The Bills Game

I'm going to get through these New York pictures if it kills me!!  Kay.  Here are some pictures from the Bills vs. Patriots game we went to.  We had really fantastic seats.  We got there a bit early so that we could walk around amongst the tailgaters and then go in and watch Spence at work. 

I wish I had taken my camera when we were walking around the parking lot to look at the tailgaters.  I've never really seen any proper tailgaters.  There were people who had been there for two or three days!  They had their big campers all set up.  I saw several campers that had rugs - like, dining room rugs - set out nicely next to their campers.  One gal had decorated with fake, lit-up palm trees on each corner of her rug.  There were couches on these rugs.  TV's set up.  Pots of mums.  Of course, there were tarp-like coverings over each of these areas, because Buffalo is known for its frequent rain.

And the food.  Don't even get me started.  People were going all OUT.  Stuffed lobster.  Grilling steaks.  And of course, lots and lots of kielbasa sausage.  Beads says there is a huge population of people of Polish descent in the Buffalo area.  So there was lots and lots of sausage.

I just kept walking around with my mouth wide open.  It was so interesting!  Like camping, but in a parking lot, awaiting a football game.  People were throwing footballs in the areas between the cars.  Every camper and car was decorated with Bills colors.  These guys are hard-core. 

It's funny - I almost felt like...that the Bills are almost like a religion to these particular tailgaters.  Does that make sense?  They spend their time and money thinking about, promoting, and talking about the Bills.  I couldn't help but wonder, if I didn't spend all my time, energy, and a lot of my money on my religion, would I do something like this instead?  It's just interesting.  I'm not judging.  For sure.  It's just so interesting to see a different way of life every now and then.

Enough of my ponderings about religion and professional football.  On to the game.

So we went inside and found our seats, then had a good time going down next to the field and taking some pictures.  Here is Spence, helping some of the team members to get warmed up:

Since the Bills were playing the New England Patriots, we got to watch the famous Tom Brady warming up:

Some of these guys are so huge.  Look at this dude that Spencer is facing.  Enormous!!

Dad, Ben, and me:

So then it was time to welcome the Bills onto the field:

Ben took like five thousand pictures of the Bills cheerleaders, who, I believe, are called the Buffalo Belles.  I deleted all but this one.  Seriously.  He used his zoom lens, and when they did a dance at some point, there are a billion pictures of them doing the kick line.  Sheesh.  Men.  Next time any of you see him, could you please punch him in the shoulder for me?  Thanks.

Spence taught us something cool - the players' numbers correspond to their height and weight.  The bigger the guy, the higher the number on his jersey.  You can tell from this picture the difference with the numbers and the height and weight of these guys:

This dude was a few rows in front of us, and it took us so long to figure out if he was a boy or a girl.  He was obviously wearing fake whiskers and hair.  But he had really feminine hands and an extremely slight build.  I thought for sure it was a girl, but then he finally turned around and we saw his adam's apple:

 A boy.  Who knew?

The Bills' quarterback, Fitzpatrick (Fitzwilliam?  I can't ever remember.  Fitz-something.)

Beads says these guys come to every game dressed in banana suits.  I thought that was funny. And probably really uncomfortable:

 Tom Brady in action:

 Spence in action:

The game was really exciting for the first half. The Bills were leading by several points.  But then, after halftime, the Patriots came back and kicked the Bills' butts soundly.  I wonder what the Patriots' coach said to them in there.  He must have really lit a fire under their butts.  So then the second half of the game got really boring and disappointing.  Mom even fell asleep:

 One of the Bills players tackling a Patriots receiver:

 And me and my Buffalo Belles-loving husband:

This was my first pro football game!  It was a riot.