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ORCHARD PARK — Whatever they might mean some day in another place, the Bills could never be what they are to Buffalo in Toronto, or Los Angeles or anywhere else.
Those kind of sentimental thoughts were hard to avoid Sunday afternoon on the occasion of the season opener at Ralph Wilson Stadium – a season opener like no other in the long history of the franchise.
The local fans, who were thrilled as their Bills thumped the Seattle Seahawks 34-10, impressive and dominant in every phase of the game, understand all too well what happened during the winter past.
They know their gritty industrial hometown, the NFL's second smallest market after Green Bay, is stuck in an economic death spiral. They know that the owner, for whom the park is named, is nearly 90 years old and has said unequivocally that on his death, the club will be sold to the highest bidder.
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They know about the smiling, rich fellows up the road in Toronto who paid huge amounts for the privilege of moving eight games over five years from here to the Rogers Centre. They know that in the short term, that extra cash infusion will help the Bills remain competitive with far wealthier franchises in far wealthier cities, but they know also that the friendly Canadians have long-term ambitions at odds with their own.
They can do the math, understand that some day a new stadium will have to be built and that it will be a long shot in Buffalo, understand that someone will have to ante up a billion dollars or so for the team when Wilson dies, and that will be a long shot in Buffalo.
And they know that a large part of their lives, a large part of their personal history, of their identity and of what makes this place home, is tied up in the football team, tied up in the ritual of game day, tied up in the tailgating, the barbecues and the beer, tied up in the memories of great teams and not so great teams past and tied up in the hope that just maybe, on the field, the good times are coming back.
Maybe, in a better world, you wouldn't be able to put a price on all of that, wrap it up and move it to a place where they don't really appreciate the Rockpile, or the Electric Company or the ecstasy and agony of those four Super Bowl appearances.
In this world, though, if you're a Bills fan, you don't have much choice but to remember the history, enjoy the present and try not to fret overly about a future beyond your control.
On the evidence of one game, that present could be mighty interesting. The glass-half-full take on the 2008 Bills was that, having conceded the AFC East to the New England Patriots, they could make a legitimate run at a wild-card playoff spot, which would represent their first trip to the postseason since 1999 (that would be the year of the Music City Miracle – another of those shared, painful memories).
To get there, they will need dominant performances from a revamped defence, a strong running game with Marshawn Lynch, competent, steady work from second-year quarterback Trent Edwards and more of the exceptional special-teams play that has been the norm since assistant coach Bobby April arrived.
They got all of that and more against a Seahawks team devastated by injuries, especially to the receiving corps. The Bills' defensive line and linebackers refused to let Matt Hasselbeck settle down and held the fort in the first quarter, when the offence struggled. Eventually, Edwards and company found their rhythm, and the attack was as advertised, with the addition of a couple of beautifully delivered long balls to Lee Evans. Special teams produced 14 points – on a magnificent Roscoe Parrish punt return and on a fake field goal that featured something akin to the old sleeper play, with defensive end Ryan Denney somehow getting lost along the sideline, then catching a pass from punter-holder Brian Moorman.
“All of that worked about as well as we could have expected,” coach Dick Jauron said afterward. “It's a happy locker room in there.”
Meanwhile, looking up at the big screen at halftime, the fans cheered at the sight of Tom Brady limping off the field in the New England Patriots-Kansas City Chiefs game, which might not be nice, or sportsmanlike, but is the kind of thing that happens when two sure losses on your schedule suddenly don't look quite so sure, when a division that was out of reach might suddenly be up for grabs.
Real fans have forever dreamed those dreams about teams for which allegiances run deep, which are far more than just another entertainment option. If this team, in this city, is really on the clock, wouldn't it be something if this were the year they were finally rewarded.
