The Joy Of BILLieving: My Journey As a Diehard

As you get older and go through life, one starts to realize there are certain moments you will always remember. Their first kiss, their first heartbreak, their first love, and if your a fan of NFL football, your first game in the stands.

I remember my first game at The Ralph just like it was yesterday. I can tell you the score, I can tell you the stats of the players that day, and I can tell you almost any detail I can think of. I instead, am going to tell the story of why I fell in love with the Bills that day.

As any true romance goes, I was smitten during the courting days of what has now become a full fledged happy(for the most part) relationship.

Before I even attended my first game back in '95, the Bills were coming down from the height of a dynasty. Although they never won the big game, it was a dynasty, the NFL will never again see a team from either conference reach Four straight superbowls.

My initial interest in my partner was more infatuation at first. My dad and the whole side of his family hail from western New York. If your gonna pick a team to root for, why not the team that plays in the city you visit every year for thanksgiving?

Needles to say as football seasons passed, and I started becoming more heavily involved with football myself, I felt that I was blossoming into a true fan.

Now looking back on that point now, to say I was a fan would have been a bit of an overstatement. I watched the games and rooted for the Bills, but I really did not know much of the team itself. Infact looking back on it I would be more inclined to say perhaps I was a fairweather fan at that point.

However that was soon all set to change dramatically upon my first visit to Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The moment I arrived at the stadium, I was hooked. Addicted. A healthy addiction however, but an addiction none the less

I went from having a family of five other members, to instantly having a family of about 70,000 people. Everyone united, brought together, for one common goal, to root for a win for the day.

The sights, the sounds, the smells(good or bad) are something you tend to appreciate that much more when your in attendance.

It is a undescribable feeling, a feeling that you truly have to experience in order to know what it feels like. From that day on my life has changed. I now build my schedules around the Bills in the fall.

That first trip turned me into the hard pressed fan I have become today.

If you are a fan of any NFL team, and have never seen your team play in person, do yourself a favor, grab a couple of fellow fans, and go.

I promise, you will not regret it. I know I haven't.