Thursday, December 28, 2006

Go Bills!

DLang's Christmas gift from me was a pair of tickets to the Bills game on Christmas Eve. The drive to Buffalo from Waterloo is about 2 1/2 hours, so a 1pm game seemed well-timed for us to get back for Christmas Eve festivities (and a good day-long respite from my family, although I must say, all of the 'bergs were quite well-behaved this year). We donned our Bills jerseys and headed out at 9:30, and with a brief Tim Horton's stop in St. Catharine's, made it to Buffalo at noon. Parking near the stadium was only $10, and DLang was practically moved to tears at seeing the plethora of Bills garb adorning the fans streaming into Ralph Wilson Stadium.

We found our seats and they rocked - 5 rows from the field! (I'd bought them from a season ticket holder on Two Bills Drive.) The guy sitting next to me was there with his son, and they very generously shared their fleece blanket with us. Sitting next to DLang was a kid around 10 years old, there with his mom. At one point, the Bills kicked a very unlikely field goal, and D commented, "That's the most improbable field goal I'll ever see in my life!" The kid replied, "That's the only improbable field goal I've ever seen, because I don't know what improbable means!" Aw.

I have to admit, the highlight for me was seeing the Buffalo Jills. There's nothing like a pretty girl to brighten up your day, and it's even better if she's in a totally cute little Santa outfit and waving around silver pom-poms. I really love cheerleaders. Apparently I have the pipes to be one, too, because at one point the guy next to me asked if I'd been a cheerleader. (He later asked me if I'd been a singer. I told him no, I'm just really loud.)

Despite The Bills' heartbreaking 30-29 loss to the Titans, we had a fabulous day, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy fandom - there is really nothing like cheering your heart out for something. I also really like high-fives. At one point I went to buy us hot dogs, and a bunch of guys sitting along the aisle were high-fiving everyone who went past. It was awesome, and I'm going to try to incorporate high-fiving into my daily activities in the new year.

3 comments:

Becca & Brian said...

So many cells of my ass have been frozen off in that stadium. (Of course, they've all grown back threefold).

First off, the Titans are total cheaters. Everyone *still* remembers the forward pass incident.

Secondly, Jeff Fischer looks like a cokehead who cheats on his wife.

Third, the Buffalo Jills have the second coolest name of the entire NFL. I once looked up all the teams' cheerleaders names to confirm this. The only cooler name for a cheerleading squad is The Gold Rush (49ers) -- not just because I live in SF, but it's the most creative, sexy, relevant name for a squad ever. It even has multiple meanings!

I do find it interesting though that the top 2 NFL Cheerleader squad names happen to be the two cities I've lived in the majority of my life. It makes me wonder if I should follow that clue on where to move next. If so, my next options are Jacksonville (The Roar - close competition for the Jills, but BFLO being my birthplace tips them solidly into the #2 slot. Represent!), either of the Carolinas (Top Cats), Seattle (Sea Gals), Cincinatti (Ben-Gals, though I can't help almost slipping into BenGay when I say this), or New Orleans (Saintsations).

Basically, if the squad's name is as lame as "The $TEAM_NAME Cheerleaders", they're immediately disqualified. But that alone won't get you into the club. Note my options didn't include San Diego or Oakland. I leave Oakland off the list not because I live only 10 miles away, or because it's kind of shitty, or even because the Raiders are and always have been kind of a joke. Raiderettes is really just that lame. And Charger Girls? Just as uncool.

Go Bills! We'll get 'em next year!

(heh!)

Becca & Brian said...

Oh yeah, and I really miss the Shout! song. Do they still do that?

Me at any wedding or other cheezy music venue when it plays: Dancing like a fool because of all the fun memories at Bills games jumping to that song.

Best Bills game I ever went to: January 3, 1993,
Halftime: Oilers 28, Bills 3
Final (in OT): Bills 41, Oilers 38 (aka Titans)

Becca & Brian said...

One more thing - I would advise against incorporating high fiving into your dailies. There's a time and a place, G. Football games and bowling - acceptable. Daily life - not so much.