Football doesn't build character; football reveals character. So said Marv Levy some years ago and on this cold and snowy Monday morning in Central Ontario, I think that it surely applies to both the Chiefs and the Bills and, just as importantly, to their respective fan bases. The ups and downs of last night's Divisional Playoff game, especially in the final minutes and seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime, certainly revealed the character of each of the teams. As for the fans of the teams watching in the stadium or on television, just sticking with the game through its agonizing conclusion revealed character enough. Chiefs fans have another game to look forward to (and probably two more) and Bills fans will have to add this one to their list of crushing losses. Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News said that it rivals any of the Superbowl losses or Homerun Throwback for the most painful loss in Bills franchise history. "Wide Right", "Homerun Throwback" and now "13 Seconds". The longest and most painful 13 seconds in franchise history.
The naysayers and Monday Morning Quarterbacks will be busy today, this week and for the remainder of the off-season questioning the coaching decisions and defensive strategy over those fateful 13 seconds following the Bills taking a three point lead on Gabriel Davis's fourth touchdown catch of the game and Stefon Diggs acrobatic grab on the two-point conversion. They should have squib-kicked the kick-off, they'll say. Safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde were playing to deep, they'll say. They played it as if the Chiefs needed a touchdown and not a field goal, they'll say. The Bills called a timeout before each of the two plays over those 13 seconds and still couldn't stop the Chiefs from quite easily - far too easily - moving into comfortable field goal range. The overtime seemed like a training camp scrimmage where the first string offence goes against the back-up defensive unit to see how fast they can march down the field to the endzone. The Bills chose not to use any of their timeouts in overtime when the defence probably could have used a break. But then the time-outs didn't work during the 13 seconds, did they?
Although I am a long-time season ticket holder. it's been two years since I have made the pilgrimage to Orchard Park to drink a couple of morning beers, barbeque some hot Italian sausages and take in some NFL football. I really hope that eight months from now, I will be doing just that. My team has a once-in-a-generation quarterback to watch for the next decade at least along with a solid coaching and management and stable ownership. A new stadium is in the works too so I'll have to start saving for the inevitable Personal Seat Licences which I will have to buy to continue on as a subscriber.
Bills fans need to remember that you have to make it to these big games in order to suffer the crushing losses that they can bring. It's more stressful as a fan to watch than, say being a New Yok Jets fan has been over the last few years. Earning the right to play in important games means winning many games along the way and the Bills have done that since Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane came to town. As fans, we should be grateful. The losses are tough but the best kind of character sports should reveal is the ability to savour the wins and let the losses roll off you. It's just professional sports, right? Noam Chomsky is right in the end (isn't he usually?) when he says that the intellectual energy, time and emotion consumed by the ritualistic following of sports is just a distraction from the things which actually do matter in our lives. Being a native of Philadelphia, its east for him to say. The Eagles won the Superbowl four years ago and, although he is loathe to admit it publicly, it surely put his mind to rest.
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