Being a Bills fan can be fun. Most of the time it is probably frustrating or disappointing. But right now, it is fun. There is something about this team or maybe the city of Buffalo that finds it necessary to torture its fan base. So when they do win, the fans just go off the chart with excitement.
The Bills lost every game to the Dolphins in the entire decade of the 1970’s. Then, in September of 1980, the Bills beat the Dolphins ending a 20 game losing streak. In response, the fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts.
The fan reaction was duplicated again in 1988 when the Bills defeated the Jets in over time to win their first AFC East Division Title of the Jim Kelly era.
January 3rd marked the 25th anniversary of “The Comeback”. And watching the highlights of the game, it reminded me how crazy that whole game was and not just the score. That game had it all. The onside kick. The shanked punt that gave the Bills good field position in the 3rd quarter. The sack, fumble return for a score that the Bills had but was called back on down by contact. The botched field goal that Houston had when still up 35-31 in the fourth quarter. And of course the win. And of course, the fans stormed the field.
After the game, Charles Osgood did a piece for his radio vignette, “The Osgood File” that stays burned into my memory.
“When the odds are against you and everything’s awful and nothing is going your way. And everyone’s saying it’s out of the question for clearly it isn’t your day. Just remember what happened at Buffalo when the Oilers came into town. They were making a rout of it, the Bills were just out of it, by 32 points they were down.”
It goes on longer describing more detail of the game. I personally found the piece not just a testament to a football team that had a remarkable comeback, but a great lesson for life. The last part of the file went something like this:
“Whether they’re booing or cheering you now, and whether you’re cold or you’re hot. You’ve got to keep trying and doing your best and giving it all that you got. For the contest’s not over, until it’s all over. And in life it is also the same. Until it’s all over, in mud or in clover, you’ve got to keep playing the game”.
Buffalo sports has provided me many life lessons that I find myself using with my team at work and sometimes with my family. Mostly, it tells of how hard work, dedication and loyalty will lead to success, no matter how many failures you have to experience first.
The Bills win on Sunday etched another remarkable story into Buffalo History. And most of the story is not about the Bills beating the Dolphins. Yes, they won. They did their job. But the story really unfolds with Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals. You all know the story by now. Dalton throws a touchdown in the final seconds to win the game that allows Buffalo to head to the playoffs.
So what do the fans do? They storm the field of course? Except since there was no home game, there was no field to storm. Yes, they showed up at the airport to greet the team, but what happened next is the real story. Buffalo fans started donating to the Andy Dalton Foundation as a thank you for helping the Bills get into the playoffs. As of this morning, more than 270,000 dollars! Only Bills fans.
Last night, I was thinking about my Dad. Wondering what he might say about all of this excitement surrounding the Bills. This football team has been the subject of many conversations over the years. If there was one thing I could count on, it was a phone call from him to me or me to him on game days.
Kevin got us tickets to the game coming up in Jacksonville on Sunday. We will be driving down to see our team in a playoff game. A playoff game! I wanted to call Dad to tell him. I wondered what he might say.
I actually know the answer to that. But I really just want to hear him say it. I know the answer because he would say the same thing all the time. Sometimes to start those phone calls. Almost always to end the conversation. He would say it leading up to a big game. He was not the most talkative person. His words were short and strong.
Since I couldn’t call him, I just walked outside and looked up into the sky. I said out loud, “Hey Dad, Kevin and I are going to the game on Sunday.” And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. And because I have heard him say it so many times before, I just remembered his voice, his inflection, his light enthusiasm. I feel better because I was able to hear it in my head. Loud and clear just like he would say it on any other Sunday....
“Go Bills"