Out of the Blue

January 25, 2024

Did you hear that scream coming from Western New York on Sunday night? You would have heard it around 9:30 pm Eastern time, when the Buffalo Bills lost the AFC divisional-round game to the Kansas City Chiefs on a frigid night in their home stadium in Orchard Park, NY.

Before the pandemic, Bills fans had mainly been psychologically bound together by decades of never-realized hopes. But in late 2020, when the country was shut inside with Covid and hungry for something positive, the team started winning, and something magical started happening: Professional football had given Western New Yorkers a new, and fun, reason to choose to be "us." Out of the blue, we suddenly had gold. Unfortunately, in these four winning seasons, the Chiefs have stopped the Bills in the playoffs three times. Hence the scream.

But the new us-ness of the larger community was the real gift the Bills gave Western New York these last few years, of far greater value than how many games were won or how excellently the game was played. Precisely when we were starved for human interaction, we had a new excuse to connect. It happens all season long: You're out-and-about, you see a stranger wearing Bills gear, and as you pass her, you say, "Go Bills!" She smiles and replies, "Go Bills!" and you both know you mean exactly the same thing. You've chosen to connect on your mutual affection for those guys on the field who are giving it their all. The human brain likes this so much that it gives you each a little endorphin-filled zing of pleasure, and your world is a better place.

So we screamed on Sunday not just because we were sad about Tyler Bass's wide right kick in the last seconds of the game, but because we instinctively felt the loss of the us-ness of this community: Our unique reason to connect, to feel that hope together, was suddenly eliminated. The nice thing about football season, though, is that there's always another one around the next corner... just like, no matter where you live, your neighborhood Buffalo Bills fan.

—Deb