I don't know if this is against protocol. i didn't see anything in the rules.

I write for a Bills Website. And this is the second full year I'm doing it. The first article is one I wrote in the Preseason which did really well with people who read it. And the second is from last week. For the most part the rants and observations seem to do well.

I put it out here to see if you guys find it funny and get some word of mouth going. Hopefully I'll gain some more readers. Thanks.

Kevin

http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives ... otball.php

http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives ... he_mob.php

Hey, want to bring your writing to MostValuableNetwork.com? Nick will ban you if you say no

http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives ... otball.php

One Fan's View: Love and football
by Kevin Shenoy

I am back, people. The crazy ranting and ravings from your favorite lunatic writer/pal is back on Billszone.com in my section, “One Fan’s View”. A lot has happened since the Pittsburgh game. Drew Bledsoe is out, J.P. Losman is in. A new draft class has come in. The NHL locked itself out and let themselves back in. Saddam Hussein has been captured; Osama has not. The Michael Jackson/Robert Blake trials are both over. Little kids and second wives are feeling less safe. It’s been a topsy turvy world for the last 8 months.
And for me, a lot of change has come about. I’ve started a new job at a company which has free pop and coffee in the kitchen, I’ve got 3/5ths of my Pearl Jam coverband in place, and I’ve discovered the love of my life.

It is that last point that I’d like to run with. I can feel some of you pulling away, but I promise it is Bills related. I am so serious about this girl that I had to have a talk with her. She needed an upfront, no holds barred conversation about my fan-dom for the Bills and the city. She had an idea, but I had to make it crystal clear. I had to let her know how my Sundays play out once the season starts. The following is my monologue verbatim:

“So, I’m crazy about this team, and I love you tons, but I need to hear from you that you will not ever belittle this team or belittle the game. Never say ‘it’s just a game’ when I am passed out in front a TV after a loss. Don’t say ‘how can you get this involved?’ when I return home with blood on my hands and shreds of a Tom Brady jersey in my nails. If it was just a game, then I’d walk away when they lose and simply smile when they win. Much like I do when I play solitaire on the computer. That, lady, is a game. This is a religion. (Cue NFL Films Music and the creepy announcer guy’s voice). This is a religion. Rich with history, full of life. It is passed on to future generations. It is open to interpretations. As seriously as we may take it, there are always a few nut jobs who take it to another incomprehensible level. I am part of the masses, and I am unapologetic for my faith. It’s done nothing to justify/validate my belief in it, but it gives me comfort. And it gives me strength. It gives me hope of better days ahead. So if someone came to me and said, ‘it’s just a game’ you'd know why I felt like I’ll die a little.”

Surprisingly she let me go on. So I did. I told her that my Bills time is blocked out. I have the schedule hanging in my work cube for all to see. I refuse to be kept from a game without valid medical reasons….and even then.

“Kevin, my friend is having a toe nail clipping party. I’d like you to come.” “Can’t. Bills game is on.” “Kevin, it’s just a game.” I told her that that conversation could never, ever happen.

I did say that I’d love to watch games with her. My apprehension of waiting for the inevitable stupid question was quelled when she spoke these words...“I have 3 older brothers who taught me right. I’ve never asked why all those guys just run into each other. I don’t do stupid girl questions. I’ve been to superbowl parties and have watched those girls with disgust. I am not that annoying girl.”

I sat back and actually saw a halo form around her head. Yeah, a bright, golden halo with angels singing. And that, my friends, is love. That is jaw dropping, heart pounding love. I think she might be the one. There may be other factors which include beauty and compatibility, but for the most part the conversation above was all I needed.

So with all that said, shall we hit the DVD extras?


1: Waiting to find out if JP is going to be the second coming of Jimbo is killing me. I believe. I believed last year. I believed during the offseason. I believed in minicamp, and now, I just want to see the Houston game. I can’t wait any longer. If I think about the actual game, I start to get nervous as though I’m starting my first NFL game.


2: Thank god hockey is back. However, for all the great changes the league made, the schedulers messed it up good. Not one single game falls on a Saturday night before a Sunday Bills home game. So I can’t pull off the twosies of hockey and football.


3: Why have we heard about kickers being signed and dropped all offseason, yet Fancy I is still on the team? Did I not say last year that we could have the same consistency in our kicking game if we just signed a highschooler for like $100K a year? If Fancy I is still on the team come September 11th, 2005, I am going to drop my head in disgust in the same manner when you hear the distant family member you hate is attending the reunion. There is nothing you can do, and you one lets you get as angry as you really feel. So I’ll be at the potato salad stewing in my hatred of the situation.


4: Have you thought about how deep our team is? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team this deep in so many categories in all my years of being a Bills fan. We are good at QB, WR, LB, CB, etc. it is very exciting. Legitimate starters are some of our backups, people. Especially since we are going to win it all this year. Therefore we need some awesome backups on the road to Detroit. Go figure the year we win the superbowl, we have to go to a city in worse shape than Buffalo.


5: I hope the Bills open with a trick play on the 11th. It would be an exciting reminder that the Bledsoe Offense is way behind us.


6: It’s beginning to feel like Christmas. I am so giddy about the season. I’ve got my jersey ready, tickets in hand, airplane ticketes purchased. I’m essentially waiting for my parents to open the door and say “who wants to open presents?”


7: Have you ever sold anything on ebay? If so, then you know the feeling I’m having with Drew off the team. When you sell a beloved item because you have no use for it (or you know it just isn’t as cool as it once was), you are essentially hoping there is someone stupid enough to find your crap cool. Sure you remember the good times with your vanilla Ice Cd or those Zoobaz you wore as a kid, but you need to move on. And everytime on ebay, there is a Dallas. An overpaying, dumbass who thinks they are getting a great steal. I wonder if Dallas has to pay Drew’s salary to a paypal account. I can’t see Dallas winning more than 3 games.


8: I can’t believe Roscoe got hurt. I blame the #11 jersey on this. If he was in a different number perhaps none of this would have happened.


9: I’d like to just let you all know that I have the worst fantasy football team ever assembled in the history of recorded time. I can’t even bring myself to put it down here for your mockery. If I had a fan base, they’d be shocked that so little thought went into my draft. They’d be angry that I haven’t made an attempt to pick up someone for a highly depleted team even though I have 5 spots open. My fans would call me Darcy Reiger. And for that matter, I am looking for Bob Corkum for my fantasy team.


10: I know I am not alone when I say the throwback merchandise is pretty sweet. I know it’s all a marketing gimmick, but I love it so much. I’m getting a second jersey. I realize that is a colossal waste of money. But to add to this year’s ritual, I am thinking about home and away jersey’s for home and away games. Perhaps that was the missing piece of the superstitious.

Can’t wait for three weeks to go by. See you at the game.

http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives ... he_mob.php

One Buffalo Bills Fan's View: Power of the Mob
by Kevin Shenoy

Wow, we are 2-3, one game out of first, and have a new QB to lead us to the Promised Land. Are you buying any of that? Neither am I. I’ll give you that this game was, at the very least, entertaining. Even if the Buffalo Bills blew the game, they actually scored 2 touchdowns, moved the ball down field, and stopped the Dolphins on a couple key third downs. However, watching the team slowly slip into a coma in the second half was reminiscent of the Bucs game. What is the deal with being so annoyingly plain and unimaginative on offense for the fourth straight year? Do we need to hire Indiana Jones? He found the Lost Ark, the Holy Grail and the Temple of Doom; I’m sure he could find the end zone.

This article is the “I’ve said this before” column. Every time you read “I’ve said this before”, you should say it in unison like an infomercial. “Set it and Forget it!!!” Anyway, how many times have we collectively asked for the Bills to have a killer attitude? “I’ve said it before.” It’s shocking that a team that hosts some of the league’s most rabid fans lacks the aforementioned killer attitude. We need an old Asian man from a Kung-Fu movie standing on the sidelines just repeating, “Finish him”. At 17-0, we followed with two defensive interceptions. Neither churned out points nor worked the clock. “Finish him, grasshopper.”

On their second drive, the Bills settled for a field goal. After clearly swinging the momentum in their favor by giving the fans a reason to cheer with a TD drive and a three and out stop, the offense drives the field again. We are ready to start jumping up and down with glee; we settle for three. The worst part is that it’s not a 40 yard field goal; it is a 24 yard field goal. The Bills took 3 when they should have clearly had 7.

fuck this, your site is a bitch and a half to paste from

I admire your passion, but I find it very difficult to care that much about the Bills anymore. They've let me down too many times, and I think this is the least likeable team Buffalo has ever had. No heart.

agreed, but it's like crack. You know you shouldn't do it, but there is hope for a good time and you just try not thinking of the let down.

someone will get me the help i need. for now, i just need to go through it.

You can probably get them for about four bucks each. Just a friendly FYI.

nice

Damn, too bad the Broncos aren't scheduled to play there for another six years.

Is that for nosebleed seats or the superboxes?

That would be on JP Loserman's lap on the bench.

No, you get to wear JP's uniform and actually play.

Let me be the obvious one and say "That's still a ripoff."

That's still a ripoff.

This hasn't gotten alot of media attention, but the owner of the bills is holding the team hostage in an attempt to move to a bigger market. Personally, i grew up in buffalo and love teh team. I think the way the NFL keeps pushing up prices on everything leaves smaller teams in the shitter when they were the teams to make the league what it is today.

that being said, do you think the bills will leave for LA? I personally think that the owners are going to force wilson to sell the team, but make him sell it to somone who will keep it in the WNY area.

Buffalo Bills dead dude.

Clarice shot him in his basement, like, at least 10 years ago.

Somehow, I doubt they'll move as long as Wilson's alive. After that, all bets are off. I could be wrong, though.

I still think it's the Saints that end up moving to LA. I don't think New Orleans is going to recover enough to be able to have enough residents that can support an NFL team.

I don't think the Bills are going anywhere, with or without Wilson alive. It's in the NFL's best interest to have teams in markets like Buffalo and Green Bay, if for nothing other than tradition's sake. These teams are ingrained in the fabric of their communities as well; I don't envision the NFL being eager to destroy that fabric. I'm holding out hope Golisano will step up and become a majority owner at some point.

It doesn't matter if the Bills move, you'll have a new team in less than 5 years. That's the NFL's way of expansion. Move existing small market team to new city with new stadium. Get old city to build a new stadium. Add expansion team to old city, keeping same name as original team. New city gets an established team with which to build up its fan base. Old city with existing fan base gets expansion team. Instant rivalry created.
Works much better than MLB's method of putting a shitty expansion team in an emerging market and watching them flounder after a couple years.

how many times has this happened?

Cleveland, which was promised an expansion team when the Browns left for Baltimore. That kinda thing ain't happenin' with Buffalo. At the rate this city's going, I'm going to be the only one living here in 10 years. The point is, if the Bills ever leave, it would take a miracle to bring a new pro football team here.