Have you ever seen one of your teams go all the way?

[SinceThe70s]

9 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

I'm an Oakland A's fan and was able to enjoy the 1989 season but 1988 and 1990 moreso the latter hurt badly.  I also was a Rickey Henderson fan and was glad to see him win another championship in 1993. 

 

We have something in common. Both of our teams got buzz-sawed in 1988 by the Dodgers. Mets looked like they were back to '86 form and had crushed the Dodgers all year. A's were easily the best team in the AL. A's/Mets would have been the matchup of the two best teams but the Dodgers had other plans. 

 

Not to pour salt in old wounds but the Gibson HR against Eck was stunning. Gibson got the Mets on a ridiculous catch in the rain in LF when he was stumbling and falling down. And for your Gibson/Eck we had a stunning Scioscia/Gooden HR in the 9th - it flipped the series.  As much as you and I were tortured that was a great run by the Dodgers and why I love sports

[The Jokeman]

7 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

We have something in common. Both of our teams got buzz-sawed in 1988 by the Dodgers. Mets looked like they were back to '86 form and had crushed the Dodgers all year. A's were easily the best team in the AL. A's/Mets would have been the matchup of the two best teams but the Dodgers had other plans. 

 

Not to pour salt in old wounds but the Gibson HR against Eck was stunning. Gibson got the Mets on a ridiculous catch in the rain in LF when he was stumbling and falling down. And for your Gibson/Eck we had a stunning Scioscia/Gooden HR in the 9th - it flipped the series.  As much as you and I were tortured that was a great run by the Dodgers and why I love sports

Hershiser was just on fire that season. Losing game 1 with Gibson's HR definitely helped the Dodgers for sure. 

[Augie]

Never one of my teams, but I’ll never forget some girls from High School!   

 

 

Wait, the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. I’ll claim them, as most of us would. Does that count? It’s the best I got……

 

 

.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Augie

[May Day 10]

Nope.  Bills, Sabres, Indians.  Plenty of traumatic losses to last 10 lifetimes 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

The Caps and Mr Stanley  🏆 

[SinceThe70s]

54 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Hershiser was just on fire that season. Losing game 1 with Gibson's HR definitely helped the Dodgers for sure. 

 

As I recall, it was Hershisher's dominance (I think he had a 50+ inning scoreless streak in season), a few soul crushing moments from Gibson and an at best average player named Hatcher (Mickey?) having the post season of his life.   

[BillsPride12]

21 hours ago, T&C said:

The Bills did twice in the mid 60's... championship was as high as we could go so to me those count.

Before my time unfortunately so I can't claim them 

[Ned Flanders]

NFL: Bills Nope

NHL: Sabres Nope

MLB: Orioles, I remember 1970 and 1983

NBA: No favorite team since the Braves left

NCAABB: Syracuse 2003 

NCAAFB: I like Navy, Virginia Tech, SU and Notre Dame...Notre Dame and SU have won national championships in my lifetime but I'm not as emotional invested like I am for Bills, Sabres, Orioles.

[Mark Vader]

The first time I experienced one of my teams winning it all was in 1989 when Michigan won the College Basketball championship. I had never been so thrilled before.

Next day at school I was wearing my Michigan shirt with pride. Nobody could touch me that day.

 

I do not count Michigan's split national championship in football in 1997 as a win for me.

The stupid coaches only gave it to Nebraska because Tom Osborne was retiring.

 

Had a lot of frustration in baseball with the Giants. Getting swept by the A's in the earthquake series, then Dusty Baker making a terrible pitching decision in the 2002 series against the Angels.

That all went away when the Giants not only won one World Series, but three of them in 2010, 2012 & 2014.

Loved all of them.

 

The Bills winning a Super Bowl of course would be the most exciting thing for me as a fan.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Mark Vader

[TheCockSportif]

17 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

Had a lot of frustration in baseball with the Giants. Getting swept by the A's in the earthquake series, then Dusty Baker making a terrible pitching decision in the 2005 series against the Angels.

Wasn't that in 2002?

[Mark Vader]

2 hours ago, TheCockSportif said:

Wasn't that in 2002?

So it was, my mistake.

[muppy]

On 4/12/2022 at 12:28 PM, ExiledInIllinois said:

I'd count 2005 Sox... But that don't count.  Displaced persons @ new home don't count.  

I beg to differ though. If you are located in a city that earned a championship I think some of the buzz has to rub off...even if just a little right? Not to bandwagon their glory but just to enjoy it with them.  Unless I hated the other team for some reason .  I know what you mean it wasn't Your team so I do get it. It sounds like fun though. 🙂 minus the car flipping and shenanigans like that anyway

Edited April 14, 2022 by muppy

[ExiledInIllinois]

53 minutes ago, muppy said:

minus the car flipping and shenanigans like that anyway

That was the Chicago Bulls in 1990s... 😏 

[muppy]

24 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

That was the Chicago Bulls in 1990s... 😏 

I hate when that chit happens. I see it on TV I think hooligans off my block losers. But I DO like Chicago to visit just sayin' 🙂 My fav is the stained glass museum at navy Pier with the mosaics..............AWESOME.

[Beerball]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:11 AM, BillsPride12 said:

Obviously 99% of us were brought here by the Buffalo Bills and we are all waiting for that one....but I also know we have a lot of different people here with different backgrounds and hometowns and people have other teams they follow.  So have you ever seen one of your teams win the hardware?  Feel free to share any interesting stories that go along with the experience.

 

As for me I am a pure born and raised WNYer so my true teams are the Bills and Sabres...so I am still waiting for the big ones.  I do like Syracuse in the NCAA so technically them winning in 2003 was one of my teams but it didn't bring me to tears or anything, I was just really fired up.  I was also really into the Chicago Bulls in the 90s and claim them as a team but they were already great when I got into them so I have a hard time counting their titles as well.

Well, there was this one time when two varsity cheerleaders and myself...

[TheCockSportif]

17 hours ago, Mark Vader said:

So it was, my mistake.

Yeah, I remember that series.  Really good series, a near mishap with children (bat-people) standing in the baseline / near home plate, really good pitching, Bonds raking that year, etc.  It was also that year that I asked myself if the Red Sox would ever make it.  2003 was another heartbreaker, but 2004 more than delivered the goods.  2005 was the miraculous ChiSox squad.

[Gugny]

On 4/12/2022 at 6:34 PM, SinceThe70s said:

 

We have something in common. Both of our teams got buzz-sawed in 1988 by the Dodgers. Mets looked like they were back to '86 form and had crushed the Dodgers all year. A's were easily the best team in the AL. A's/Mets would have been the matchup of the two best teams but the Dodgers had other plans. 

 

Not to pour salt in old wounds but the Gibson HR against Eck was stunning. Gibson got the Mets on a ridiculous catch in the rain in LF when he was stumbling and falling down. And for your Gibson/Eck we had a stunning Scioscia/Gooden HR in the 9th - it flipped the series.  As much as you and I were tortured that was a great run by the Dodgers and why I love sports

 

It's also the root of my deep hatred for the Dodgers.

 

[Your Brown Eye]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:58 PM, May Day 10 said:

Nope.  Bills, Sabres, Indians.  Plenty of traumatic losses to last 10 lifetimes 

 

Yeap, I am a fan of those three and a fan of the Knicks too, so its been rough since the 90's lol. 4 Super Bowl loses, 1 Stanly Cup loss, 2 NBA Championships lost, 3 World Series losses, and many heartbreaking playoff losses

 

[Steve O]

The Rochester Knighthawks won a few NLL championships but there was a 3 year run from 2012 thru 2014 that were the most exciting. Especially in 2012 when they were 7-9 but do to opponent scheduling conflicts were able to host all the games. I watched all from the seneca niagara suite, had a blast. Trailed 5-0 in the championship game, the feeling was similar to the Houston comeback game. Lacrosse may not be huge in this country but it was an international title.

Oh, I'm a huge Duke fan since my big brother went there in the late 60's/earl 70's. 

[HOUSE]

The Buffalo Braves went all the way to San Diego, does this count ?

[Helpmenow]

5 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

It's also the root of my deep hatred for the Dodgers.

 

I hate them always spending 

[Gugny]

17 minutes ago, Helpmenow said:

I hate them always spending 

 

We spend just as much, unfortunately.  But we're not dirty bastards.

[frostbitmic]

Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and 1993

 

2022 Toronto Blue Jays & Buffalo Bills

[RaoulDuke79]

I know there aren't too mamy soccer fans on here. But, the Manchester City/Liverpool  rivalry this year is top notch. Liverpool has upper hand in two of rhe lower cups, but City is leading EPL and champions league could go either way. 

[Devilmann]

Nope I’m a glutton for punishment with the Bills and Indians. Yes I know the Indians have another name but we all know the new name sucks so I still refer to them as the Indians. 

[Devilmann]

On 4/13/2022 at 6:49 PM, muppy said:

I beg to differ though. If you are located in a city that earned a championship I think some of the buzz has to rub off...even if just a little right? Not to bandwagon their glory but just to enjoy it with them.  Unless I hated the other team for some reason .  I know what you mean it wasn't Your team so I do get it. It sounds like fun though. 🙂 minus the car flipping and shenanigans like that anyway

Nope I live in Houston and when the Rockets and Astros won I could care less to be quite honest with you. 

[BillsFan4]

I was at the Bandits championship game at the Aud in 1993 when they won it at home (their 2nd championship in a row). I remember when Kilgour scored the game winning goal for Buffalo. The Aud went absolutely crazy! The whole building was shaking. I remember the whole ride home we were cheering and yelling and beeping our horn and anyone we saw 😂

 

I was also there when the Buffalo Stampede (roller hockey) won the championship in their first (and only) season.

 

I was there for the Bandits 1996 championship win too.

 

[UConn James]

On 4/12/2022 at 3:19 PM, Nextmanup said:

I was born and raised in WNY, and am first and foremost a Bills/Sabres fan for life.

But I was also raised a Red Sox fan, which was convenient as we never had a MLB team in Buffalo.

 

So yes, I've seen both extremes.  The feeling that we are cursed and can never win, followed by the realization that yes we can win.

 

I've mentioned this before in similar threads, but I was forever changed as a Red Sox fan in 2004 with that first World Series victory (in modern times!).  

 

It is now IMPOSSIBLE for me to get upset or frustrated over the Sox.  I'm at 100% at peace with the whole thing, as we (Red Sox) got our victory (and then a bunch more) and no one is ever taking it away.

 

If/when the Bills win a Super Bowl, a LOT of Bills fans will be changed forever.  It won't be "life or death" anymore, and you won't be nearly as emotionally involved in the team.

 

It's good and bad.

 

 

Same with the Red Sox. I live in northeast CT but my mum’s side was / is from WNY so I’m a Bills & (casual) Sabres fan.

 

I had just gotten (back?) into watching baseball after graduating from the U and 2004 was just an AMAZING postseason for Boston. I was not nearly as invested as folks who had suffered through so much sports heartbreak. So for me that was a yay rah rah / woohoo experience rather than weepy tears of joy. The other World Series championships since have been great too, but yeah, they are less emotional. When I hear the replay of Joe Buck’s call of “CAN… you BELIEVE it!??” that’s pure nostalgia now. And almost 20 years ago itself, now. Wow. It feels like that just happened.

 

Otherwise, UConn has any number of college basketball 🏀 national championships, women’s more than men’s. TBH I have watched the women’s far more than the men’s games over the years. I sat right next to Sue Bird and like half the women’s team in a French culture gen-ed class in their perfect year of 2000. So that was cool. Again, just a woohoo experience. My mum worked at the U and would watch a lot of the womens’ games with a neighbor down the street, and they have now both passed from cancer, and I like to think they’re still watching from above, so I now sometimes get a bit 🥹 when I think of that.

 

How would / will I react at a Bills SB win? I have no idea. It’s probably going to run the whole gamut of emotions. Been a fan since 1990 started with watching the SB XXV with my older brother who introduced me into it and made me a Bills fan too, which was only reinforced when I eventually did summers at the family farm in WNY helping hay etc. and would watch preseason with cousins up there. 

[oldmanfan]

On 4/12/2022 at 7:11 AM, BillsPride12 said:

Obviously 99% of us were brought here by the Buffalo Bills and we are all waiting for that one....but I also know we have a lot of different people here with different backgrounds and hometowns and people have other teams they follow.  So have you ever seen one of your teams win the hardware?  Feel free to share any interesting stories that go along with the experience.

 

As for me I am a pure born and raised WNYer so my true teams are the Bills and Sabres...so I am still waiting for the big ones.  I do like Syracuse in the NCAA so technically them winning in 2003 was one of my teams but it didn't bring me to tears or anything, I was just really fired up.  I was also really into the Chicago Bulls in the 90s and claim them as a team but they were already great when I got into them so I have a hard time counting their titles as well.

1964 and 1965 Buffalo Bills

[BarleyNY]

Buckeyes twice.  Cavaliers once, but that wasn’t the same as the Buckeyes as I was not as invested in the Cavs at that point.  Still, it was nice. 

[Buftex]

I'm all about the Bills and Sabres...so no sweet taste of victory there.  Before they sailed to San Diego, the Buffalo Braves were my #1 sports priority.  Obviously, that didn't work out. 

 

I take a lot of ***** for it, but I adopted the Celtics as my team in the NBA. I loved the game, and we were suddenly without a team. I tried for a year to be a Clippers fan.  I never get to see a game, they were never on in Buffalo...my only way of following them was reading the box-scores.  Even with that, as they were a west-coast team, their scores didn't appear for two days, if at all.  During the 1980 season, my cheap father, for some reason, decided to spring for cable tv.  We got the Boston super-station.  I had to choose between two teams I had never liked, prior to that.  The Celtics or the Knicks.  They were both on cable tv frequently. 

 

It was 1980, so yeah, I went with the front-running Larry Bird and the Celtics. 

 

While it isnt't quite the thrill I imagine a Bills or Sabres championship would be, but I have never regretted it, despite their up and down history over the last 30 years.  The Celts have given me 4 championship teams to root for, in real time.  2008 was a thrill... high hopes for the 2021-22 Celtics...off to a thrilling start!

[Draconator]

I was a huge Blue Jays fan back in the 80's and 90's. I was at a World Series game both years they were in. I will never, ever forget both times they won the WS. Joe Carter was playing first when he caught the ball for the final out in 92, and of course the HR in 93 to beat Philly. Then I moved to California and fell in love with the A's. The Blue Jays still have a place inside my heart, but now I bleed (baseball wise) green and gold. 

[Fan in San Diego]

I only saw them get to second base.

[Max Fischer]

Mets - 86

 

NY Rangers - 94

 

That’s it. 

[stevewin]

Grew up a Sabres fan, but also became a Hurricanes fan after I moved to NC.  Started going to Hurricanes games when they moved here - coincided with my kids being born and we went to games with them from the time they were babies.  Became a big family thing - and me and my kids went to Game 7 when they won the cup in '06.  My kids were 8 years old - I kept telling them "Don't ever forget this - Game 7 for The Cup!" 😛  Never experienced a sporting event like that game - entire crowd stood the entire game and the tension was crazy.   

 

 

I had always rooted for all three local college teams while I lived here, but became a big UNC fan once my daughter went there 6 years ago - so celebrated their championship as well.

 

[BillsPride12]

7 minutes ago, stevewin said:

Grew up a Sabres fan, but also became a Hurricanes fan after I moved to NC.  Started going to Hurricanes games when they moved here - coincided with my kids being born and we went to games with them from the time they were babies.  Became a big family thing - and me and my kids went to Game 7 when they won the cup in '06.  My kids were 8 years old - I kept telling them "Don't ever forget this - Game 7 for The Cup!" 😛  Never experienced a sporting event like that game - entire crowd stood the entire game and the tension was crazy.   

 

 

I had always rooted for all three local college teams while I lived here, but became a big UNC fan once my daughter went there 6 years ago - so celebrated their championship as well.

 

[Chef Jim]

Yup.  When we moved to SoCal in 1983 I became and Angels fan.  Mainly because when I was a kid i was an A's fan and then in college a Yankees fan.  Reggie was my favorite so I logically became an Angels fan seeing he was on the team in 1983.  I would listen to the games on the radio in the car when they were so bad the crowds were so small you could hear the one guy in the stand eating peanuts through the radio.  It was bad, they were bad but it was baseball and they were "my team"! 

 

Fast forward to 2002 when they went all the way.  The wife and I were downstairs watching game 7 on TV.  When Troy Percival was brought in to close out the game for the series I had to go upstairs to listen to the local radio homers call the final out.  I'm so glad I got to hear them call in instead of the national TV broadcast It was ***** great!!  

 

EDIT:  As many of you know I've given up on sports so when (not if but when) the Bills or the Sabres win it all I will not have followed them from start to finish that year....whenever it may be.  

Edited April 29, 2022 by Chef Jim

[nkreed]

On 4/17/2022 at 9:28 AM, BillsFan4 said:

I was at the Bandits championship game at the Aud in 1993 when they won it at home (their 2nd championship in a row). I remember when Kilgour scored the game winning goal for Buffalo. The Aud went absolutely crazy! The whole building was shaking. I remember the whole ride home we were cheering and yelling and beeping our horn and anyone we saw 😂

 

I was also there when the Buffalo Stampede (roller hockey) won the championship in their first (and only) season.

 

I was there for the Bandits 1996 championship win too.

 

I have been lucky enough to see all 3 Bandits championships won at home (93,96,08). I was a young'n for the 93 win up in the oranges in the corner, same seats but much more aware of the situation. I was randomly asked if I wanted to go to the 08 championship game. 3 rows up from the field! Such a great experience and I can find myself in the official championship photo!

 

Other than that Bills and Sabres fan, and we all know that story.

[Tierlifer]

On 4/12/2022 at 9:25 AM, Gugny said:

Mets in 1986.

 

The End.

Same exact boat as me 😆

 

2003 Syracuse Basketball I guess counts but college is a different animal and fandom IMO.