Buffalove

[The Dean]

I won season tickets in a raffle for the 1965 season (I was 8 years old). I was a fan before that season, but that year I got to go to many games at the old Rockpile.

[GOBILLS78]

Born at Buffalo Mercy in 1981. Can't pinpoint an exact moment when I caught the Bills bug. The first game I recall being really excited about was the 1988 AFC championship, but I had definitely watched games before that.

[EndZoneCrew]

I was 6 years old and at my very first Bills game... we were getting beat 28 - 3 at the half, my brother and pops took off back to the car while my ma convinced me to stay with her. Little did I know i was about to witness the greatest comeback of all time. As I get older i cant remember having memories further back then that one, still remember a massive bald guy with full body paint hoisting me up haha.

 

Did you know there were 237,192 people at that game?

[ThePebble19]

I have been a Bills fan my whole life, passed down from Mom and Dad, who were season ticket holders for almost 20 years before we moved...Somewhere in the mid to late 80's as as 6 or 7 year old, I started developing a fascination with the Jets, and I started liking both teams. It really had more to do with being a Ken O'Brien/Al Toon fan than anything else, but it stuck with me for a long time...Then, 2 years ago, on Monday Night Football, I completely fell back in love with Buffalo. Even though we lost the game, I haven't followed the Jets at all since that night. I sold or donated every piece of Jets memorabilia that I had, with the exception of a game worn Kenny O jersey...I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of that. It has gone as far now as disliking the Jets as much, if not more than I dislike the Fins or the Pats.

 

I have never seen an NFL game anywhere else but Buffalo. I bought season tickets last year, and was there for the Oakland, San Diego and Cleveland games. I sat with great people, and it is an atmosphere and family type feeling that you can't get anywhere else.

[AF88Bills]

I jumped on the bandwagon during the '89-90 season, growing up in Charleston, SC. My eight grade algebra teacher was from Buffalo, and talked Bills football every Monday. Back then it was easy to get hooked becuase they were on nationally so much, and because of all the playoff games...I've been hooked ever since.

 

I'm currently in the military, stationed in the FL panhandle...about 3.5 hrs from New Orleans...In total I've made 3 trips to Buffalo for home games, and had a blast each time. I also continue to burn the $270 each year for the Sunday Ticket...

[billsfan714]

I was born in the suburbs in the early 60's so when I became aware of football, say 1970, the Bills more or less truly sucked. I was originally a chiefs fan as I fell in love with them in the double OT loss to the Dolphins. This was the Len Dawson, Ed Podalak, Otis Taylor, Willie Lanier, etc chiefs. I lived threw the 70s and all the loses to the fish. I remember getting Dennis Shaws and John Leopolds autographs at local malls. I rooted for the Bills but there wasnt much to root for. I was there, at Rich, when Dempsey missed the chip shot to end the streak. I think we had one wild card in the 70s.

 

As I said I was a Chiefs fan, and wasnt a hardcore Bills fan, but when I moved to Ohio to go to college, people dissing the Bills started to piss me off and my pride in my hometown kicked in. I remember watching the Knox led Bills against San Diego in the very early 80s, ended in heartbreak and Bill Simpson made some sort of screwup. Since then I was hooked, we had up and downs in the 80s but then the team started to become a winner. It was beautiful. I cherish the superbowl teams, even though they ended in heartbreak, but that was part of being a Bills fan, all the way back to the vision of Dempsey missing the chip shot. It was fun to hang 50 on the Raiders in the AFC championship game. The comeback, when my coworker in PA, called me at halftime to say hows your !@#$ing Bills doing. God it was fun coming in the next day to rub it in his face.

 

As for Buffalove, and I like that word, I want to say this. You hear on this board so and so move to Florida or so and so moved to California, high WNY taxes, the weather, blah blah blah. My memories of Buffalo were, and are, great, even though I havent lived there since 1981 though my family is still there. I visit regularly. Not everyone who leaves Buffalo moves to some 24/7 beachfront location, making high 6 figures. And those that did probably dont brag too much lately about how the housing bubble, which is the worst in Cali, FLA and Las Vegas. Finding a reasonable 3 bedroom middle class house isnt that difficult in WNY. I lived in Ohio and currently live in PA and like Buffalo 100 percent better. Sorry, but the hometown I thought I wanted to leave in 1980, still beckons, and I hope to retire up there someday. For all the **** about Buffalo weather, it sure as **** seemed the people in WNY sure knew how to enjoy summer-crystal beach, beaver island, niagara falls, weekends at the quary at Sherkston, beach bars (try finding one of those in central PA), all the beaches and vacations at cottages in southern Ontario on the lake, drinking beer with friends at a beach fire, waterskiing, running on sand dunes, lawnfetes. And when the snow falls its on to winter sports, I have plenty of great memories of tobogganing at chestnut ridge on a toboggan which my father made in shop class in the 50s, skiing at Holiday Valley and Kissing Bridge, partying and sledding at Como park in HS. Hmm believe or not Buffalonians dont just sit on their ass and watch TV from Nov-March. I miss a Teds dog and a beef on weck. Yup its true.....not everyday in Buffalo is overcast and gray. I enjoyed the sun and warmth when it was there and I enjoyed the snow when it fell. ONE thing Im sure of, Buffalo and WNY is pretty great place to grow up in or raise a family. Buffalonians have no reason to feel like our city/area is somehow inferior, cause its not. In fact it a pretty awesome place to be raised in and Ill forever be Buffalo proud and wear my Bills hat down here with these Steeler fans. Cause one of these days........the Bills are gonna win it all Im gonna be up there, getting drunk as a skunk with all you other SOBs. .

[mrags]

I was born in the suburbs in the early 60's so when I became aware of football, say 1970, the Bills more or less truly sucked. I was originally a chiefs fan as I fell in love with them in the double OT loss to the Dolphins. This was the Len Dawson, Ed Podalak, Otis Taylor, Willie Lanier, etc chiefs. I lived threw the 70s and all the loses to the fish. I remember getting Dennis Shaws and John Leopolds autographs at local malls. I rooted for the Bills but there wasnt much to root for. I was there, at Rich, when Dempsey missed the chip shot to end the streak. I think we had one wild card in the 70s.

 

As I said I was a Chiefs fan, and wasnt a hardcore Bills fan, but when I moved to Ohio to go to college, people dissing the Bills started to piss me off and my pride in my hometown kicked in. I remember watching the Knox led Bills against San Diego in the very early 80s, ended in heartbreak and Bill Simpson made some sort of screwup. Since then I was hooked, we had up and downs in the 80s but then the team started to become a winner. It was beautiful. I cherish the superbowl teams, even though they ended in heartbreak, but that was part of being a Bills fan, all the way back to the vision of Dempsey missing the chip shot. It was fun to hang 50 on the Raiders in the AFC championship game. The comeback, when my coworker in PA, called me at halftime to say hows your !@#$ing Bills doing. God it was fun coming in the next day to rub it in his face.

 

As for Buffalove, and I like that word, I want to say this. You hear on this board so and so move to Florida or so and so moved to California, high WNY taxes, the weather, blah blah blah. My memories of Buffalo were, and are, great, even though I havent lived there since 1981 though my family is still there. I visit regularly. Not everyone who leaves Buffalo moves to some 24/7 beachfront location, making high 6 figures. And those that did probably dont brag too much lately about how the housing bubble, which is the worst in Cali, FLA and Las Vegas. Finding a reasonable 3 bedroom middle class house isnt that difficult in WNY. I lived in Ohio and currently live in PA and like Buffalo 100 percent better. Sorry, but the hometown I thought I wanted to leave in 1980, still beckons, and I hope to retire up there someday. For all the **** about Buffalo weather, it sure as **** seemed the people in WNY sure knew how to enjoy summer-crystal beach, beaver island, niagara falls, weekends at the quary at Sherkston, beach bars (try finding one of those in central PA), all the beaches and vacations at cottages in southern Ontario on the lake, drinking beer with friends at a beach fire, waterskiing, running on sand dunes, lawnfetes. And when the snow falls its on to winter sports, I have plenty of great memories of tobogganing at chestnut ridge on a toboggan which my father made in shop class in the 50s, skiing at Holiday Valley and Kissing Bridge, partying and sledding at Como park in HS. Hmm believe or not Buffalonians dont just sit on their ass and watch TV from Nov-March. I miss a Teds dog and a beef on weck. Yup its true.....not everyday in Buffalo is overcast and gray. I enjoyed the sun and warmth when it was there and I enjoyed the snow when it fell. ONE thing Im sure of, Buffalo and WNY is pretty great place to grow up in or raise a family. Buffalonians have no reason to feel like our city/area is somehow inferior, cause its not. In fact it a pretty awesome place to be raised in and Ill forever be Buffalo proud and wear my Bills hat down here with these Steeler fans. Cause one of these days........the Bills are gonna win it all Im gonna be up there, getting drunk as a skunk with all you other SOBs. .

 

well played

[IHFO]

I was born in 89 so i am too young to remember the superbowls, although for some crazy reason i feel like I remember watching wide right but I might be crazy. I've always been a Packers fan because of Farve and I still am although he isn't there anymore. I didn't really start watching the Bills till the Bledsoe trade when we had a legit QB again for the first time since Kelly. But i've been a fan since and continue to watch the games and root for the team because I've from the area and would love to see the "hometown" team do well.