Ready or not, the biggest game of the season this opening week is the matchup on Sunday night when the Baltimore Ravens kick off the season at Highmark Stadium when they take on our Buffalo Bills.
So. Many. Feelings.
The game itself needs no hype. Both teams are predicted to be at the top of the AFC by the end of the regular season. Baltimore wants to exact revenge for being eliminated in the divisional round by Buffalo last season. These two teams have the ability to entertain at a high level with quarterbacks Lamar and Josh ready to make their case about who really is the MVP of the NFL.
However, the subplot of this game has big implications for the fan base. Fifty-plus years of implications to be exact. There is no harder launch for the ‘Farewell Tour’ at Highmark Stadium than this matchup. The Ravens from top to bottom are the more talented team. The Bills have home field advantage, and this farewell season may make that advantage even stronger, if that’s possible.
The confluence of events in Josh Allen’s personal life combined with the fire in his belly to close out the Farewell Tour with a game leading up to a Lombardi trophy finally being hoisted at One Bills Drive is a powerful motivator for ’17’. I remember the look on Josh Allen’s face after the Wyoming Cowboys defeated Boise State his junior year.
It’s the same look I see now when Allen is asked about what it would be like to finally bring an NFL Championship to Western New York. He is going to do everything possible to get it done THIS year, because he knows how fleeting an NFL career lasts… or doesn’t. Now that Josh has found peace, happiness and joy in his personal life, he is free to become the best version of himself, as they say.
The fan base can feel it. Josh Allen realizes and respects the immense referent power bestowed upon him as a result of his freakish athleticism. He appears to understand the responsibility that comes with his unique position. He also seems to understand the inner psyche of our fan base because he was once doubted about his ability to become a successful quarterback in the NFL.
The passion Josh feels about playing football is reflective of our overwhelming love for the Buffalo Bills. He knows his destiny in life is to bring a championship to a community of people chastised for decades for living in the “armpit of the east”.
Which brings me to acknowledge another person for their assimilation into the Western New York community to the point of complete immersion. Check out this little ditty from one of Sean McDermott’s recent press conferences:
Every season hope springs eternal and we all wonder if this will be the year. But if ever there was a better set up of events leading up to an NFL championship season, this would truly be the biggest fairy tale season in NFL history.
Let us spend the next few days leading up to the the confrontation between Baltimore and Buffalo getting our minds right for hard launching the Farewell Tour in a manner befitting of our legendary fan base.
Editor’s babble: Tee Time w/Robyn returns with a vengeance on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. ET to ‘hard launch’ our podcast for the upcoming season. Tee and I will be discussing what happened to DT DeWayne Carter after he apparently ruptured his Achilles. We’ll also discuss the return of WR Gabe Davis to Buffalo’s practice squad and our thoughts about the upcoming game against the Ravens. You can also find me on Xwitter @RobynMundyWYO.
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