I was 12. I wasn't even a teenager yet.
Bill Clinton was still president...
Y2K hysteria was getting ready to have the population hold it’s breath…
Barbie turned 40…
West Nile made it’s way into the United States…
Star Wars Episode 1 destroyed our faith in George Lucas…
…and the Buffalo Bills made a playoff appearance.
That was 1999...17 years ago. The Bills haven’t made it back since. To be a fan of the Buffalo Bills one must have heart, one must have the ability to BILLieve, and one must have the unstoppable capability to continue drinking after it’s realized 10 games into the season that “OH! Next season - yeah we got it NEXT season!”
When I tell people that I root for the Bills I get two responses:
Um…why?? Well, my family is from Buffalo, NY. I was born there - it only seems right that I follow in those foot steps.
Wow. That sucks. Yes. Yes it does - but that’s okay because we always have NEXT SEASON!
The Bills are the only team to win four consecutive conference championships, and are the only NFL team to play in four consecutive Super Bowl games - all of which they have lost. The early ‘90s were a very rough time for my family - and I do admit my boyfriend comes home too often than not to find me weeping from having watched The Four Falls of Buffalo for the umpteenth time.
But I have stayed true to my team. Because you know…there is always NEXT SEASON. And so starts another season - one where we (yes, we - because I am clearly an NFL player) will undoubtedly kill it for the majority of the season; and then blow it because hey! why NOT just wait until next season to end the drought?!
Now for the social component of this post that I am certain you all are dying for. It's one thing to work for a winning team and be strong on social media. It's an entirely different skill set to work for a subpar, or even losing, team and continuing to have that strong social presence. And the Bills have been pretty consistent in their content distribution - from videos making fun of themselves to gifs and graphics.
While they may not be always winning on the gridiron, they are in the #SMSports stadium. I'm especially excited to see how they capitalize on being the FIRST NFL game being streamed on Twitter.
But today starts last year's next season and I am stoked!
#BillsMafia
See this Instagram video by @buffalobills * 4,096 likes
See this Instagram photo by @buffalobills * 7,833 likes
See this Instagram photo by @buffalobills * 4,223 likes