 

So, having gone through some rough patches Bills' teams that had terrible coaching, awful personnel departments, and/or a tightwad owner who wouldn't retain good talent, my allegiance never faltered. 

 

Even though I've lived in Atlanta area most of my life, I can't imagine rooting for the Falcons or any other team. It's the Bills until the day I die.

 

Having stuck with them through thick and thin over 50 years, it'll be that much sweeter when they finally win it all!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by SoMAn

[RevWarRifleman]

On 3/30/2022 at 6:25 AM, TampaBillsJunkie said:

No. I was born a fan. It was embedded into my blood. Before I even realized who I was, I was in my cradle wearing Bills outfits. When I was old enough to get carted to games, I sat on a beer cooler in the Rockpile  handing out beers and sandwiches to my dad, grandpa and uncles.

 

 I went to the first game at Rich Stadium, I saw OJ running from defenders, not the law. I saw the best and worst of Bills football for 50+ years. And I'll never change my allegiance. 

Ahh yes! Those were the days, TBJ.

[Xwnyer]

Nope been a fan since 1966

[NI Bills Fan]

On 3/30/2022 at 2:31 PM, BritBill said:

I'm 42 and the teams of that era are the reason I'm a Bills fan. 

 

I must admit, it was a hard slog during the drought and it coincided with me having other distractions and the most disposable income I ever had so my interest waned but I never considered taking another team. I'd made my bed.

Im also 42, from the UK and the rest of the above about sums me up too 😀

 

My introduction to football was through the early Madden games, i knew very little about the sport until then. I picked the Bills as Thurman Thomas was a weapon in the game. I then started watching games on 'Channel 4' to see if number 34 in real life could match his Madden skill... he didnt disspaoint and I've been hooked ever since.

 

The runs to the superbowls were great and cemented my fandom. However the late nights/early mornings watching those superbowls as a kid totally crushed me.  When we finally win one my 12 year old self will roar in delight. 

 

My dad's sister lived in Toronto in the 90s so on my sole visit there i convinced my parents to drive to Buffalo and stood outside the stadium in Orchard Park in awe.  It was May/June and nothing of note happening, but I'll never forget it and cant wait to make it back for a the real thing... which I'll need to do in the next 4 years of course.

 

Go Bills. Wouldnt change a thing.

[Beerball]

On 3/30/2022 at 9:07 AM, Royale with Cheese said:

I think this question is probably best suited for the those in the mid 30's to late 40's age group but certainly anyone can answer.

 

I grew up in the 80's and started really understanding and loving football right as the Bills started their Super Bowl run.  First memories of watching the Bills was Harmon's drop and then Kelly's pick to Clay Matthews.  My friend tells me if the Bills weren't that good, I probably would have followed another team.  Them being so good attached me to them because kids like to cheer for good teams.  

I disagreed.  My whole family is from Buffalo and football was just our household.  I'm positive that I would have been just as diehard if they were bad....like if my childhood was the Mularkey/Williams/Jauron years instead of Levy. 

 

If the Bills had nothing in their history like the Browns and Lions....would your fandom be as strong?  Without those great 90's teams...would your interest be less today?

What was your interest level during the drought?

Mid 30's to late 40's? Who cares what the kids think?

[Royale with Cheese]

34 minutes ago, Beerball said:

Mid 30's to late 40's? Who cares what the kids think?

They don’t even know who Al Bundy is.

[Mikie2times]

I'm 40 in May, from Detroit suburbs. My first clear memory I have watching a football game was the Bengals and 49ers Super Bowl in 1989. Slowly by the time the Bills and Giants played I became more of a fan and the Bills in general. I clearly recall crying myself to sleep after the Washington Super Bowl. I do not remember doing so for the Giants Super Bowl. So something happened after that game. Reflecting, I fell in love with the team and the way they played. I loved the cold weather and snow games. I identified with the fans as loyal and dedicated, all of the above as resilient. I also have no doubt I was influenced as person by those 90's teams.

Edited March 31, 2022 by KzooMike