Buffalo Bills

Five Reasons Why Being A Buffalo Bills Fan Doesn't Completely Suck

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills lost to the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football leading the team to a 0-2 record to start the season. Here are a few reasons it could be worse to be a Bills fan.

The intention here is not to write a puff piece or even pretend that the situation at One Bills Drive isn’t dire. It is. There is a reason why they fired their offensive coordinator two weeks into the season. I wouldn’t assign Greg Roman all the blame (or even most), but every last person in the organization can be blamed in some capacity.

I’m just as upset as the rest of #BillsMafia over the start of the season, but when I woke up this morning I thought “Well I could write a piece completely trashing the team just like everyone else is going to do or I can try to write something stupid, something comical, and hopefully I can cheer up at least one Bills fans day.”

If you’re one of the people who want to fire Rex Ryan today, bench Tyrod Taylor, start fresh, that’s fine too. But this column isn’t going to do that. This column is just about having a little fun on a Friday after a tough loss.

So what gives me hope as a Bills fan for the future (even if it’s the distant future)?

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills fans make their way into New Era Field before watching a game against the New York Jets. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Loyal Fans

Our fan base is loyal. They are passionate. They are not going to just fold on this team like a folding table underneath the weight of a Bills fan in the parking lot before home games. The fans that are outraged, are outraged because they care, because they love this team, because they love this city.

They want nothing more than the Bills to be successful and when they aren’t it hurts. It hurts so bad you want to break a folding table before you realize that you already did that before the game and so you now have no table left to break after a loss.

Want your voice heard? Join the BuffaLowDown team!

More than other fanbases, Bills fans know who their backup lineman are, their practice squad players, and they welcome free agents to the city of Buffalo with a fury of kindness and positive tweets. They tweet at and talk about former players who are long gone like their family. Because they are.

Players who spend time in Buffalo understand the bond between the population and the players. Once a Buffalo Bills player, always a Buffalo Bills player. Those are the type of fans I am proud to root alongside and the Bills have some of the best fans in the league.

That’s what I love about this fanbase and that’s one of the things I love about this team. If that was too positive for you I’ll mention on the downside, despite Bills fans nearly undefeated record versus folding tables, Bills fans are 0-1 lifetime against dizzy bats. We’ll get there one day.

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills guard Kraig Urbik (60) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

At least we’re not Cleveland, right?

Cleveland won an NBA Championship this past season but that’s not a Super Bowl. Sure the city of Buffalo would go crazy and love to see the Sabres win a Stanley Cup (the Bills already have won a Stanley Cup), but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought the reaction of the city would be even close to the same as the Bills finally winning a Super Bowl. I actually fear for the safety of every table whether it’s a folding one or not, when the Bills finally do win the Super Bowl.

Buffalo is 0-2 and has a very small chance of making the playoffs but I’d still rather be a Bills fan than a Browns fan. The Browns not only lost the first game of their season to the Eagles 29 – 10, but they lost their starting quarterback Robert Grffin III for a majority of the season.

The Bills have had the injuries pile up but I’d rather deal with all the injuries the Bills have dealt with than deal with an injury to our starting quarterback which would put E.J. Manuel back at the helm. I like E.J., but only in small doses like for when we need one of the greatest hard counts of all time or when the team needs one yard and would rather put his health at risk over Tyrod Taylor’s health.

Aug 13, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan talks to defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (99) before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

We’re a lot of things, but not boring

The Bills have been undisciplined, overly talkative, and not nearly successful enough during Rex Ryan’s reign with the team. The one thing they have not been is boring. They make you crazy with all the suspensions, stupid penalties, injuries, avoidable timeouts, but the one thing they won’t do is leave you without something interesting to talk about.

More from BuffaLowDown

Hardly a day goes by that the Bills don’t do something noteworthy. Whether it’s hiring the first female coach, hiring the coaches brother, winning the offseason, or getting suspended for something stupid, there is always something to talk about with this team.

I’d take that over past teams when the team was boring both on and off the field. I’m not saying being interesting makes up for wins because I’d much rather have a winning team that’s boring. But what I won’t stand for is a losing team that’s also boring. That’s a combination that makes the season feel like a grind and not a blessing.

They are and will be the Buffalo Bills for the foreseeable future

It’s been said before but it can never be said enough. The Buffalo Bills are staying in Buffalo. In past years we not only had to worry about our teams lack of production but we also had to worry that more years of futility could push this team to another city like Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

That is no longer a worry. No matter how bad the team plays, I can always take solace in the fact that I don’t have to worry about telling someone I’m a Las Vegas Bills fan. Just typing that made me want to vomit a bit in my mouth. So for the millionth time, thank you Terry and Kim Pegula. Buffalo truly appreciates you as owners and your dedication to the region.

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

A picture is worth 1,000 pounds

Love ’em or hate ’em both Rex and Rob Ryan are coaches for the Bills at the present. That could change at any point as evidenced by Greg Roman’s firing today. What’s one thing that won’t change, though? This picture. This actually happened. It’s real. It cannot and will not be erased from my memory. It will always make me smile every time I see it.

Sure Rex and Rob Ryan may never deliver a playoff berth in Buffalo, but they did deliver one of the silliest and most ridiculous pictures of two grown, possibly “fully pregnant”, men riding a tandem bike together. Sometimes you just need to laugh at yourself and Rex and Rob could teach an advanced course at Harvard on that subject.

So yeah, things are bad in Buffalo right now and they have been for too long. I could list off all the issues but that would require way too many words and I’d like to see my family again. Having said that, things could be worse but as a Bills fan who is still pretty pissed off about last night, I’m going to try to focus on the positive.

I’m not making excuses for the organization, but I also don’t have the energy to be angry anymore today. I got most of that out last night. I know what you are thinking but, no, every table in my apartment is fully intact and was not harmed during the writing of this article or the watching of the game last night.

Lastly, if you didn’t like this article and you’re ready to give up on the Buffalo Bills after so many years of disappointment you’re not alone. You could always find a place for yourself as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Miss you Doug. Just Kidding.

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills lost to the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football leading the team to a 0-2 record to start the season. Here are a few reasons it could be worse to be a Bills fan.

The intention here is not to write a puff piece or even pretend that the situation at One Bills Drive isn’t dire. It is. There is a reason why they fired their offensive coordinator two weeks into the season. I wouldn’t assign Greg Roman all the blame (or even most), but every last person in the organization can be blamed in some capacity.

I’m just as upset as the rest of #BillsMafia over the start of the season, but when I woke up this morning I thought “Well I could write a piece completely trashing the team just like everyone else is going to do or I can try to write something stupid, something comical, and hopefully I can cheer up at least one Bills fans day.”

If you’re one of the people who want to fire Rex Ryan today, bench Tyrod Taylor, start fresh, that’s fine too. But this column isn’t going to do that. This column is just about having a little fun on a Friday after a tough loss.

So what gives me hope as a Bills fan for the future (even if it’s the distant future)?

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills fans make their way into New Era Field before watching a game against the New York Jets. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Loyal Fans

Our fan base is loyal. They are passionate. They are not going to just fold on this team like a folding table underneath the weight of a Bills fan in the parking lot before home games. The fans that are outraged, are outraged because they care, because they love this team, because they love this city.

They want nothing more than the Bills to be successful and when they aren’t it hurts. It hurts so bad you want to break a folding table before you realize that you already did that before the game and so you now have no table left to break after a loss.

Want your voice heard? Join the BuffaLowDown team!

More than other fanbases, Bills fans know who their backup lineman are, their practice squad players, and they welcome free agents to the city of Buffalo with a fury of kindness and positive tweets. They tweet at and talk about former players who are long gone like their family. Because they are.

Players who spend time in Buffalo understand the bond between the population and the players. Once a Buffalo Bills player, always a Buffalo Bills player. Those are the type of fans I am proud to root alongside and the Bills have some of the best fans in the league.

That’s what I love about this fanbase and that’s one of the things I love about this team. If that was too positive for you I’ll mention on the downside, despite Bills fans nearly undefeated record versus folding tables, Bills fans are 0-1 lifetime against dizzy bats. We’ll get there one day.

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills guard Kraig Urbik (60) at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

At least we’re not Cleveland, right?

Cleveland won an NBA Championship this past season but that’s not a Super Bowl. Sure the city of Buffalo would go crazy and love to see the Sabres win a Stanley Cup (the Bills already have won a Stanley Cup), but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought the reaction of the city would be even close to the same as the Bills finally winning a Super Bowl. I actually fear for the safety of every table whether it’s a folding one or not, when the Bills finally do win the Super Bowl.

Buffalo is 0-2 and has a very small chance of making the playoffs but I’d still rather be a Bills fan than a Browns fan. The Browns not only lost the first game of their season to the Eagles 29 – 10, but they lost their starting quarterback Robert Grffin III for a majority of the season.

The Bills have had the injuries pile up but I’d rather deal with all the injuries the Bills have dealt with than deal with an injury to our starting quarterback which would put E.J. Manuel back at the helm. I like E.J., but only in small doses like for when we need one of the greatest hard counts of all time or when the team needs one yard and would rather put his health at risk over Tyrod Taylor’s health.

Aug 13, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan talks to defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (99) before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

We’re a lot of things, but not boring

The Bills have been undisciplined, overly talkative, and not nearly successful enough during Rex Ryan’s reign with the team. The one thing they have not been is boring. They make you crazy with all the suspensions, stupid penalties, injuries, avoidable timeouts, but the one thing they won’t do is leave you without something interesting to talk about.

More from BuffaLowDown

Hardly a day goes by that the Bills don’t do something noteworthy. Whether it’s hiring the first female coach, hiring the coaches brother, winning the offseason, or getting suspended for something stupid, there is always something to talk about with this team.

I’d take that over past teams when the team was boring both on and off the field. I’m not saying being interesting makes up for wins because I’d much rather have a winning team that’s boring. But what I won’t stand for is a losing team that’s also boring. That’s a combination that makes the season feel like a grind and not a blessing.

They are and will be the Buffalo Bills for the foreseeable future

It’s been said before but it can never be said enough. The Buffalo Bills are staying in Buffalo. In past years we not only had to worry about our teams lack of production but we also had to worry that more years of futility could push this team to another city like Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

That is no longer a worry. No matter how bad the team plays, I can always take solace in the fact that I don’t have to worry about telling someone I’m a Las Vegas Bills fan. Just typing that made me want to vomit a bit in my mouth. So for the millionth time, thank you Terry and Kim Pegula. Buffalo truly appreciates you as owners and your dedication to the region.

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

A picture is worth 1,000 pounds

Love ’em or hate ’em both Rex and Rob Ryan are coaches for the Bills at the present. That could change at any point as evidenced by Greg Roman’s firing today. What’s one thing that won’t change, though? This picture. This actually happened. It’s real. It cannot and will not be erased from my memory. It will always make me smile every time I see it.

Sure Rex and Rob Ryan may never deliver a playoff berth in Buffalo, but they did deliver one of the silliest and most ridiculous pictures of two grown, possibly “fully pregnant”, men riding a tandem bike together. Sometimes you just need to laugh at yourself and Rex and Rob could teach an advanced course at Harvard on that subject.

So yeah, things are bad in Buffalo right now and they have been for too long. I could list off all the issues but that would require way too many words and I’d like to see my family again. Having said that, things could be worse but as a Bills fan who is still pretty pissed off about last night, I’m going to try to focus on the positive.

I’m not making excuses for the organization, but I also don’t have the energy to be angry anymore today. I got most of that out last night. I know what you are thinking but, no, every table in my apartment is fully intact and was not harmed during the writing of this article or the watching of the game last night.

Lastly, if you didn’t like this article and you’re ready to give up on the Buffalo Bills after so many years of disappointment you’re not alone. You could always find a place for yourself as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Miss you Doug. Just Kidding.

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