WNY Vibe: 1990/1991 vs 2022 Bills

[Mikie2times]

So one thing I think I am qualified to some extent to speak about the national side. In the early 90's, if you didn't have an AFC team in your market, NBC saturated you with Buffalo games. So that was one big way the league gave us exposure. Thurman Thomas winning the MVP in 1991 along with the excitement of the no huddle. The league liked to showcase us at that time. I see that aspect as similar to this year.

 

A tangible shift happened after the AFC Championship. We not only became the universal favorite, but it's almost as if the NFL said, ok, we like Josh Allen as being the face of our league. We like Buffalo being the image of the league. I don't recall the early 90's being that way. We had great exposure, but I don't remember this many people, including the league itself, wanting us to do well. Perhaps they did back then, if so, it was overshadowed by so many not wanting us to do well in our 3rd and 4th Super Bowls. Appreciate the replies. Some really awesome perspective for those not in the area.  

Edited October 27, 2022 by KzooMike

[billsfan1959]

28 minutes ago, Einstein said:

In my opinion the aura of the Bills in the early 90’s was greater than it is now. Pre-internet football felt a bit more magical than it is now.

 

My hypothesis is that social media has given us such instant close-up access to the team like never before, at the consequence of there now being little to no mystery.

 

I miss the excitement of waking up and watching ESPN and all the pre-game shows that came on before the game started and hearing all the injuries, inactives, news, and even 1 on 1 player interviews.

 

All those same things exist, but they’re now spread out along the previous 6 days because of the internet. Less magical and a lot of it gets lost in the noise.

Good post. There was a completely different feel to being a fan before the internet. It is also hard to compare different times, as an old guy, because my experiences as a fan and the ways in which I express my passion have changed along the way as well. I guess, for me, it is less about comparing the different times and more about having a greater appreciation for what we have right now in Allen and this team. Special moments, players, and teams have come along so seldom during the 50+ years I have been a fan.

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

You picked the wrong years. The current Bills would be best compared to the 1998 or 1999 teams. The current group hasn’t been to a super bowl. Most people forget that the Kelly era Bills lost to the Bengals in the AFC Championship and to the Browns in a playoff heartbreaker as well before they broke through in 1990.

 

Which would be the exact same track as this team would take...

 

AFCCG loss followed by a season where they had trouble dealing with other teams giving them their best shot every week and going out in the Divisional round in a heartbreaking loss.

 

This would be the SB breakthrough year 

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, AlfaBill said:

Did you mean 88-89 Bills?

Ha! Yes the 88 and 89 Bills. But I guess one could compare the current roster with the 90 Bills….but what I remember about the 90 team was that going to the Super Bowl was not a reasonable expectation until 51-3 happened, and then it sunk in. Why not us? 

[Boatdrinks]

2 hours ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

I’m a similar age as the OP.  My memory is that in 1990, there was still skepticism around how good the team was until we beat the Raiders in Week 5.  After that, we were considered to be right up there with the 49ers and Giants as the best teams in the league, boosted further when we beat the Giants later in the regular season.  Is it accurate to say that the team today is more highly regarded/feared than the 1990 Bills were, prior to even making any Super Bowl?  

It is accurate. There were many questions about the 1990 team fresh off the “ bickering Bills” year. There were doubts whether the team could overcome internal strife and become consistent winners. The no huddle wasn’t used exclusively until later in that season ( Philly game? ). The NFC had won something like the past 10 Superbowls ,so the AFC was seen as the weak sister conference by NFL observers. This years Bills entered the season as big SB favorites so yes they are more highly regarded. 

[Billznut]

2 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

You picked the wrong years. The current Bills would be best compared to the 1998 or 1999 teams. The current group hasn’t been to a super bowl. Most people forget that the Kelly era Bills lost to the Bengals in the AFC Championship and to the Browns in a playoff heartbreaker as well before they broke through in 1990.

I think you meant to say 1988 or 1989. Not 1998 or 1999. 

[US Egg]

Lot less overnight corner Bills stands popping up than in the early ‘90’s.

 

Grocery stores loaded with Bills goodies and displays is unprecedented.

 

Bills fans spending big. Bills flags flying everywhere. Bills fever is fierce.

 

 

[KDIGGZ]

Although the outcomes of the past 2 seasons are similar to 88-89, the Bills were never considered the overwhelming favorite going into the 1990 season like we are this year. The 49ers seemed unstoppable and the Giants had a great defense. And then there was a bunch of AFC teams in the mix.

When the Bills beat the Giants in the regular season it was like ok maybe this team is for real. Then they demolished the Raiders in the AFC championship and meanwhile the Giants knocked off SF but were down to their backup QB and suddenly the Bills are the favorite to win the whole thing.

 

The Bills went into 2022 as the best team in football and haven't done anything to dispute that. It's either them or KC is what it feels like, and on paper the Bills are a better overall complete team. That game will probably be the actual Super Bowl.

 

Josh Allen is top 2 QB in the league and very likely the MVP. Jim Kelly was good but never that good. Montana, Marino, Elway, Simms, Esiason, Moon, Aikman... lots of HOF QB's during that era. Bills also had a top 3 defensive player in Bruce and a top 3 RB in Thurman. Was Kelly a top 5 QB? Maybe, maybe not. Definitely never top 2 like Josh.

 

This year's team is very well balanced in that they have a very good offense with 2 really good HOF type players, a defense with a 1 maybe 2 HOF type players, and then a bunch of very solid guys that do their job.

The 90's teams were never balanced in that they had a quick scoring 2 min drill type offense, and then a tired defense that was usually on the field for much of the game so they were never a dominant group.

 

So not a lot of similarities at all. The 90's Bills went to 4 straight super bowls and were never the overwhelming favorite to win at any point except for the week before the first one. This year's Bills team might be the best Bills team ever but that's why they play the games.

[Punching Bag]

One part of the team which was better for the Classic team was special teams. 

There were truly 3 teams with stars on each then and sometimes when a spark was needed the special teams gave one.

This was recognized by media as well.

 

The Classic Bills were also conditioned better and this was recognized by media as well.

Part of lack of conditioning is due to restrictions by the NFLPA.

 

Media had its sourpusses like now but most of them were recognized as extreme and little exposure by mainstream media.

@ssholes were called @ssholes.

Today one media member with a microphone or a twit-ter feed can get be spun up by mainstream media these days to get clicks and then is buried without acknowledgement of how ridiculous it was with excuse they were just reporting.  Lots of media now reporting what other media are saying when source is just idle speculation or made up sources.

 

 

[Tommy Shelby]

4 hours ago, I am the egg man said:

Lot less overnight corner Bills stands popping up than in the early ‘90’s.

 

Grocery stores loaded with Bills goodies and displays is unprecedented.

 

Bills fans spending big. Bills flags flying everywhere. Bills fever is fierce.

 

 

I was going to mention about the tents set up selling Bills merchandise such as "Machine Gun Kelly, The Thurmanator or Bruuuuce" at different corners.

I was just out of high school during the early 90's from my recollection it seemed there was more true passion to being a Bills fan than now. Maybe it is because of social media, even the branding of Bills Mafia or the NFL being recognized as a business that sports is less pure. Maybe it was me being 19-20 years old 🤔. But I really hope the Bills win and we finally get our parade.

Go Bills!

[Matt_In_NH]

10 hours ago, Einstein said:

In my opinion the aura of the Bills in the early 90’s was greater than it is now. Pre-internet football felt a bit more magical than it is now.

 

My hypothesis is that social media has given us such instant close-up access to the team like never before, at the consequence of there now being little to no mystery.

 

I miss the excitement of waking up and watching ESPN and all the pre-game shows that came on before the game started and hearing all the injuries, inactives, news, and even 1 on 1 player interviews.

 

All those same things exist, but they’re now spread out along the previous 6 days because of the internet. Less magical and a lot of it gets lost in the noise.

I agree you are highlighting some differences between then and now but this is more societal/general vs Bills specific.   I think from a Bills perspective it is similar. One thing that is different is we have some large scars now....losing 4 straight SB's does that.   It feels like more pressure to me even though the pressure was huge then too.   Losing a 5th SB....twitter will have a field day.  For the 90's teams, I was in HS and Sunday was ESPN from 10-noon, then NFL Today, watch games, watch ESPN primetime.  That was your source of seeing highlights, if you missed it you missed it.  Unless you were a weird person who played with VHS tapes a lot.

[May Day 10]

This year (and last year) is probably closest to 1991.  The Bills were probably at their peak.  They came off a great season/playoff run, and just lost on the last play of arguably the best Superbowl ever (at that time).  They were preseason favorite.  The problem is, Washington came out of nowhere and rolled the NFL that season.

All the other superbowl years we had the 49ers out there, followed by the Cowboys who were usually more of a favorite.  We always had a few NFC teams that we dreaded seeing in the eventual Superbowl.  Also, the NFL had a nice SB winning streak, many being blowouts.

 

I dont remember the Bills ever being this much in front of the competition for so long.  The WNY vibe in my opinion is even greater now than then as far as hopes to win the Superbowl (outside of between 51-3 and XXV).  The "90s Bills" won games in a lot of ways, but they really didnt smash teams on a regular basis like these Bills do.  IMO, if the Bills finish the job here, they will be regarded as one of the greatest teams in NFL history.

 

[KHAN]

Kelly v Marino ---> Allen v Mahomes

 

Chris Berman ---> Kyle Brandt

 

Bruce ---> Von

 

Reed ---> Diggs

 

Thurman --->  ☠️ ☠️ ☠️

 

 

So...  Advantage early '90's.

 

...but yeah, very similar.

[Gugny]

All I know is that I wish TBD was around during the four Super Bowl losses, because the meltdowns would have been nothing short of epic.

 

[Fan in Chicago]

13 hours ago, KzooMike said:

Curious how the vibe toward this team is locally compared the the 1990 and 1991 teams. I'm picking those years because they were the pinnacle years during the 90's run. Which isn't very debatable being the best run we had outside the AFL teams.

 

I cant compare because I havent lived in WNY for a long time but can talk about the vibe during late 80s/early 90s

I came to this country in 1989 to UB and thought that the only sports that matter are cricket, tennis and soccer. But everywhere I went - university labs, classes, stores etc was full of Bills paraphernalia and people being (mostly) super happy on Mondays. Other immigrants who had been there would sit in front of the TVs (found on the sidewalk on garbage day) glued for 3 hours. So, having nothing else to do on Sundays, I started watching and got washed up in the excitement. Started rooting for the Bills but the deciding point of my permanent fandom was the Oilers game which was blacked out and I listened to on the radio. I have been consumed by the Bills every since. But the environment at that time around the city and Niagara Falls was decidedly rabid, looked like people had little else to discuss, enjoy and cheer for which was kinda true. It was tough to be insulated from that excitement in any part of life in Buffalo. 

[C.Biscuit97]

Good thread. I was a little kid in the 90s so all the players were my heroes. Now, I definitely don’t have the same attachment to players (guys younger than me, the player movement) even this group are probably better people. 
 

but everything has like a 90s vibe. For some reason, 90s fashion is back in (girls in 90s high waisted jeans again 🤮).  Buffalo in the 90s had a very successful group (don’t pretend like the Goo goos don’t have some good songs!). Now they have one of the biggest rap groups in music (which 90% of this board would hate but they are really popular). I can’t really speak of the city of Buffalo in the 90s but imo, the city has never been better. Minus one loser outsider, Buffalo vibes (and bills are huge reason why) are immaculate right now. Buffalo is such a happy place right now(until it snows). 

[Nextmanup]

What is different this time around, for me, is that this team feels a LOT BETTER than the SB teams....

 

We also have a much better defense this time around.

 

 

 

[Punching Bag]

6 hours ago, Tommy Shelby said:

I was going to mention about the tents set up selling Bills merchandise such as "Machine Gun Kelly, The Thurmanator or Bruuuuce" at different corners.

I was just out of high school during the early 90's from my recollection it seemed there was more true passion to being a Bills fan than now. Maybe it is because of social media, even the branding of Bills Mafia or the NFL being recognized as a business that sports is less pure. Maybe it was me being 19-20 years old 🤔. But I really hope the Bills win and we finally get our parade.

Go Bills!

 

Agree completely on branding of Bills Mafia.  Bills marketing trying to do less work since they have a strong team now.

[SoCal Deek]

While I miss-typed the years (off by a decade….oh well, I’m typing into a cell phone by a swimming pool) I still compare this team to those pre-super bowl years. Are they really good? Obviously. But until they get over the playoff hump they’ve yet to reach the promised land.

Edited October 27, 2022 by SoCal Deek

[FilthyBeast]

I still don't think you can compare the current Bills until the 90's teams until they get at least one SB first.

 

Those 90's teams also didn't have a boogeyman in the form of the Chiefs/Mahomes to contend with for the most part, it was the NFC powerhouse teams like 49ers/Cowboys/etc that stood in the way not just for the bills but every other AFC team that made the SB the greater part of the 80's and 90's.

 

Either way the hype and excitement in Western NY is justified and this might very well be the Bills best chance to finally bring home a championship.