For those of you who don’t know, the Buffalo Bills made the NFL playoffs for the first time in 17 years. That’s a big deal. What’s an even more interesting fact is how it happened.
Heading into last Sunday afternoon the Buffalo Bills sat in anticipation as they watched the kickoff of the Bengals game hoping, praying that Cincinnati could pull out a victory and stamp their ticket to the postseason and end the league’s longest playoff drought. Cincinnati, uncharacteristically, rolled out a flawless 2 minute drill and marched down the field and into the hearts of Buffalo Bills fans.
Bills fans have had a rough go. A really rough go. It is a hybrid of the misery experienced by Browns and Bengals fans alike. Like the Bengals they experienced dominance and Super Bowl appearances that never culminated in a championship. An unfulfilled season. But unlike the Bengals they played in the NFL championship four times. And lost. All Four Times. Since their last playoff appearance even the browns have made it to the playoffs. While their lows haven’t been as low as the browns, they have felt the similar angst of cycling through front offices and coaches and even threats to move their beloved team.
What is so great about the Bills is off the field. Their fans. Just like Ohio’s teams, their fans are in it for the long haul.
They. Go. Hard.
So hard they have been known to light themselves on fire and smash each other into folding tables. The ‘Bills Mafia’ as they have dubbed themselves, is a fitting name as they are as hardcore as fans get.
But this crazy fan base wouldn’t be celebrating their teams liberation from pigskin purgatory without both Ohio NFL franchises pitching in a hand.
The Browns did what they are good at and lost. They lost so much this season that it affected the Baltimore Ravens’ strength of schedule because they had 2 wins against an 0-16 football team. Strength of schedule is one of the tie-breakers the NFL employs to determine who is worthy of a playoff berth.
The Bengals won a game that meant nothing to them other than finishing strong. Ironically enough the Bengals didn’t crumble under the pressure to win like they had so many time this year. This is probably because their season didn’t depend on them winning, but for the Bills it did.
If you aren’t on board with rooting for the Bills yet, you’re missing the best part about this classy blue-collar team. They made sure Cincinnati’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed. They promptly pledged to send 1440 of their city’s finest wings to the Bengals facility. And they did it. The Bengals even handed out some of the wings at a children’s hospital in Cincinnati.
A quick search of twitter will show that both sides are getting a ton of fun out of the event. For another cool connection check out this article about Eric Wood, a buffalo lineman who found himself rooting again for his hometown team.
So this postseason just remember that sometimes history doesn’t repeat itself and that there is hope for us little guys after all.