"It's not over," I would insist, looking up from the floor in front of the television at my father, sitting in his recliner with his dismissive half-smile.
The Bills would be losing to Miami, or whoever else fortunate to play them in the second half of the 1970s (it always seems like the Dolphins in my memory, though), usually by several touchdowns.
"They're gonna lose," Dad would say, in a tone that was more reassuring than taunting -- a twist that only made me madder. "They're gonna lose."
"No, they can still win," I'd insist, even when Buffalo trailed by 20 points or more, a near-weekly predicament, at least in memory. "If they can score on one of the next few plays, then recover the onside kick, then score again real fast, then recover another onside kick ... "
By this point, the half-smile would have expanded into a full grin, like a taunting Andy Griffith.
"They're gonna lose," he would say, just barely shaking his head. "They're gonna lose."
I would turn back to the TV, determined to will the Bills into the virtually impossible comeback I had just sketched out. And Joe Ferguson would throw an interception.
I have been thinking about those father-son moments in the living room as the playoff window for the 2012 Bills has steadily, inexorably been closing since late September.
Yes, there are a lot of things that could happen over the next three weeks that would put Buffalo in a postseason game since the first days of the 21st century.
It's just that they won't.
Dad's no longer around to give me the half-smile for even thinking about the possibility, but I've gotten a little more cynical over the past 35 years, so it's not really necessary.
Fortunately, at least one local media type still has at least a little of the youthful optimism that enables a kid to lay in front of the TV, propped up on his elbows to watch his favorite team get its brains beat in.
While dismissing the possibility that the 5-7 Bills can win their last four games and get enough help to snag the last AFC wild-card berth has been the general consensus this week, Buffalo radio, internet and internet radio fixture Brad Riter has taken the opposite approach over at trendingbuffalo.com.
As the ship appears to be sinking, frustrated with the lack of insight beyond “they don’t stand a chance” and “fire everyone,” one Buffalo sports fan feels compelled to dig into the standings, remaining schedule, and tiebreaker rules to determine what exactly needs to happen to get his favorite hockey or football team into the postseason.Riter goes on to lay out rather simple scenarios that end with Buffalo playing an as-yet-unscheduled road game in early January. I'm not going to get into them here, because doing so makes my head hurt a little and I've got to get ready to leave for today's epic struggle between the Bills and Rams.
That fan is me.
So give yourself a break from holiday stress, as well as the twin specters of no football playoffs and no hockey anything, and go share in Riter's optimism. It will make you feel better. At least until later this afternoon.
WHEN MICHAEL VICK got out of prison for, you know, murdering dogs and financing an entire dog-killing ring a few years back, there was more than a little discussion about one of the greatest athletes ever to play quarterback in the NFL coming to Buffalo.
Instead, the Bills decided they were completely set at the position with Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Vick wound up in Philadelphia. After watching from the sidelines for most of the 2009 season, he took over as the starter and had one spectacular year, followed by two increasingly lousy ones.
Having lost the starting job to rookie Nick Foles, Vick's release is probably inevitable. As is speculation about him winding up in Buffalo.
There is certainly an opportunity at the position. But some combination of age and the physical pounding he's taken since his return from prison have turned Vick into an erratic turnover machine.
And the Bills already have one of those.
Signing Vick would be a sign of desperation. Signing players with glorious pasts and recent troubles has been a losing proposition for the Bills under Buddy Nix, as the names Terrell Owens and Vince Young should remind you.
It's too bad Al Davis isn't alive to save Nix from the temptation, as well as sparing us the speculation.
As ever, please share your thoughts on these topics or the Bills and Rams in the comments below.
(Note: The second item was included largely so that I could use the Vick-in-a-Bills-uniform image above, which I found on this forum, where you can also find some discussion of his dog-killing past.)
another coaching disaster!
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