Usain Bolt, with his 9.58-second 100-meter dash record, is generally considered the fastest thing in all of sports.
But compared to the rapidly changing mindsets of Buffalo Bills fans, Bolt looks slow. Nothing moves faster than the opinions of Buffalonians, from joy to disgust to hope all in a matter of minutes.
After week one’s 27-14 win over the Indianapolis Colts, many fans in Buffalo were elated. Thoughts of the Super Bowl danced through the minds of Western New Yorkers, and some had the audacity to voice these opinions. After all, Tyrod Taylor looked great, completing 14 of 19 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. He did exactly what he was supposed to do: manage the game while taking care of the ball, leaving Buffalo’s highly touted defense to take care of everything else.
And the defense came through. Buffalo’s front seven held Andrew Luck and the Colts to just 64 yards on the ground, while forcing three turnovers and limiting Indianapolis to only 15 first downs.
In short, all was well in Buffalo. Rex Ryan had arrived with all his fanfare. He had built a bully as he had promised to do, and the Bills were a force to be reckoned with. It was a good week to be a Bills fan.
Then came last Sunday when the Bills fell to the Patriots 40-32.
Suddenly, the Bills were in trouble. Fans claimed Ryan had talked too much beforehand, giving New England extra motivation. Taylor threw three interceptions while managing only 242 yards through the air. As if that wasn’t enough, the defense looked lost at times as Tom Brady, even with properly inflated footballs, shredded Buffalo’s secondary, amassing 466 passing yards.
After three quarters, New England led 37-13.
“It’s the same old Bills,” fans said with disgust.
And it certainly looked that way.
Just as quickly, however, the Bills turned things around. Buffalo outscored New England 19-3 in the fourth quarter, pulling to within five points before the Patriots kicked a field goal with less than a minute and a half left.
Suddenly the hope returned to Buffalo as fans saw their team control the last 15 minutes against the defending Super Bowl champs.
And maybe this year will be different for Buffalo, but two weeks into the season, it’s simply too early to tell. Sports fans are notorious for jumping to conclusions, and considering that the Bills haven’t made the playoffs yet this millennium, it’s understandable that fans rise and fall so quickly.
For fans of this long-suffering franchise, there seems to be reason for cautious optimism. Not Super Bowl aspirations, perhaps, but playoff dreams don’t appear to be overly ambitious.
The win against Indianapolis was encouraging, but the Colts just got manhandled by the Jets. The Jets. Who are led by former Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, by the way.
On the other hand, the Patriots are playing the best football in the AFC right now, so losing to them by only eight points is hardly embarrassing.
One-eighth of the way through the season, Bills fans are left in a familiar place; the only thing they can do is wait and hope that this year really is the year that Buffalo makes its return to the playoffs.
