After a 4-0 Start, Are the Buffalo Bills Really Legit?

Chris Plouffe — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:20:47 -0400

The only answer to this question is:

Who cares?

I have not been this excited to watch Bills football week after week since...ever, and whether or not a 4-0 start is legitimate or not because of the quality of their opponents is not even on my mind.

The last time the Bills were in the playoffs was the '99 season, so, technically, they haven't played a playoff game in the new millennium, but it was in January 2000 when Doug Flutie was still the backup QB.

Since then, there has only been a string of mediocrity, going from Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, Alex Van Pelt, and J.P. Losman, and too many losing seasons to count. Every season would start anew, and I would have high hopes for my Bills, considering there was always a team that came out of nowhere to win the division, and each year, I was left to watch another teams fans enjoy a playoff game.

Even in the last five years, I did not even bother to dream about winning the division, since the Patriots pretty much had that locked up since 2003, but a wild card was never out of the question. And then the same old Bills would come back, losing to the teams they should have beaten, giving away losses like they were candies on Halloween, and playing all-around uninspiring football.

The only other time since 1999 that the Bills were even in contention on Week 17 was in 2004, when they had to win out from Week 12 on just to make the wild card.

They won from Week 12 to Week 16 and had the Pittsburgh Steelers...who had top spot locked up...who were playing their backups in the second half...at home...and they gave up the win. TO TOMMY FREEKING MADDOX.

The last time it was this exciting to be a Bills fan at the start of the season was in 2003 when they beat (read: embarrassed) New England at home Week One, 31-0. In case you forgot, which you probably did because why would you care about a mediocre team, the Bills finished 6-10 that year.

The fact that it has recently looked like the Bills were just waiting for the other foot to drop, and snatching defeat away from victory, has made me think back to the other times it was this exciting to watch Bills football. But for some reason they have come together and provided hope and optimism to a fanbase that has long been void of those things.

Yeah, they're 4-0, and yeah, they haven't beat the best of teams, but people are finally talking about the Bills again, each week I feel as though the team is in the game right until the end, and watching Bills football is something I cannot wait to do from Monday to Saturday for the first time since 1999.

It just reminds me how much I love football.

Tennessee Titans Fans Should Hang Their Heads in Shame

Chris Plouffe — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:52:14 -0400

For the life of me, I cannot understand the reasoning behind fans booing their own team, especially when they focus on a certain player. I assume most sports fans have a select few teams they want to win every game, and when they don't win, the fans feel as though they need to find a scapegoat and blame him...through constant booing.

Wait, how does this affect a team in a way that helps them win? It all seems counter-productive to me.

Yes, we all feel as though a certain player could have done something better, instead of their bonehead play, which, in some cases, may have cost the team the game. But since he is on your team, don't you want to help him get up and get better? Encourage him, like a coach would, that their bad game(s) are behind them, and they can be better?

I guess not for Titans fans (although they are not the only culprit).

What they did to Vince Young is pathetic. He is in only his third year, yet some people feel as though he must be he next Steve Young, and playing off how last year finished (stat-wise) for the kid the fans took it to him when he threw his SECOND interception.

Yes, they were bad throws, but two interceptions in a game isn't that bad. And what do you know, they ended up winning the game anyways.

I have a strong feeling that these players (especially in football) do not come out and think, "Hey, I don't really feel like playing hard today, maybe I'll just take the day off and let the other team have a better chance at winning."

It's one thing to think a player is not very good, but it's another to verbally show him that he's not wanted. In a way, I'm kind of glad Vince Young has taken this to heart and expressed his sadness.

I'm sure he's not the only player that feels this way when they are treated so poorly by the fans, and maybe some will understand that it's just not fair to the player to be treated this way.

Now the Titans may have lost one of the most unique and exciting quarterbacks in the league, all for their own selfish reasons. I hope you enjoy the Kerry Collins era Titans Fan. Remember that sniff at the playoffs you had last year? Well, it might be a long time before you enter that territory again.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Chris Plouffe

After a 4-0 Start, Are the Buffalo Bills Really Legit?

Tennessee Titans Fans Should Hang Their Heads in Shame