It's just before 9pm on Saturday evening. The finishing touches on my weekly newsletter for MCAP are done. The folding table, bar-b-que, charcoal, lighter fluid and seat cushions are in the car. The gas tank is full. The hot Italian sausages, sauerkraut, mustard, veggie tray and beer are packed together in the fridge, ready to be loaded into the cooler in the morning. I'm going to chill for an hour or so and see if Miami can hold off the heavily favoured Florida State before I turn in. I then get a text message from my friend in Greg in Ottawa who is scheduled to be on a 6am flight to Pearson where I will pick him up before we drive to Orchard Park. He has taken a puck in the face at one of his son's hockey games and he's in the emergency room. It could be a broken jaw. It's not looking good for tomorrow.
At that late hour, I knew the chances of finding someone to go with me are slim. I made a few calls but there were no takers. What to do? I decide that I'm going anyway. I have never failed to meet friendly and energetic fellow football fans at the tailgate and I have gotten to know most of the fine people from Buffalo who sit in my area of section 113, so why not go? I decide that I might be able to sell my second ticket to someone before the game.
After a much better drive than last time, I arrive in Drive 5, on the north side of the stadium, right around 10am. I pull in between two spaces, one occupied by two young women and the other occupied by three young guys. I would spend the next two and half hours with these 5 - and others. The guys, it turned out, all play football for the University of Buffalo Bulls which is a Division 1 football school, although not a highly ranked one. Scott Pettigrew is a linebacker from Tennessee who admitted that he is much more of a hockey fan than a football fan. He was wearing a Nashville Predators jersey. Alex Neutz is a 6'4" wide receiver from Grand Island, NY and Fred Lee is a 6'2" wide receiver from South Carolina. He knows Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore. I have a million questions for them. They opened the season playing at the University of Georgia, which was ranked 7th in the country at the time, before over 92,000 fans. The Bulls were blown out but the experience was quite a thrill for them. They were nursing their bruised bodies, having lost at home the previous day to the University of Pittsburgh, Dan Marino's alma mater. Next week, they are home to Mid-American Conference rival, University of Toledo. I will be checking the stats to see how each of them does. The 2 young women were pounding beer bongs and freely offering - and strongly encouraging - beer bongs and free face painting to everyone. I pass on the beer bong but agree to have a small Bills logo painted on my cheek. I was offered 10 bucks for my spare ticket by a scalper. I pass, hoping for a better offer but none came.
Once inside the stadium, a few things became clear: The Titans defence is terrible but the Bills defence is somehow worse, even with all of the high priced talent they acquired. The Bills defence was able to make Matt Hasselback look like Tom Brady - not an easy thing to do. Ryan Fitzpatrick had what looked like his best game of the season, connecting on a couple of very nice touchdown passes to Donald Jones and Stevie Johnson. For those hoping to see him benched sometime soon, he redeemed himself near the end of the game with an interception on a very poorly thrown ball which gave Tennessee the ball on the Bills side of the 50 and a chance to overcome a 6 point deficit and win the game. They did that by way of a Matt Hasselbeck pass to Nate Washington in the endzone on a 4th down and 9 from the Bills 15 yard line. Game over.
At 3-4, the Bills now enter their bye week. They will need the extra time as the next 2 games after the bye see them travelling to Houston and then to New England before coming home on a Thursday night against the Dolphins. I'm looking forward to following my tailgating buddies on the Buffalo Bulls, my new favourite Division 1 college football team. Go Bulls!
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