"Bills fans have become so conditioned to games like Sunday's that they can do little more than laugh."
Unbearable conclusion really comes as no surprise
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This persistent feeling of doom must come from being born and raised in Western New York, from being kicked down and knocked around as a Buffalo sports fan as a kid, from covering so many devastating defeats in this profession. After a while, you're trained to expect the worst.
What can I say? It's in our genes.
For everyone else, it takes a few years to truly fathom the torture our region has endured over the years. Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay is starting to come around. He mentioned how the loss Sunday left a sick feeling in his stomach, how he's been here for six years and still hasn't made the playoffs.
"We love our fans. I love our fans," Kelsay said. "You want to give them something to cheer about, and we gave them something to cry about today."
Heck, dude, you don't know the half of it. Bills fans long ago ran out of tears. They've become so conditioned to games like the 31-27 debacle against the Jets that they can do little more than laugh. After all, the Bills have lost so many games in so many ways over so many years that it has become a running joke.
Really, did any card-carrying Bills fan ever doubt the outcome Sunday? It's reached the point where people are shocked when something good happens. I know, it's that kind of negative thinking that drags people down. Fair enough, but there's no way I'm flying solo on this one.
That's why it was mind-boggling when fans in Giants Stadium had the audacity to boo the daylights out of the Jets after the Bills had taken a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter. Didn't they know Buffalo's history, you know Wide Right and Home Run Throwback and Hull's skate?
New York had 83 yards separating them from the end zone and 1:59 remaining in the half, which told me there was plenty of time for Buffalo to blow it. Sure enough, 64 seconds later, five plays later after Brett Favre passed them out of trouble, running back Leon Washington took a harmless-looking handoff and squirted through the middle of the defense en route to a 47-yard touchdown run.
You could hear the moans coming from Bills Nation. But were you really surprised? Uh, no.
And when Leodis McKelvin raced 100 yards on a kickoff return early in the fourth quarter to give the Bills an apparent 27-24 lead, you braced for a yellow flag that would be resting somewhere in his wake. It was a bogus holding penalty called on Orchard Park native Jon Corto, definitely. But shocking? Not at all.
And when J.P. Losman completed four straight passes before Fred Jackson bullied his way 11 yards for a touchdown to give the Bills a 27-24 lead with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, it merely signaled enough time for Favre to march the Jets down the field for the tying field goal or winning touchdown.
Instead, the Jets were intent on giving the game away. They ran three plays in 53 seconds and were forced to punt, giving the Bills the ball at their own 10-yard line with the clock winding down. Marshawn Lynch ran the ball four consecutive times and — whaddya know? — it worked.
Lynch gained 17 yards and forced the Jets to spend a timeout before the two-minute warning. God's honest truth, swear on my grandmother's grave, on my children's lives, it was then that I began wondering whether the extra minute was all the Bills' coaching staff needed to outthink itself yet again.
The Bills didn't need Vince Lombardi to explain how running Lynch through the middle would be a good idea. Even if he gained nothing, even if he lost yardage, he would have drawn the Bills closer to victory. Run the same play again, burn another Jets timeout and have Brian Moorman punt the ball into Hackensack.
Everybody back home knew as much. So why was I sitting in the press box envisioning Western New Yorkers walking out of their family rooms, turning their backs to the television, covering their eyes with their favorite blanket and waiting for the absolute worst? See, it was never in the bag Sunday. Nothing has been in the bag all season, not when the Bills were 3-0, not when they were 5-1, not when they all but locked up the Jets on Sunday and swallowed the key. If anything, it's precisely when the fatalistic instincts reach the surface for people who understand Buffalo sports history.
You know what happened. They called a pass for some unknown reason, Losman was sacked from behind by Abram Elam, the ball was stripped and Shaun Ellis picked up the loose change before busting into the end zone. People were left muttering things like, "unbelievable" and "not again" and "you've got to be kidding" and heaven knows what else.
Deep down, you knew. Sunday was just another chapter.
Corto felt the pain as much as anyone. He grew up a 6-iron away from One Bills Drive and knows his favorite team has driven many a stake into the heart of his hometown. Need we review all the missed kicks and bungled plays and boneheaded decisions for good laughs?
"It's frustrating," Corto said. "It's frustrating as a fan. I know my brother's week is made by whether we win or lose."
Corto stood there Sunday, in a gloomy locker room, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, I hear what you're saying," he said. "Sorry I couldn't help. I really don't know what to say."
Actually, Jon, you just did.
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