With Sunday night football right around the corner, and having just bought two sets of tickets to different games, I started to really think about the team I root for… Can you guess my team? Seattle Seahawks? Close… New England Patriots? God no (no offense)… Denver Broncos?! Ooo, that’s a close second. Obviously it’s the Buffalo Bills!! What kind of Rochesterian would I be if I didn’t love the Buffalo Bills? For all you haters, give me a break, like your team has never had rough seasons! By the way, did you know that regardless of how our team does, our fans always stay true? There’s no one hopping on this bandwagon. We’ve been Buffalo Bills fans since the start.
Not only do we have fans that were once players, but we have family members throughout the country that stay by our side. Ever heard of Jim Kelly? A quarterback Hall of Famer as well as a cancer survivor. He spent 11 seasons playing for the Buffalo Bills, and although our team has yet to win a Superbowl, in which he went to four consecutive times, he continues to root for our team and show his support.
Some may say that the years of Jim Kelly and his teammates Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith were the time. I don’t think they’ve given our new team and coach enough credit. Of course I will love every player that comes through, especially because my brother’s football team won the Jim Kelly Training Camp Championship, and I was held by the Buffalo Jills as a baby, but I have faith in this year’s roaster.
Before seasonal and preseason games begin, the Buffalo Bills go through an intense three week training camp at St. John Fisher College. For those of you who don’t know, this is a training camp in Rochester. This is a time where the fans can go and see them not only practice, but also scrimmage. It’s also a great time for local news and radio stations to interview the team and give the community a chance to get to know them. These past two weeks, I have been driving to work every morning listening to the players and staff being interviewed, and I am reminded time and time again why I love them so much. So we may not win every game, and we may still be waiting for our Super Bowl rings, but the Buffalo Bills will always be my number one team.
I get teased by all my friends because of the love and enthusiasm I have for the Buffalo Bills, but I stay true. These players are not only hard at work on the field, but they are hard at work off the field. Many of these men have families and try and help out within the community. Whether they volunteer at Jim Kelly football camps, or they get involved through other activities. Some of these men are even preparing for what will come after football ends. The fact that our boys have lost so much, only makes us that much stronger. Not to mention, have you ever been to a Buffalo Bills game? Our fans are nuts! You definitely don't want to be the guy sitting in the crowd not joining in our chant. "AYE AYE AYE AYE!" "AYE AYE AYE AYE!" "LETS GO BUFFALO!" "LETS GO BUFFALO!" Or better yet, "THE BILLS MAKE ME WANT TO SHOUT!"
This year our team includes coaches that are brothers, a Gronkowski brother, and a player that was out all last season because of a neck injury. That doesn’t include our returning players and our newbies like Sammy Watkin, Marcell Darius, EJ Manuel and Kevon Seymour. Some may say, that this still isn’t enough, but I think the Buffalo Bills will let the plays do the talking.
Our team has the resources we need to succeed, we have the speed, and we have the strength. What it comes down to is the determination to win through the gains and the losses. In the past, there have been moments when defeat have gotten the best of us, but there have also been moments when we try to prove everyone wrong. This year already, we have proven that we may be young, but we are ready to prove everyone wrong.
For these reasons, I will always be a true Buffalo Bills fan…
