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first float in the parade, driven by 27-year-old |
Kyle Snyder of Columbus, Ohio, petitioned for Bernie Kosar to join the player personnel department. It went from there, including a giant Minion from "Despicable Me" on the back of one float with a sign reading, “Mr. Haslam, are you even listening?”
“We’re sick of getting beat up. We’re sick,” said 53-year-old Mike Cooper from Cleveland, who drove a waste disposal truck with "CLEVELAND BROWNS" painted on it along with "0-16" and "SUPER BOWL 20??." “I mean, year after year after year, 20 quarterbacks. I mean, at http://www.billsfootballofficialprostore.com/Authentic-Adolphus-Washington-Jersey what point? This is basically making a statement that we are tired of being the losers in the nation. I mean, what other team has lost this many games?”
Cooper loves football. So he keeps returning. The reason echoes Stronski’s shrug in Detroit. “It’s the slightest bit of hope that we all hang on to,” Cooper said. “It’s that little slice, and we’re just waiting for that opportunity.” While those at the parade in Cleveland on Saturday know some viewed it as being disloyal, those marching and riding were doing so because they believed they were being loyal to the team they love that returns the passion with misery-times-16.
“This is our team,” said Tony Timoteo, who organizes Oliver Kylington Jersey a Browns quarterback “graveyard” at his home in North Ridgeville, Ohio. “No matter what, we’re always going to support them. We’re not the type of people that are going to jump ship to other cities. We’re one of the cities that notoriously stay loyal. “No matter what, 0-16, we’re still loyal. I always think that there’s a better way, but never, ever think about joining another team. Ever. Ever.”
Timoteo supports Buffalo and Detroit because of the similarities. Those fans understand where Cleveland is and where Cleveland wants to be. They understand the blue-collar culture of the communities and how they stay loyal to their teams despite a lack of success. “I’m actually really happy for the Bills Mafia and their tailgaters and all their fans for getting into the playoffs,” Timoteo said, “because that’s what we hope to be. Because if we get into the playoffs, that’s what we’re going to be like.
“We’re just waiting for our time, for our moment.” The moment had nervous energy Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. Despite the chants of “Shady! Shady!” ringing through 716 Food and Sport whenever LeSean McCoy broke Womens Trae Waynes Jersey off a run and the cheers whenever the Bills' defense made a play on Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, nothing felt easy for the Bills. Few things have ever been easy for this team. A chant of “trust the process” -- a motto of the still-new Sean McDermott era -- started as the Bills had their best drive of the game, the one that led to their only points, a field goal.
Buffalo’s DJ Milk continually yelled, “Keep your spirit up.” For most of Sunday, Bills fans did. During commercial breaks, he played the Prince hit “1999.” The Bills mascot showed up and danced on a booth, turning 716 into a combination of high-anxiety football and high-intensity dance club. “We live for this. ... We’ve been waiting for this our whole life," said Emory Weber, who was at the bar with his brother.
But hope started to disappear. The Bills couldn’t move the ball on Jacksonville’s defense. Ben Koyack’s third-quarter touchdown for the Jaguars silenced the bar. DJ Milk tried to keep the energy lively. With Buffalo trailing 10-3 at the start of the fourth quarter, Lampman was ready for the Bills “to make a comeback.”
It was a sense of dread and hope all rolled into one three-hour period that fans of the Lions, Bills and Browns could relate to. After the Bills dropped an interception, Lampman turned around and cursed. Another fan, having seen this too often, kept muttering, “He’s killing us. He’s killing us,” as he watched Bortles run to extend drives. There was one last chance. Buffalo got the ball with two minutes left. The Bills started moving. Then Tyrod Taylor got hurt. In came Nathan Peterman, the quarterback whose one start and five-interception performance almost cost the Bills a playoff berth.
Peterman ran for a first down, eliciting perhaps the loudest cheer of the day. Then Gary Carter Authentic Jersey he threw an interception. Checks were asked for. Jackets remained on. En masse, people filed out almost in silence, exhausted. The drought was over. And so was Buffalo’s season. “Roller coaster,” said 35-year-old Tom Hughes of Buffalo. “Edge of your seat the whole time. We knew going in it was going to be that kind of game, where it was low-scoring and any big play was going to be the difference.”
Hughes thinks the combination of McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane has potential. That’s the hope to hold on to. This season was unexpected. After the Bills made the playoffs, Hughes watched videos of celebratory reactions for an hour. Now there might be something to build on, though there still is http://www.ramsnflofficialproshop.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_AARON_DONALD_JERSEY.html the reality. As he was leaving, a visitor told Hughes that he was sorry the Bills lost. Hughes’ response: “We’re used to it.”
Yet he’ll be back. They’ll all be back. Hope -- something all three of these franchises essentially trade on -- is strong now.“It’s just the dedication that this city has to the team, and it’s something that I’m never going to let go of, personally,” 28-year-old Buffalo resident Christina Carbone said. “I love the Bills. I love everything that this city and the team stands for, and I think that’s what keeps this city going -- with the hope for next year.” cheap hockey jerseys wholesale jerseys nfl wholesale jerseys from china nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys china
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