The Buffalo Bills 30-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on Sunday was expected to be a barn burner, and the matchup (once again) did not disappoint. Data points aside, and despite the ‘coach-speak’ about it being “just another game”… that certainly was not the case in the parking lots, in the stadium or on television sets all across the nation as we watched our beloved team beat the Chiefs.
The beauty of being a fan is there’s truly no right or wrong way to be a fan (on this side of the law and decency of course). Fanatical patrons, as we might be described, don’t HAVE to be humble and hungry. We can all jump into a giant vat of winning goo if we so choose. The fact this celebration has an added week to savor the spoils of victory over Kansas City makes it all the better.
Why are we are expected to “act like we’ve been there before”, even as a fan base?
Wut?
Why would I want to act like I’ve been there before, when I HAVEN’T BEEN THERE BEFORE??? […in terms of winning a Super Bowl…].
A pox on any pundit pontificating about how fans shouldn’t get their hopes up, shouldn’t express our utter joy at watching Josh Allen don the cape… or experience glee when Taylor Rapp intercepted Patrick Mahomes first pass of the game.
Nobody gets to steal our joy from us.
Only fans of teams like the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills or Cleveland Browns understand the need to enjoy every fleeting moment of glory when it comes along. Decades of despair define teams representing the Rust Belt and Great Lakes region. Being fans of a ‘loser’ franchise did however earn us a certain degree of notoriety. People used to look at you like you had three eyes if you admitted being a Bills fan during the mid 80’s.
So let our hearts and minds be filled to the brim with excitement and bask in the radiance of our team being 9-2… in a season when most of the ‘holy ones’ in the media predicted Buffalo would finish third in the AFC East. Who would have thought unloading veteran leaders like Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse and Stefon Diggs would result in newcomers (and especially rookies) defying conventional ‘wisdom’ and likely running away with the AFCE division before Thanksgiving?
Addition by subtraction appears to be Brandon Beane’s favorite flavor of math.
Let us rejoice and be glad.
Editor’s babble: The KC/Bills battles are a treasure for football fans, regardless of allegiance. I remember the great games of the Brady/Manning era, despite both kicking Buffalo to the curb on a regular basis. It was just fun football to watch. If you are a glutton for punishment, you can also find me on Xwitter @RobynMundyWYO or Bluesky @robynmundywyo@bsky.social.
BuffaloFAMbase.com is sponsored by 26 Shirts
Every Monday, we launch a new two-week campaign of a limited edition t-shirt design. Every shirt purchase results in a donation to a local family in need. After the campaign ends, the shirt is retired. A new design is released, and a new family benefits from your fandom!
Nice job buddy, keep up the good work.