"Wait 'til next year," has been the motto for Bills fans over the past 10 years or so, and although it seems like most people wouldn't accept that year in and year out, it works on Bills backers every time.
Last week before the Super Bowl, Channel 2-WGRZ aired the same special hosted by Ed Kilgore that it airs every year, "Reliving the Glory Days of the Bills." For the past several seasons, as fans are forced to watch teams from other cities compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, this local station has shown that broadcast. The special creates a reason for every Bills fan to sit in front of the TV with a six-pack and sport their Thurman Thomas jerseys and heavily faded Zubaz pants, remembering what it was like to go to four straight Super Bowls.
Unfortunately, 1993 was elementary school for most college students, and the last time the Bills saw the postseason was in the early high school days of 1999. So why do we accept "wait 'til next year," no matter how bad things get?
Is it because we're all a bunch of depressed, beer-guzzling, chicken wing-eating schmucks? Maybe.
Is it because, no matter how bad things get, "the glory days" generate enough pride to quell the embarrassment of our awful offensive line and J.P. Losman's equally bad passing - not to mention the added insult of his inability to put together a coherent sentence during interviews? Partially.
But no matter what Ed Kilgore and Paul Peck say about the difference this year's draft picks might make, we all fail to see who is really pulling the strings.
The real puppet master is the old man in the owner's box, Ralph Wilson.
That's right. Ralph may look like an infirmed geriatric, but that's just what he wants you to think. Nobody seems to feel they can blame the old guy. It's always Tom Donahue's, Mike Mularkey's or Losman's fault. And it's nothing new. In years past, Rob Johnson and Greg Williams shouldered the blame. No one blames Ralph.
He just looks too pathetic to be pulling the red and blue wool over our eyes, but that's just what he wants you to think.
Wilson is crafty. He is the Mr. Burns of Buffalo. He may bumble his way through press conferences, but when the cameras are shut off, he sits behind his desk, twiddling his fingers, working his evil machinations.
"Impossible," you say. Well, look at the proof. Losman was supposed to put us back on top but he was just another dud, just another in a string of disappointments. He was so bad that he couldn't even start every game.
So after this year's 5-11 season, I was sure that this was it. There was no way that Bills fans were going to accept their annual January medicine this time. But before fans could revolt, before season-ticket holders had time to denounce their devotion, Wilson made his move.
Wilson wasn't going down this year. Not that easily. The cunning old man ripped a page from Kilgore's book and hired the mythical leader of the glory days, Marv Levy.
With Levy as the general manager, Wilson pulled himself out of the fire, and once again has Bills fan shouting in a collective voice, "Wait 'til next year!"
Seven seasons without a trip to the playoffs doesn't matter because Levy is back.
What happens if Levy can't deliver? Then Wilson will finally have to face the wrath of the fans. With Levy, Wilson has surly played his last card. He has to be out of tricks. If Marv fails, the team may go bankrupt and the old man will be finished.
Maybe.
But the way I see it, Ralph is a survivor and if Levy can't turn the team around, he still has at least one more ace in the hole. One more trick to make Bills fans forget another two, maybe even three bad seasons.
How does head coach Jim Kelly sound?
