Emotions are mental and physical states that are caused by neurophysiological changes. They are characterized by subjective experience, physiological changes, and behavioral responses. The basic emotions that are universally experienced in all human cultures are happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, anger, pride, shame, embarrassment, and excitement. Being a fan of the Buffalo Bills means we experience literally all of those emotions in any given week during the regular season. Even more so in the playoffs.
Now that the Bills have clinched their fifth straight AFC East division title, I took a minute to ponder why do we root? Fans sat in snow filled seats to watch the Bills dismantle the 49ers this past Sunday night. So, why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we stress? Why worry? Why get up early and drive to the stadium to wait hours to see them play? Why shovel snow out of the stadium all hours of the night? Why do any of it? Why do we root for the Buffalo Bills like we do?
Since 1960, the Buffalo Bills have provided professional football for Western New York. Some seasons were better than others. The 1964 and 1965 seasons ended with American Football League championships. It was in the 1964 AFL championship game that had probably the defining moment of this young franchise’s existence at the time, Bills linebacker Mike Stratton’s massive hit on Chargers running back Keith Lincoln. It defined the toughness of the Bills of the 60’s. Even more so, it described the blue-collar nature of the city of Buffalo itself.
Since 1960, a whole generation of Buffalonians have been molded by the Bills fandom. 64 years of Bills football and how many of the countless fans have been there to see big plays, big hits, heart breaking losses, euphoric wins, and everything else in between. But why do we root? Today’s Bills fan probably isn’t a die-hard, card-carrying, full-fledged member of Bills Mafia because of the 1965 AFL Championship game. So, again I will ask, why do we root?
I think the simple answer for most of us is the Bills are the hometown team. Geography plays a big part I’m sure but, how does that explain fans who live everywhere else? Bills fans can be found anywhere in the world if you look hard enough.
For most, it’s the games you watch. Maybe it was the 1992 AFC Wildcard game, perhaps you know it better as “The Comeback”. Down 32 points, backup quarterback Frank Reich leads the most improbable comeback against the Houston Oilers to start the Bills on their playoff march back to the Super Bowl. Maybe it was the four straight Super Bowl appearances themselves. Maybe it was when the fans tore down the goal posts after winning the AFC East in 1988. Marking the first time the Bills would host a playoff game in Buffalo since 1966.
Maybe it’s the heartbreaks. Wide right, four straight Super Bowl losses, Music City Miracle, or more recently, "13 seconds". Some people want the lovable losers to do well. Say what you will, but the Bills have lost more than they’ve won. Hopefully one day that can change. If the Chicago Cubs can win a World Series in my lifetime, the Buffalo Bills can win a Super Bowl.
Maybe it’s the players. Over the years the Bills have had some of the best. Jack Kemp, Paul McGuire, Tom Sestak, Billy Shaw, Joe Furguson, Joe DeLamielleure, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, and Jim Kelly. Maybe it was owner Ralph Wilson Jr. who started it all and gave us the reason to root in the first place. Maybe you liked Marv Levy, his sweater game was always on point.
These moments with these players spawned a generation of fans. Maybe getting down to the root of why we root goes back to my opening paragraph. It’s the emotions, it’s the feelings, it’s being a part of something bigger than you. I remember watching the Super Bowl XXV or “wide right”. I was devastated. But I was also five years old, so I assumed the Bills would be in the Super Bowl the next year, and they were. Another loss and another year thinking they would be in the Super Bowl again, and they were! I just assumed the Bills were the team you played in the Super Bowl, then in 1994 when the Bills were not in the Super Bowl it just felt weird.
In my fandom, I got to experience the thrills and excitement of four straight Super Bowl appearances and the wear and tear of a 17-year playoff drought. I can’t enjoy anything good this team gives me without worrying about when something bad will happen. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that way either. I mean tell me how you feel when Tyler Bass lines up for a routine field goal.
Maybe it’s the fans. Passionate is an understatement. No folding table is safe from Bills Mafia. But it’s not the passion, or the drive to support the team. It could even be the generosity. I don’t hear much on other fan bases donating to opposing team’s players charitable endeavors. Bills fans raised more than $415,000 to the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation in 2017 when the Bengals beat the Ravens which sent the Bills to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. In November 2020, after Josh Allen’s grandmother passed away, Bills fans donated to Oishei Children’s Hospital, which Allen does charitable work with.
The Patricia Allen Fund was created in December 2020 which surpassed $1 million in donations. The Patrica Allen Recovery Wing was unveiled in November 2021. More recently, after playing the Dolphins in Week 2, Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion. Bills fans donated over $16,000 to his charity. Being a Bills fan surely brings a lot, from tailgating to donating.
So, why we root is a pretty open-ended question. It can take many forms. Geographical, emotional, physical, spiritual, and anything else you can think of. Whether it was engrained in you at an early age. Whether you happened upon it one fall Sunday afternoon. Whether it was one heartbreak after another. Or maybe it is the pursuit of a championship.
The ever-elusive Super Bowl championship is what keeps every fanbase hungry. Some fanbases are lucky enough to have experiened the euphoria of winning more than once. Some have only gotten one. Some of still searching for that feeling. Bills fans are endlessly optimistic about the team's chances of winning. the last few seasons have giving us all reason to be.
But what would it mean to win? How would it feel? To me, it justifies all of it. Wide right, Music City Miracle, 17 years, 13 seconds, and everything in between. Words can not describe what a Super Bowl would mean to the team, the city and fans. It means we are finally winnners. It means we have suffered to finally be rewarded with the ultimate prize. It would mean, we did it.
Why we root is always going to be based on passion. The fans of Buffalo show it every week. Any which way that you decided to root for the Buffalo Bills, we’re happy to have you. Bills fans, keep doing what you do because without you, it wouldn't mean so much.