Buffalo Bills fans are by far the most dedicated fans in the entire NFL. We brave the snow and ice to watch a team that has not made it to the Superbowl since before I was born (that is over 20 years ago). We get our hearts broken season after season. On the bright side, the struggle of being a Buffalo Bills fan bonds us together. Here are eight struggles every Bills fan knows to be true!
1. "Maybe next year" is our catchphrase.
We start the season with extreme optimism. Every year we think "this is our year!" By the third game, we are all saying "well, next year is the year!" The cycle repeats every single year.
2. We get used to our games not being televised.
At the beginning of the season, enough seats are sold that the game is televised. By mid- season enough fans have given up, so you have to settle for watching other games on Sunday, The probability of watching a Bills game on TV decreases with each passing week.
3. There is a short window where you can comfortably attend Bill's games.
Buffalo weather gets bad quickly. You'd better watch your live game early on in the season unless you want to freeze to your seat.
4. We will never get used to the name change of the Ralph Wilson Stadium.
It will always be the Ralph Wilson Stadium to us. I don't think we will ever get used to calling it the "New Era Field."
5. The Bills may be our main team, but we all have backup teams.
It gets old watching your team lose week after week. So yes, the Bills may be our favorite team but we all have our other favorite teams-- you know, the teams that actually have a shot at the playoffs.
6. We miss the Jim Kelly days.
I wasn't even alive for the Jim Kelly days, but I miss them. This was the prime time for the Buffalo Bills. Why can't we relive these glory days?
7. The 1990 Superbowl loss still hurts.
As this Superbowl happened during the Jim Kelly days, this is just another thing that I'm upset by that I wasn't actually alive for. This was the one Superbowl we should have won. It is a sore spot in the hearts of all Buffalo Bills fans.
8. There is nothing that can stop us from being Bills fans.
No matter how much we want to ditch our team and start rooting for a team that isn't one of the worst teams in the NFL, we just can't. Through thick and thin (and it has mostly been thin) we stick by our beloved team. We scream through the games each week. We enter every season with high optimism. I will always be a Bills fan. And don't worry, there is always next year!
