Will anyone admit to becoming a Bills fan during the Josh Allen era?

[US Egg]

3 hours ago, BrownNgold said:

I was a Josh Allen fan before I was a Bills fan.  Does that count.

Bet there is lots of NFL fans that are Allen fans but not Bills fans.
 

I enjoy watching Lamar play, but am not a fan of Ravens winning.

Edited yesterday at 04:21 PM by US Egg

[Jalan81]

23 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

I wish I became a Bills fan during the Josh Allen era.

I was going to say I’m a happier fan during the Josh Allen era. Being OAF I at least got to enjoy the Jim Kelly era. My daughters are getting a good dose of playoff disappointment, I can only shake my head and tell them if they only knew real disappointment like losing 4 in a row, wide right, no goal, home run throw back…🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😢😢😢

[Jauronimo]

21 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

The Official Bills Reddit is the modern day Bills message board. People also use Twitter and Instagram. 

Bills Reddit is a very young crowd.  They do not welcome criticism of any kind.

[BillsFanForever19]

26 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Bills Reddit is a very young crowd.  They do not welcome criticism of any kind.

 

I'm quite thankful for Bills Reddit. While this place has it's fair share of ridiculous comments and takes - it's nothing like the Reddit. If the Reddit didn't exist and the people in it flocked here, i'd probably be out.

[BADOLBILZ]

9 years ago the idea that there would become bandwagon Bills fans was a bit far-fetched.

 

For years on TSW two things I often talked about that needed to happen:

 

1) The fanbase had to become their own separate entity from the team in the way that even longer-suffering Chicago Cubs fans had under similarly difficult circumstances.  Prior generations of Bills fans would vote for or against Ralph with their wallets and that was a recipe for losing your team and all the fun and entertainment we enjoyed around the 48 hours of sh!t football we were subjected to annually.  

 

2) That they should pick a QB with their first pick EVERY year until they got one that could get a stadium built.   

 

Both goals were achieved,  even if not in the way you'd draw it up.

 

I am grateful that Josh Allen and the energy of Bills Mafia can bring us new fans.

 

I can remember going to local bars with friends to watch Bills pre-season games during the Rex era and even if the place was packed nobody else even knew the Bills were playing.   The Bills territory was contracting and you didn't have to venture far outside of Buffalo to reach where the team was becoming irrelevant.  The brand was that tarnished by the likes of Ralph, Jauron, Levy and Brandon.  

 

In general, the fans that this Josh Allen era creates will be the people sustaining the franchise 10-15 years from now the same way that the kids of the Kelly/Bruce/Thomas/Reed era Bills sustained the organization thru the 2000-2017 drought years.  

 

 

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, Jalan81 said:

I was going to say I’m a happier fan during the Josh Allen era. Being OAF I at least got to enjoy the Jim Kelly era. My daughters are getting a good dose of playoff disappointment, I can only shake my head and tell them if they only knew real disappointment like losing 4 in a row, wide right, no goal, home run throw back…🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😢😢😢

I was in tears as a senior in high school after the Wide Right game and my late father consoled me by saying "players get paid while fans work for free."  Since then a loss won't ruin my night or drag me down the next day.  It's just a bunch of 20 to 30's something kids playing a game where only 1 of 32 fan bases are happy at the end of the season.  It's a fun sport to watch, follow, discuss strategies, discuss players, and debate.  I just am not that emotionally attached to it because the alternative sucks.

Edited yesterday at 06:31 PM by Doc Brown

[Another Fan]

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

Bills Reddit is a very young crowd.  They do not welcome criticism of any kind.

I haven’t checked out the Bills part of Reddit but yeah sites like this feel a lot more personal if you will.

 

 

[damj]

Bills fan since Fergy. 

 

I will admit to being a wrong Josh guy

 

I feel shame

[eball]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

9 years ago the idea that there would become bandwagon Bills fans was a bit far-fetched.

 

For years on TSW two things I often talked about that needed to happen:

 

1) The fanbase had to become their own separate entity from the team in the way that even longer-suffering Chicago Cubs fans had under similarly difficult circumstances.  Prior generations of Bills fans would vote for or against Ralph with their wallets and that was a recipe for losing your team and all the fun and entertainment we enjoyed around the 48 hours of sh!t football we were subjected to annually.  

 

2) That they should pick a QB with their first pick EVERY year until they got one that could get a stadium built.   

 

Both goals were achieved,  even if not in the way you'd draw it up.

 

I am grateful that Josh Allen and the energy of Bills Mafia can bring us new fans.

 

I can remember going to local bars with friends to watch Bills pre-season games during the Rex era and even if the place was packed nobody else even knew the Bills were playing.   The Bills territory was contracting and you didn't have to venture far outside of Buffalo to reach where the team was becoming irrelevant.  The brand was that tarnished by the likes of Ralph, Jauron, Levy and Brandon.  

 

In general, the fans that this Josh Allen era creates will be the people sustaining the franchise 10-15 years from now the same way that the kids of the Kelly/Bruce/Thomas/Reed era Bills sustained the organization thru the 2000-2017 drought years.  

 

 

 

I was a unicorn to my friends in the early Aughts; the "poor Bills fan" who would never give up.

 

Their tune has changed.

 

[SirAndrew]

1 hour ago, Doc Brown said:

I was in tears as a senior in high school after the Wide Right game and my late father consoled me by saying "players get paid while fans work for free."  Since then a loss won't ruin my night or drag me down the next day.  It's just a bunch of 20 to 30's something kids playing a game where only 1 of 32 fan bases are happy at the end of the season.  It's a fun sport to watch, follow, discuss strategies, discuss players, and debate.  I just am not that emotionally attached to it because the alternative sucks.

I agree, as I got into my twenties, I began to feel less emotional about the game as well. I started to remind myself that win or lose, these guys could have more fun than I could dream of at that point in my life. So why should I sit at home upset about it myself? 

[galept]

3 hours ago, Jalan81 said:

I was going to say I’m a happier fan during the Josh Allen era. Being OAF I at least got to enjoy the Jim Kelly era. My daughters are getting a good dose of playoff disappointment, I can only shake my head and tell them if they only knew real disappointment like losing 4 in a row, wide right, no goal, home run throw back…🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😢😢😢

 

How about the longest playoff drought in North American sports and only two seasons above .500 while Tom Brady goes 32-3 against you and everyone jokes that our team is going to leave us? And toss in a 6-3 loss to the Browns to boot.

[SirAndrew]

It’s really cool to hear some stories of posters who became fans because of Allen. I think there’s many people who don’t post here that might never admit to  not being fans before Allen. Buffalo always had a devoted Bills fanbase, but I think the fanbase outside of WNY has definitely increased. It seems that upstate NY is now Bills country. Fans always existed, but I’ve noticed the disappearance of Giants and Jets fans in upstate. I remember when Syracuse television networks would broadcast Giants and Jets over Bills games that occurred simultaneously. 

[streetkings01]

Been around since arguing with folks about Trent Edwards over Losman on bb.com message board! Been around since Sal C. was doing podcast outta his basement on the billszone site. I’m pretty sure a good 25% of this board came around during the 2020 season, most of us have were around since the drought or like me have been Bills fans before/during the super bowl years.

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, SirAndrew said:

It’s really cool to hear some stories of posters who became fans because of Allen. I think there’s many people who don’t post here that might never admit to  not being fans before Allen. Buffalo always had a devoted Bills fanbase, but I think the fanbase outside of WNY has definitely increased. It seems that upstate NY is now Bills country. Fans always existed, but I’ve noticed the disappearance of Giants and Jets fans in upstate. I remember when Syracuse television networks would broadcast Giants and Jets over Bills games that occurred simultaneously. 

 

I lived in the Albany area during the Glory Years.  The Albany network affiliate always carried the Jests rather than the Bills and sometimes even the Patriots even though both teams sucked as badly as they've sucked the last couple of years.   They got so many complaints that they decided to have the fans vote on which team they would show, which the Bills of course won, if not necessarily because there were so many Bills fans but watching a crappy team lose week after week doesn't appeal to many people.

[Mike R]

I’ve been a fan since I was 10 watching OJ. My family wasn’t really into football but OJ had all of WNY watching. I remember running to and from school as fast as I could avoiding sidewalk cracks making OJ moves. I’ve followed them ever since even after moving away. My boys are now diehard fans and so are their kids. Wide right was devastating. But so was Harmon’s drop and so many others. Josh Allan deserves a Super Bowl ring more than anyone and so do Bills fans. No one who grew up outside of WNY knows how bad Bills fans want a championship. Just one.

13 hours ago, galept said:

 

How about the longest playoff drought in North American sports and only two seasons above .500 while Tom Brady goes 32-3 against you and everyone jokes that our team is going to leave us? And toss in a 6-3 loss to the Browns to boot.

That Browns loss was a definite low point. I think Cleveland only had about 19 total yards and the Bills still lost. Bills are famous for playing not to lose in critical moments and then losing in historical fashion. It’s gut wrenching.

[Pete]

Being a Bills fan is in my DNA.  I’ve been a fanatic since the early 70s.  I often meet people who say “I have a friend who is a huge Bills fan”. I always respond “every Bills fan is a fanatic,  there are zero passive Bills fans. It don’t matter if it’s Grandma or your sister- they are passionate Bills fans like me”. I love that about Bills Mafia!  

16 hours ago, eball said:

 

I was a unicorn to my friends in the early Aughts; the "poor Bills fan" who would never give up.

 

Their tune has changed.

 

That’s me too.  Bills fans are the most loyal steadfast fans in the sports world.

 

[billsbackto81]

Been following the 

Bills since

Back

to 

the year 

1981

Ferguson, Cribbs, Smerlas, Lewis and Butler..... High School seems so long ago. 😱

[Gugny]

On 5/23/2025 at 1:07 PM, SMAKCruiser said:

The ones that joined will be the first to leave when we suck again without Josh.  

Not necessarily. 
 

I became a Bills fan the day of the BUF/NYG Super Bowl. 
 

They’ve sucked a lot more than they’ve been good after that run. 

[Gigs]

On 5/23/2025 at 1:07 PM, Another Fan said:

The flip side to that is the drought years would make you appreciate more what we see today 

Lol, forged in fire

[Buffalo Ballin]

On 5/23/2025 at 10:17 AM, Peace Frog said:

Born in Cheektowaga in 1964.  Pretty much watched what dad would watch, which, in the '70's, was Hee-Haw, Star Trek, Kung Fu, Lawrence Welk, and the Sabres. After our family left for TX in 1977, it was then the Cowboys & Oilers. I didn't start following the Bills until the end of the 1987 season, at my dad's suggestion. After finishing college in fall of '89, moved back to Buffalo and stayed until the summer of 1995 so I was there for the Super Bowl years.

I was in Port Arthur, Texas during the 1980s. Same bloody thing, Cowboys & Oilers for my older bro and Dad. But not me. I became a Bills fan in 1990. I was never a Cowboys or Oilers fan.