The Sandlot

The other day I came up with a sweet idea for a book. As per this title it would be all about going through life as a long suffering fan of the Buffalo pro-sports team. Think about it. I'm just old enough that I can vividly remember the details of the Bills first Superbowl appearance in the 1990 season, which is where the trouble began. (I'm not old enough to recall the Buffalo Braves of the NBA leaving or Buffalo getting denied an MLB team because the stadium was too small.)

At 7 years old I remember being so excited about the Bills Superbowl. My family and I watched the game at our house. The grandparents were there, possibly aunts and uncles as well. As the night went on the game was closer than anyone thought. And we all know how it ended. Even today, near 20 years later, the phrase "wide right" still conjures up those painful memories. I remember crying like a baby when Norwood's kick missed and the Bills lost that game. But it didn't end there for us fans oh no. The Bills would go on to make the next 3 Superbowls. The Redskins game they never stood a chance and they were blown out by the Cowboys in the first meeting. The second Superbowl vs the Cowboys was worse because the Bills actually led at halftime before finally faltering.

Now as a Bills fan we have a whole new level of pain. We're stuck in one of the leagues longest playoff droughts. We haven't had a star caliber QB since Jim Kelly. The last coach that took the Bills to the playoffs was Wade Phillips, who now coaches the Cowboys and takes them to the playoffs. The Bills continually develop good young talent only to either lose them via free agency or watch them waste their careers by being stuck on team that is marred in mediocrity.

While there are other teams in the NFL whose fans suffer as much if not more than us (Detroit)there's one thing that sets us apart. Hope. Every year some event will happen to make us think that this will be the year finally that the Bills play well and make the playoffs. This season it was the off season acquisition of TO. Three years ago it was the firing of a head coach or Marv Levy coming back to help. Its always something but we're always let down in the end.

It has now become abundantly clear that the entire organization needs to go. Obviously Jauron needs to be fired, he never should have been hired in the first place. He's a career .500 coach who had one good year with the Bears awhile back. Its more than just Jauron though. They need a new GM and Ralph Wilson himself either needs to be replaced or stop making the hiring decisions. Also, though i hate to say it because at one point I had faith, but Trent is not an elite NFL QB. He is just another middle of the road QB who could thrive on a good team but is incapable of carrying a mediocre one.

And all this is just about the Bills! We haven't even touched on the Sabres. The no-goal controversy. How they went from having the best team in the post-lockout era for two season but failed to make the Stanley Cup finals and then subsequently let their all star talent just leave town (Briere and Drury). Or all the years when Hasek single-handedly made them a playoff team but they never had the offensive cast around him to become contenders.

Even after everything I just detailed one could still go into great depth about some of the utterly heartbreaking defeats both these teams have suffered in even regular season play, not to mention the obvious effects these defeats have on the fans. If I weren't so lazy/had the time and money to do all the research and write this book, I would. I'd probably make a good coin off it too. But alas, all I can do is watch the games week in and week out and keep hoping that something happens to turn it all around at some point in my life time.