Buffalo Bills: Winds Of Change
by Kenny Watkins
In 1960 Ralph Wilson Jr brings the franchise to Buffalo. He decides
on the name the Bills as a tribute to a previous pro football
franchise that was there. Their first year they would finish 5-8-1.
The second season wasn't much better but the Buffalo Bills would do
much better in coming years.
1962 the Bills acquire Jack Kemp from the
San
Diego Chargers. In 1964 things fell into place for the Bills and Jack
Kemp. The Bills would go on to win an AFL championship by beating the
Sand Diego Chargers 20-7.
The Bills would play for another championship in 1966 but would lose
it to the Kansas City Chiefs and a chance for a Super Bowl berth. With
the first pick in the 1969 draft the Buffalo Bills selected O.J.
Simpson out of Southern Cal. O.J. had solid seasons but it wasn't
until 1973 when O.J. had his break out season.
O.J. had over 2,000 yards for the Bills, but still no playoff berth.
1974 marked new uniforms and a playoff berth for the Bills. The season
would end quickly with a loss to the Steelers in the divisional
playoffs.
After some down years O.J is traded to the
49ers in an effort to
rebuild the Bills. In 1980 it marked an outright Divisional title, the
first in 15 years. Buffalo would play the Chargers in the playoffs
only to lose once again.
1988 would mark the rise of the Bills. They drafted running back
Thurman Thomas out of college who would be a cornerstone to playing
for championships. 1990 would see the Bills get everything together
and make a run through the playoffs. In the AFC Championship game they
destroyed the Raiders by a score of 51-3 and a trip to the Super Bowl.
In the Super Bowl the Bills faced the New York Giants. The Bills
played well and kept it close. With 10 seconds left it came down to
Scott Norwood's field goal. But for the Bills the kick was wide right
and they lost. It took a lot out of the Bills.
They would appear in three more Super Bowls but the result was the
same. This began the decline of the Bills. Today they are still trying
to make a turnaround with a new coach and new players. Hopefully it
won't take long.
The Bills fans really have to be commended on their dedication
to their team. It gets cold up in Buffalo but week after week you see
their fans on television freezing as they sit in the stands. They are
all bundled up with Buffalo Bills hats and jerseys usually covered by
a bills sweatshirt which is under their bills jacket which you can see
under their bills blankets.
For the sake of the fans we hope the Bills do well in the future.
What is amazing is that no matter how bad the team you can never get
Buffalo Bills Tickets.
Buffalo Bills Blanket - NFL Fleece Blankets
From: Fanzz
For more information about more Buffalo
Bills merchandise click on our "Top Pick" on our
Football page. For more sports choose from one of the following
pages:
About The Author
Kenneth Watkins is an avid college football fan as well as a
successful sports author and regular contributor to
http://www.sports-gift.com. A free service for people to find the best
sports fan gift idea for the sports fan in their life. |
