The lesson is obvious, we all go through moments in our life that mold us to who we are to become and those around us should always help build that mold rather then to throw it away. Now how does this relate to the Buffalo Bills and their fans? It’s simple we share a lot in common and you can learn a lot of life lessons from the fans of the team. Seriously.. I am not kidding. You can get as deep into the philosophies of Freud, Jung, Gandhi and other deep thinkers, and you can simplify their teachings into what you experience in Buffalo Bills Fans in Hope, Loyalty, and Faith and never giving up.

If you are moving to a new city, check how they with their team losing. Do they support their team? Green Bay fans say yes, Minnesota fans says yes! Better yet, go ask a Chicago Cubs fan if they would ever give up on their team… check out some cities who have losing teams and winning seasons the year before. You can tell the nature of the community by the loyalty of the fans.

I went to school as a kid in Buffalo for about 5 years before moving around and then later moved back to the region into the Rochester Area. Buffalo was the team I grew up with and collected all the Sunoco cards for. It wasn’t by choice it was by circumstance that they became my team and the loyalty continue for 40 years after and still continues to this day.

Many people don’t understand why a team that was at four Super bowls without winning one would still sell -out on a regular basis even to this date 15 years later and not have a playoff win for the past years. It’s hard to explain, Loyalty is a big thing in the area once you get the trust and relationship of the people they tend to be lifelong, do-anything-for-you friends. It’s similar to what you would find in other cities that have firm roots like Green Bay, Minnesota, Cleveland, Pittsburgh. The only way to understand is fly into the city and spend a weekend with the people of Upstate New York. They are an amazing people with a unique love of life even when a blizzard can happen in July. You know many cities would be frustrated by the fact you have four (4) Super Bowls without a victory, and yes its frustrating to the fans of Buffalo
but they NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!

Which is one of the most fundamental foundations of our existence as people. There is always hope, and I can still remember when Buffalo Lost Super Bowl 25 by a few inches on Norwoods field goal, I was right there with the ball coming right towards me and my buddy Jim. Yet, through it all when they got home to Buffalo the airport was full of people thanking them for a great year and Norwood got one of the loudest applause as anybody.

You can always tell your friends loyalty based on what they do during your difficult times. The Bills fans are obnoxious, annoying at times and probably drink as much if not more, then anyone at a game, yet their loyalty is strong. I have cities that I lived in, that would desert a team during losing seasons. Never in Buffalo, its a unique loyalty that extends to the people themselves once you get to know them after they have spilled beer over you at a game.

To me, I went to those Super bowls all but Minnesota. My friends went to everyone. Those Super Bowl weeks were some of the best times ever and I can only thank Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith and the rest of the team for giving me those experiences. I did what I could for the entire Upstate Region: Buffalo, Rochester, Batavia by putting in my Feature Movie the experiences with my friends Jim, Dave and Ronnie the stories of my experience with Super bowls 25, 27 and 28.

John Detitta