So, after my first 18 years on Earth, spending the entire time living in Buffalo, New York… I had never been to a Buffalo Bills game.
This was only true until December 6th, 2015, Bills vs. Texans. The game was held at none other, than Ralph Wilson Stadium. We got pretty lucky with the weather, staying at a mild (for Buffalo anyway) 40 degrees.
Over the years, I had been to my share of Buffalo Sabres games, Buffalo Bandits games, Buffalo Bisons games, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite the hardships our sports teams face, us Buffalonians still have great pride and remain optimistic. When you live here in Buffalo, going to your first Bills game is basically a right of passage. However, due to my lack of interest in football, I have never felt the void of missing the experience.
Yeah, some people may say that it's just a game, that it's just a bunch of rowdy drunks freezing their butts off to watch their team lose over and over again. While this may be partly true, when game day comes, blocks and blocks of residential lots open up their lawns for parking. With the streets lined with tailgaters, all dressed to the nines, anything ranging from old school Bills jerseys, to the infamous Zubaz pants (pictured below.) Walking to the stadium was an experience in itself.
Walking into the Ralph, a stadium that holds over 70 thousand people in it, I was amazed by the pure spirit of all the fans in it. If Buffalo does one thing right, it would be the pride we have in our teams. When the Bills score, the crowd is filled with nothing but screams of celebration, and high fives all around. Post victory, chants of “Lets go Buffalo!” could be heard from blocks away.
Leaving my first Bills game, I realized just how proud to say that I am from Buffalo. It's not every day you get to be surrounded by others that are all rooting for the same cause, and the same city. #Buffalove
