The alarm clock goes off – followed by grunts of protest and frantic hand-slamming to shut it off. It’s 7:00 am, time to start preparation.

For the second year in a row, I had the privilege of travelling to Buffalo to take in a Bills game. Last year, five brave souls took the trek to see the Bills take on the Oakland Raiders. This season, eight of us crossed the border to witness the “Squish the Fish” game between the Bills and their AFC East rivals, the Miami Dolphins.

First and foremost, none of us are Bills fans. But when we arrived at Ralph Wilson Stadium at around 8:30, that all changed. Cars were slowly trickling into the parking lot, and we took an open spot where our two cars could be side by side. Being relative tailgating rookies, our supplies were limited. A small grill and two coolers were all we had – one for food, one for ‘adult beverages’. So for the next four hours we stood around in a parking lot, meeting random fans and witnessing the American past-time of tailgaiting.

Game time neared, and three of us decided to head into the stadium. We entered our gate, and immediately heard the buzz generated by the field. We knew our seats were pretty good, but we had no idea just how amazing they were. We kept on walking down, getting closer and closer to the field. And then we were there. Four rows back, right in the middle of the endzone. The Bills were warming up in our end, looking completely relaxed as they ran through their pregame drills. Fans around us, clearly season ticket holders, shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. We received a warm welcome from several Bills fans, and even some brave Dolphins fans who sat in front of us.

As kickoff neared, the stadium reached a fever pitch. Over 72,000 fans yelling at the top of their lungs, bashing the bleacher in front of them with all their strength – truly a testiment to the overwhelming power of sport. The first half flew by. It felt like each team had piled up over 40 points, yet the teams were deadlocked at seven apiece.

Miami held the lead going into the fourth quarter, but that’s when the “Twelfth Man” came into effect. Most people familiar with the NFL consider Seattle’s Qwest Field the loudest stadium in the league. But on November 29th, it was Ralph Wilson Stadium. The entire crowd stood and cheered in unison, and were rewarded by a Fred Jackson touchdown run early in the fourth. Rian Lindell gave the Bills the lead with a 56 yard field goal, and with Miami back in possession, Chad Henne threw the game away. Drayton Florence picked off an errant throw intended for Brian Hartline, and the crowd errupted. Everyone was yelling at the top of their lungs, and the stadium rang with the sound of aluminum bleachers being hammered.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, who already electrified the crowd with a 31 yard touchdown run in the second quarter, proceeded to reward every Bills fan for their loyalty on the next play, tossing a 51 yard bomb to Terrell Owens. Even though it was in the opposite end, we all knew he was going all the way when he caught the ball. I’d never heard anything louder in my life. Everyone was standing on the bleachers, screaming as loud as possible. My hands were numb from clapping and high fiving – my voice was hoarse, but there was no way I was going to stop cheering.

The Bills went on to win 31-14, behind 24 points in the fourth quarter. Back in the parking lot after the game, everyone was continuing the celebration. Bills fans wouldn’t be stopped by the sun going down – fires were sprinkled around the entire lot. We got into our cars at around 5:30 to begin the trek home, already talking about going back next year.

Sure, the 22 kilometer trip back home took seven and a half hours. Yes, my hands are still sore as I type this and my throat still hurts more than 24 hours after the game. But would I do it again? In a heartbeat – and I will next year. Bills Bash has become an annual tradition. And for anyone who’s even a remote fan of the NFL, I highly suggest a trip south of the border to take in a game. There’s nothing like it.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- Bills in Toronto update! You can still get a pair of seats in the 500 level… for $310 dollars

- alright Canadian NFL fans, time to show the leauge what you’ve got. I’ll be there watching

It’s one thing to have the hate on for a team and express your feelings. It’s an entirely different ball of wax when your hate is based entirely on bias. For example, Every time CNN or some other major news outlet runs a story that involves a company that shares a common owner as that media outlet, they disclaim it. That way, any interpretation of the story can involve the fact that there may be a bias. So if CTV were to run a story on TSN, CTV would very likely disclaim the fact that they share a common owner.

That is the professional thing to do. Bill Watters, is anything but professional. He has his hate on constantly for the Maple Leafs. He should disclaim that he was fired by the Maple Leafs and explain that no matter what they do, he will always be a bitter. It doesn’t take listening to the guy (I won’t call him a man) very long to sense his hatred. He spews hatred about MLSE, the leafs, raptors Toronto FC and anything that fits under the empire whenever he opens his trap. It has been a tad bit ironic to see The Hut have to tone it down a tad now that his old boss is the GM again. Even still, every time the HUT gets a chance to take a shot he does. We expect it and to be honest I don’t even hear it anymore. He has lost credibility because of it.

Jabba’s latest target is the Buffalo Bills playing in Toronto. Now, The Hut was never fired from Rogers. I mean in order to be fired by someone you have to have been employed by them. Now, MLSE chair Lary Tanenbaum is part of the Bills in Toronto Series so therefore by association I could see some degree of hatred. However it’s pretty far fetched. So it was a surprising to hear Jabba go so far this afternoon in his hatred of this event and those behind it. Of, course, there is a deeper reason for the hatred, Little Willie, Brad, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Toronto Argonauts.

So we are clear, prior to joining the Argos Willie Jr. was in charge of the most recent Grey Cup that was in Toronto. Prior to that he ran the Toronto Rock, a Lacrosse team and the last Ottawa franchises that was in the CFL. The Hut had a financial interest in both franchises when Jr. was running them. So, it is not surprising then, when the biggest jewel in the sporting world comes to town(the NFL), there is at least a perceived threat to the CFL nationally (why I don’t know) and the Argos that Daddy goes on the defensive. Now, I have no problem with a father being defensive about his son. It is expected. However to go as far over the top as The Hut did today on his afternoon show and not disclaim his bias is totally unprofessional.

Jabba called the event the biggest travesty in sports history, claimed that bringing the game to Toronto was a blatant attempt to kill the Argos….PLUUUUZZEEE…What a joke. His sidekick Brady then drowned on and on about what a disaster it was. Boo-hooo—hooo the tickets were too expensive. Wait, Greg, didn’t you just say that 20,000 people went in for free? Umm, if people were going for free ( so the stadium wouldn’t look empty) why are we crying over ticket prices? You can’t suck and blow at the same time. I listened to ESPN and Foxsports radio today (I love XM) and both gave nice reviews to the game. There was not one negative comment about tickets, the fans or the city.

I mean why is it newsworthy that ticket brokers took it on the chin? Who cares. People were around the dome and getting tickets for less then 50% off, or free and this is a bad thing????? The people who could be upset are those who paid for them and went. That is like getting upset when you are on an airplane and the guy next to you used priceline or something….It happens every day in our lives. Same argument when you say that Rogers can’t lower prices for the next game. Why not? I don’t know about you all, but I have never knocked on the door of the hotel room next to mine and asked my “neighbor” what they are paying for their room and then demand a refund when i found out they got a better rate…..

I know in sports its DIFFERENT right…. WRONG…. go to a leafs game and count the number of kids sitting in the platinum seats. How many parents you know can afford 1 let alone 2 tickets to a leaf game? Most of the patrons at a leaf game didn’t personally pay for their tickets. They are either corporate seats or a gift from a friend etc. If i pay a broker for a ticket, do i have a right to a refund if he sells a similar ticket to someone else for less money???

Folks, this was an exhibition game. It wasn’t the game that decided home field for the playoffs. Either Chris Schultz or Mike Hogan said that they didn’t watch this in the same way they wouldn’t have watched a CFL exhibition game over a regular season NFL game. Everyone I talked to today said the same thing. It was way better then I expected. The media beat this thing down so often we all expected the worst.

Hats off to Richard Griffin of the Star:

“It was a late-arriving crowd for the Bills-Steelers game last night at the Rogers Centre. By kickoff it was obvious organizers had done a good job rounding up bodies to fill most of the unsold seats. While the visual of a stadium jammed with 48,434 people was a good one for the NFL, revenues were likely not what had been hoped for. ”

Ok fair enough, I have no problem with that.

“Wandering outside the Rogers Centre in the late afternoon soaking in festivities at the various tailgate parties north and south of the stadium, it hit home that perhaps the difference between the two pro football leagues was similar to the differences between these tailgate events. The NFL is a gala. The CFL is a party. Take your choice and enjoy.”

Exactly, one doesn’t have to be better, it can be different right?

“There was the smaller Steam Whistle tailgate party going on side-by-side with the humongous Budweiser ultra-tailgate complete with live music and food tents as far as the eye could see. Each was well attended and provided basically the same product, given the respective space. Fans at both seemed to be having a good time.”

Thank you! Fans at both WERE having a good time. Was this the same as hanging out in a parking lot, tossing a ball and hovering over your own BBQ and beer? No it wasn’t, it was different, but people had a great time!

“In the meantime, let it be known that, down to the third string for both teams, these NFL guys can really play. It may or may not be a more entertaining product than the CFL. That is always up to individual taste.”

That in a nutshell is the truth. Richard you are so right.

Why all this drama, this negativity about everything in our city. Its enough already. Its not a good sales tool, its not funny, it’s depressing. I don’t need to hear how great everything is. The Leafs haven’t made it to the finals IN MY LIFETIME. That includes the years The Hut was working for them. So criticize all you want Wille, you never won a thing- nothing! The Jays haven’t had a real winning season in YEARS…. In my opinion the last game the argo’s played that was worth watching had a guy named Flutie at the helm. The Raptors have NEVER been very good. WE KNOW IT. WE DON’T need our noses rubbed in it every day on every issue. Sooner or later we will tune out and you will all be out of jobs.

If you are going to stand up for your kid, or bash MLSE cause you can’t get over the fact that you were fired admit it, say it publicly. We would have so much more respect for you. Wait, that would mean we have any respect for you right now. Lots of people have been fired by a team and returned to the airwaves in that city without being bitter to the point of exhaustion. It’s called maturity. You want to bash them when they do something stupid…we will be right behind you. When you do it every freaking day its called boring, unbalanced, biased and not credible.