Why I'm a Bills Fan
A tough playoff loss won't change my love for Buffalo. From Flutie Flakes to Josh Allen's leadership, here's why I'm sticking with the Bills through thick and thin.
Such a tough loss today for the Bills. Hard to overcome the turnovers, but they had a chance when it got to OT and they had the ball with a "next score wins" situation. I really think the interception off of Brandon Cooks should have been called a catch. Add that onto the penalties that effectively ended the game and it really takes the game away from the players, I believe.
But that's football.
It won't stop me being a fan. I love the Bills, and I love how our fanbase of Bills Mafia supports the team and each other—and even our opponents' charities.
I started being a Bills fan when Doug Flutie had his great run taking over the starting role for draft bust Rob Johnson. Flutie mania in Buffalo was so crazy that '99 season that they put his face on boxes of cereal. Epic. When they didn't start him in the playoffs, I was heartbroken. I truly believe Doug Flutie could have taken them deep into the playoffs. He's a champion who just found a way to win.
Of course, Flutie had already proven he was a champion long before Buffalo. In 1984, his Boston College Eagles were trailing Miami 45-41 with six seconds left. Flutie dropped back and heaved a Hail Mary pass into the end zone—and Gerard Phelan came down with it. The play won Boston College the game and helped Flutie win the Heisman Trophy that year.
After struggling to get NFL playing time despite his college heroics (the league thought he was too short), Flutie headed north and became an absolute legend in the CFL. Three Grey Cup championships with Calgary. Six Most Outstanding Player awards. He dominated.
In spite of all his CFL championships and playoff wins, one of the most thrilling Doug Flutie games I remember watching was the 1994 CFL Western Final. The top-seeded Calgary Stampeders, led by Flutie, were upset by the BC Lions with a last-second field goal by Lui Passaglia.
That loss doesn't define my opinion of Flutie. How he continued to dominate the Canadian Football League, then took his talents back to the NFL, leading the Bills to the playoffs, and then mentoring a young Drew Brees once he was traded to San Diego. Championship mentality goes beyond just winning games.
Do Josh Allen and the current team have that capacity? Are they champions who've just been unlucky? Has their window passed?
None of that actually matters as a point of opinion. What matters now is how the team treats the offseason, how they find ways to get better, and how they focus on being a great team by being great in all the things they do. That's why Allen is such a great leader—he makes mistakes, but he keeps getting up and performing. He's the North Star not just for his team, but for the city of Buffalo, and I think for the whole of the NFL. That attitude, that sportsmanship, that tenaciousness, even his humble nature—many of us could learn from that.
And he's not alone. This team has pieces. James Cook has become a legitimate weapon out of the backfield. The receiving corps has talent—I really hope they keep Khalil Shakir, who's shown he can be a reliable target when it matters. And Keon Coleman? The raw ability is there. He just needs to get his act together and put it all on the field consistently. That's the offseason work.
I think Josh Allen is a combination of Doug Flutie and Brett Favre (while #4 played for the Packers, I was always rooting for them). Taking the chances needed to win, and just finding a way to get it done. Sometimes it goes south and you turn the ball over, but the willingness to hang it all out there on the line is what I love to watch.
Next season the Lombardi trophy comes to Buffalo!