devon513
12-31-2012, 11:21 AM
I will start off by saying that the Bengals are my #1 team. Bare with me. Almost 25 years old, born and raised in Cincy. Never stepped foot in Buffalo or New York State. So how did I become a Bills fan?
Well, back in 2008 when Palmer went down, good ole Ryan Fitzpatrick came in and played 13 games for us. That was an awful year for the Bengals. But we actually kind of liked Fitz. 7th round pick from Harvard coming in with no expectation doing a solid job? We love underdog stories. Did we want him to replace Palmer? Hell no. But, we knew once Palmer went down the season was done. With zero playoff expectations, Fitz didn't do all that bad.. as a back-up. He did his job. He came in for a hurt qb and did a solid job. Heck, it eventually earned him a starting job with the Bills.
Following that year when Fitz went to Buffalo I sorta kept tabs on him, hoping he'd be successful there. I have to admit that after the win over New England last year I was officially on the bandwagon and rooting for Fitz and the Bills to takeover the Patriots and win the AFC East. We all know how that went.
So, I hopped on as a bandwagon fan. But during the meltdown of 2011 when all those other bandwagon fans were jumping off... I stayed on. Why? I have no idea. The amount of frusration coming from lifelong Bills fans makes you wonder why anyone would start rooting for the franchise now. Maybe the fact I'm a Bengals fan plays a part. I know that if the right moves are made, the franchise can be turned around. We know frustration. We know how years of losing feels. Watching other teams in the playoffs while your team is taking an early vacation. Each fanbase has been through years of disappointment. But in Cincy, we've seen that getting the right personnel (Dalton, Green, Gruden, Zimmer, etc) in can turn everything around despite the teams history. First time we've made back to back playoffs since '81-'82. WOW.
What I saw with the Bills: A team with a ton of heart that was sick of losing. Guys like Fred Jackson and Steve Johnson. A frustrated but very LOYAL fanbase that simply wants the owner to "want it" as bad as they do. A fanbase that braves subzero temperatures and ridiculous weather to support their team. No matter what. Oh and i've heard stories of the tailgating. That doesn't hurt.
As much as I'd hate to see either of them go, Bills should hire Jay Gruden ( Bengals OC) or Mike Zimmer (Bengals DC) as head coach. Gruden has done great with grooming Dalton and Mike Zimmer could get the defense into shape. What a letdown of a year. Bills should have been great against the run.
Also, this documentary played a good part of getting me into the Bills. https://www.youtube....h?v=BL9zAFl5OG4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL9zAFl5OG4)
Don't know what i've gotten myself into lol.. but go Bills in 2013. I will root for the Bills unless they're playing Cincy. Unless say, the two teams meet in the future and the Bengals have no playoff chances and the Bills need a win to get them in. I hope to make it to Buffalo to see a game someday soon. Go Bills.
Well, back in 2008 when Palmer went down, good ole Ryan Fitzpatrick came in and played 13 games for us. That was an awful year for the Bengals. But we actually kind of liked Fitz. 7th round pick from Harvard coming in with no expectation doing a solid job? We love underdog stories. Did we want him to replace Palmer? Hell no. But, we knew once Palmer went down the season was done. With zero playoff expectations, Fitz didn't do all that bad.. as a back-up. He did his job. He came in for a hurt qb and did a solid job. Heck, it eventually earned him a starting job with the Bills.
Following that year when Fitz went to Buffalo I sorta kept tabs on him, hoping he'd be successful there. I have to admit that after the win over New England last year I was officially on the bandwagon and rooting for Fitz and the Bills to takeover the Patriots and win the AFC East. We all know how that went.
So, I hopped on as a bandwagon fan. But during the meltdown of 2011 when all those other bandwagon fans were jumping off... I stayed on. Why? I have no idea. The amount of frusration coming from lifelong Bills fans makes you wonder why anyone would start rooting for the franchise now. Maybe the fact I'm a Bengals fan plays a part. I know that if the right moves are made, the franchise can be turned around. We know frustration. We know how years of losing feels. Watching other teams in the playoffs while your team is taking an early vacation. Each fanbase has been through years of disappointment. But in Cincy, we've seen that getting the right personnel (Dalton, Green, Gruden, Zimmer, etc) in can turn everything around despite the teams history. First time we've made back to back playoffs since '81-'82. WOW.
What I saw with the Bills: A team with a ton of heart that was sick of losing. Guys like Fred Jackson and Steve Johnson. A frustrated but very LOYAL fanbase that simply wants the owner to "want it" as bad as they do. A fanbase that braves subzero temperatures and ridiculous weather to support their team. No matter what. Oh and i've heard stories of the tailgating. That doesn't hurt.
As much as I'd hate to see either of them go, Bills should hire Jay Gruden ( Bengals OC) or Mike Zimmer (Bengals DC) as head coach. Gruden has done great with grooming Dalton and Mike Zimmer could get the defense into shape. What a letdown of a year. Bills should have been great against the run.
Also, this documentary played a good part of getting me into the Bills. https://www.youtube....h?v=BL9zAFl5OG4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL9zAFl5OG4)
Don't know what i've gotten myself into lol.. but go Bills in 2013. I will root for the Bills unless they're playing Cincy. Unless say, the two teams meet in the future and the Bengals have no playoff chances and the Bills need a win to get them in. I hope to make it to Buffalo to see a game someday soon. Go Bills.