The pessimist in me started watching this scene unfold wondering whether the love affair between the Bills' Mafia and the quarterback that unknowingly provided the team with which they live and die the oh-so-elusive key to the backdoor of the playoffs has gone a bit far. Showing their appreciation for Andy Dalton's efforts by immediately flooding his foundation with tens of thousands of dollars in donations was an awesome example of how cool and unifying sports can be, but we are about eight months removed from Buffalo being given a short, but long overdue taste of the postseason. You'd just think that this level of gratitude would have at least mildly subsided by now...
Then the realist in me kicked down the pessimist in me's door, smacked him upside the head, and demanded I be proud of Bills' fans. It's all-too-easy for a long suffering fanbase to make the playoffs, get caught up in expectations, and immediately forget the depressing days they spent hoping against hope that other teams would give them just a little bit of help in their quest for a little bit of life after Week 17. Now, assuming they didn't concuss themselves jumping through a fiery table or somehow tailgate themselves past the threshold where even security in Buffalo is forced to turn ticketed drunkards away, it's probably easier for most Bills' fan to remember what it's like to suck. After all, the quarterback that helped manage them to slightly above average for the first time in 17 years is now in Cleveland and his replacement could very well end up being the most temperamental talent to ever have been given the reigns to an NFL organization in his rookie year. Josh Allen is a complete wildcard, so if the Bills' season has a foregone conclusion then it's probably schizophrenia. Therefore, I'd imagine looking back so endearingly at the experience that Andy Dalton helped give them has a bit to do with their stubbornness in looking forward to what has all the makings of a complete shit-show of a developmental season. Still, to their credit, they stumbled to their feet to give one of the loudest standing ovations I can remember hearing at a preseason game, and it was in the direction of an otherwise random and mediocre quarterback that launched a prayer that somehow landed him in the collective heart of Buffalo for the foreseeable future. If nothing else, that's the mark of a fanbase that's truly thankful for even the smallest smattering of success, and not too many of those exist.
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