OK, I take back that comment from last week’s column when I wrote that being a Bills fan is like being an inmate dropping the soap in the shower – this week we staged a prison break.
In honor of the Bills’ nearly unprecedented 54-31 victory, I’m also trying something unprecedented: below, if I make it, are 54 reasons why this was a great victory. Some reasons might be a stretch, but cut me some slack. Fifty four is a big number:
1. They won!
2. 54 points is pretty good…duh
3. And they did it on the road
4. In KC, where we’re used to getting creamed
5. Against Tony Gonzalez, who didn’t want to be a Bill, apparently
6. In front of NYCBBBer Kevin Smith, who attended the game
7. With his fiancée, a KC native – how sweet is that?
8. 54 was the highest point total of the day
9. And the Bills’ second-highest ever
10. Which was 58, in 1966
11. Before most of you were even born
12. Before your parents even met
13. And it was against the Fish
14. And the 54 we scored today was more than the Pats’ measly 48
15. Also against the Fish
16. We scored 17 points off of turnovers
17. In the first half alone
18. We forced 5 turnovers overall
19. And had none of our own
20. Leodis McKelvin had a fantastic game
21. And made us feel a lot better about where we chose him in the draft
22. And then there’s Trent Edwards: what to say about Trent Edwards?
23. He threw great
24. He ran like Michael Vick. Well, sort of.
25. He scored two TDs
26. Which no Bills QB had done in a game since Jack Kemp
27. Trent’s slump is over
28. And so is the team’s
29. As a result, the Bills are still “in the hunt”
30. And the Fish, one of our main rivals, lost
31. The team actually went for it on a fourth down and scored
32. I loved it when they scored to end the first half, and then again to start off the second half – 14 points without the Chiefs touching the ball
33. Marshawn actually got to run – full beast mode
34. Forget about 54 points: did I mentioned they won by 23 – and 7 of the Chiefs’ points were garbage, at the end?
35. The Bills emptied out that stadium pretty early – it looked empty on TV
36. We’ve never heard the Shout song so many times in one game
37. And never got tired of it
38. I sat with Bruce – proprietor of Penn Station-based Tracks Raw Bar & Grill, and the Bills actually won. That never happens
39. We actually got to relax during a game for a change
40. Josh Reed scored a TD – his first of the year
41. Lee Evans got into the act, with a 51-yard reception
42. And 110 overall reception yards
43. We didn’t have to do the dreaded Walk of Shame, leaving the bar in our Bills gear after a humiliating loss
44. No major injuries, although I’m not sure about Butler
45. I actually had a pretty good quesadilla at the restaurant today
46. More important, we can actually go the BuffaloBills.com, Two Bills Drive and read the morning sports sections on Monday without wincing
47. We can even look forward to ESPN’s highlights for a change
48. Trent Edwards – AFC Offensive Player of the Week?
49. A perfect day for Lindell, once again (forget last week)
50. We hardly saw Moorman, as much as I love the guy
51. 173 rushing yards!
52. Did I mention this was the most points anyone ever scored against the Chiefs?
53. Thank goodness we did this in a week without Whitner and Greer
54. And thank goodness we can enjoy Thanksgiving without Bills-related gloom and doom.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I’ll be back and at CJ’s next week, should anyone be in town to join me.
E-mail feedback and comments to Phil Mann at
pjmann at nyc.rr.com