From: evans@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Doug Evans - CIT Communication Systems)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: Bills tidbits for displaced fans... (long)
Date: 28 Jan 93 07:12:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


I've had several Bills fans from different parts of the country
e-mail me their thanks for some of my past postings to RSFP; they
seemed to enjoy hearing some stories from home as a change of
pace from the endless "my team is better than your team" flame
wars.

In that vein, I want to offer up a few things you may be interested
in.

Beginning on a personal note:

- Post SB XXVI lament...

	After suffering the devasting emotional effects of the past
two SB losses, my brother and I both tried to distance ourselves
somewhat from the team by not participating as much.  It didn't work.

- Training camp starts...

	I went to training camp for only one visit this year (I 
usually make 3 or 4 visits).  I took my son and a friend of his
with me and they had a good time collecting some autographs.  We
went back near the weight room after the afternoon session, and
wouldn't you know it, Bruce Smith took a liking to my son's friend
(Andrew is a 12 year old black boy who looks very much like a 
miniature Bruce Smith, he is the neatest little kid and may make
a fine NFL player some day), and he invited us into the weight
room to meet all the guys.  I stayed at the door as Bruce Smith,
Darryl Talley and John Fina took the boys around and showed them
a great time.  What a classy bunch of guys.  You should have seen
the teary-eyed look in Andrew's face when Brad Lamb managed to
get Thurman Thomas to autograph his Collector's edition card. It
was pretty neat to see the kid staring in awe at his card.

- Another season, another roller-coaster ride...

	So, the season comes along and my brother and I decide
to split the tickets and only go to 4 games this season just to
keep ourselves low-key.  My brother did better than I did for
awhile.  I got invited to the Bills Kickoff Luncheon at the
Convention Center for starters. I had the opportunity to chat 
with Steve Christie, Jeff Wright, Phil Hansen and Don Beebe on
different occasions and I could feel the Bills fever getting 
under my skin.  When the Bills sent us our playoff notices,
(before the last game of the season), we decided to sit home
this year and sold our tickets to some friends. 

	A few days before the Houston Wildcard game, we talked, 
had a change of heart and my brother managed to get the best 
tickets we've ever had at Rich Stadium.  We sat on the 50 yard
line right behind the Bills bench on row 33.  Absolutely perfect.

- The Second Coming...

	So what do they do? They proceed to conduct the 
Greatest Comeback in NFL History(tm) just so that we would be
totally and completely hooked into another emotional ride into
who-knows-what!  What an experience.  I have never, I mean
NEVER heard Rich Stadium, or any stadium, (including the 
Kingdome), get as loud as it did in the second half of that game!
Wow! Everyone that left the stadium all complained of the pain
in their gut from the constant yelling.  We yelled and screamed
even during the commercial breaks! I've never seen that happen
before.  At one point, I got the feeling that the Houston 
players must of felt like they were inside a monstrous vortex
crashing in on them.  It must have been very intimidating.
Being a part of that whole thing was probably the most incredible
thing I've ever experienced.  Like another guy said earlier,
it was a religious experience.  Very weird.  It was well worth
two days of throat lozenges.

- Here we go again...

	So what what do you think happened after that game?
Well, for starters, there were ambulances buzzing all around
the stadium immediately after the game. It seems several
people had heart attacks because of the intense excitement.
Bills mania.  It is out of control.  We are all caught up in
it and it useless to resist it.  On a contest for a local
radio station several people did crazy things to win tickets
to the Miami game.  One guy jumped into a truckload of fresh
Buffalo manure.  The winner was a guy who did a swan dive
into a vat filled with 350 lbs. of fish guts.  The contest
for the SB tickets was a bit classier. They selected the
"ultimate" Bills fan.  They picked the "indian" who walks
around with the Buffalo headress and the Buffalo pole.  I'm
sure we'll see him and that Cowboy mascot mixing it up at the
SB.

- Jump right in...

	As for me, my wife and I went to the MTV Superbowl
party and I was convinced to wear my Army/Bills costume as
a gesture of going to battle with the Cowboys and a show
of support for my friends overseas in places like Somalia. 
Look for us on Sunday morning on MTV. (Actually, I hope 
they don't use my footage.  I screwed it up bigtime. Duh.)
If the Bills win, I think I'll get dressed up again for
the post SB party.  They have a rally planned for this
Friday downtown.  We'll probably do the same thing.

- Check this out...

	I just heard on the news a neat story about Frank 
Reich and Jim Kelly.  It seems that every Friday evening
before a home game they go to the same little cafe and
sit at the same table, with the same settings and eat the
same food.  It is a superstitious thing that they do and
they really believe that it gives them good luck.  So what
are they doing?  They had Fed Ex go to the cafe and pick
up the table, chairs, silverware and settings and are 
having everything shipped overnight.  The cafe is going to
send the burgers and drinks on Friday.  Hey...what the
hell?  I hope it works!

- Old history...

	Ok, I have some insider information for the real
Bills fans out there.  I saved it for the bottom of the
post, because I figure that if you're still reading this
long winded thing, then you must be desperately seeking
a fix of Bills mania. It is a negative thing, and I don't
care for the ridicule that it evokes. Anyways, I found 
out from a good source (Rusty Jones, strength and 
conditioning coach) that the other players on the team 
hid Thurman's helmet on him in last year's Superbowl.  
It was a gesture to give him the message that it was a 
team sport and that he depends on them as much as they 
depend on him.  It was a good idea, because Thomas was 
acting like I never seen him act before.  He was selfless 
in not pursuing the rushing title for two years in a row 
when it was within his grasp, but then he gets bit by the 
Louis Oliver bug and starts acting crazy.  I think it's all
straightened out by now.  Hats off to Marv Levy for 
finally displaying some fine leadership and taking control
of the media gaffes.

- Some trivia just for fun...

	What Bills player was traded to San Francisco in
1978, whose trade indirectly resulted in the Bills acquiring 
Jim Kelly?

	Who was picked by the Bills ahead of Jim Kelly in
the first round of the 1983 draft?


Doug

                                  |                              Doug Evans
                                  | State University of New York at Buffalo
                                  |             evans@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro