Why I Love the Bills (And Why I Can't Stand the Chiefs)

Two days. That's how much longer we have to wait until the NFL's season opener between the Packers and Saints. There won't be any more of this painful-to-watch preseason crap. No sir. Starters will be on the field for a full 60 minutes and every week will have playoff implications. So with that time almost here, I felt compelled to write a blog post about football. (The real game and not the imaginary one that I lose sleep over.)

So let's talk about my strange obsession with the Buffalo Bills. When people realize that I'm a Bills fan, they ALL have the same reaction: a confused look followed by the question, "Why?"

It's a great question, and I feel like I answer it differently every time. Perhaps it's because I don't have a definitive reason.

I know why I love the Atlanta Braves... I grew up watching them on TBS and memorized their everyday lineup by the time I was 7.

I know why I used to be a Kansas Jayhawk fan... My dad went to school there and passed his fandom on to me.

But the Bills??? They're never on TV and no one I knew growing up liked them. (And they were actually good when I was child.)

To be honest, I think it's a combination of things.

1) The very first game I remember seeing on TV was Super Bowl XXVI -- the one where the Bills got clobbered by the Redskins, their 2nd consecutive Super Bowl loss. I liked the red, white, and blue of the Bills uniforms. (Hey, I was 6.) I remembered the team, and it kinda stuck.

2) I thought buffaloes were really cool. This enhanced my opinion of the Buffalo Bills, who had just lost Super Bowl XXVII against the Cowboys.

3) The first autograph I ever received was from a guy named Jeff Wright -- a nose tackle for (you guessed it) the Buffalo Bills. That sealed the deal. And then they lost to the Cowboys again in Super Bowl XXVIII.

It doesn't seem like much, huh? Yet somehow I've managed to remain a Bills' fan for another 17 years. They've never been close to matching the Jim Kelly/Thurman Thomas/Bruce Smith teams from the early 90's. On January 8, 2000, the Bills lost to the Titans in the wildcard round of the playoffs. It was my 14th birthday. Many of you will remember that game as the "Music City Miracle." I remember it as the day I almost jumped off the bluff overlooking the Neosho River...

They have never made it back to the playoffs since.

Pitt State alum Brian Moorman is rocking the Bills'
new uniforms during warmups.

Yet here I am. Still rooting hard for the Ryan Fitzpatrick to Stevie Johnson combination. Still thinking that Shawne Merriman has something left in his tank. Still waiting in hopes that this could be the year they make a run...

But I'm also realistic. And I don't think it'll happen in 2011. However, I do like the direction that Chan Gailey (head coach) and Buddy Nix (GM) is taking this team. After years of treading the waters of mediocrity, the Bills finally got it right. Sometimes you need to take a step back before you can walk forward. Last year they "dropped" to 4-12, and this season I predict a 6- or 7-win club to emerge from Buffalo. I'll be ecstatic if that happens.

It all begins in Week One against the Kansas City Chiefs... And that brings me to the second part of the blog entry.

I really can't stand the Chiefs. I'll stop short of hate, but it's close.

One reason is because I'm forced to watch them every week thanks to the ingenious known as "regional coverage." It often means sacrificing a Patriots-Colts showdown for a meaningless Chiefs-Raiders games. Gross. (The only time I enjoy regional coverage is when the Chiefs play the Bills, so maybe I shouldn't complain too much until Week 2.)

But I suppose the main reason I dislike the Chiefs so much is due to the torture I endured in grade school from the so-called "fans" of the Chiefs. My fellow classmates, all of whom seemed to be fans of the Chiefs, would ridicule me for liking the Bills and let me know about EACH of their losses. Mondays in the fall really sucked when I was a kid.

What's worse is that all those "Chiefs fans" probably couldn't name three players on their team. (FYI - you shouldn't call yourself a fan unless you can name at least half the starters on both offense and defense.)

So for the true Chiefs fans out there, when you hear me complain about the your team, you can thank little Tommy and Billy and Freddy for their hurtful words during the 90's.

GO BILLS!