The Joy of Traveling… and the Buffalo Bills
By Mark Nagi
Regular readers of this column know how much I enjoy traveling. We as a people are not meant to be stagnant. While centuries ago, mankind traveled to avoid being eaten by dinosaurs, we now travel for fun and fellowship.
Considering that most of my interests revolve around sports, I thought that heading north to see an NFL playoff game was a terrific idea.
So, I used up some frequent flyer miles that had been burning a whole in my pocket and secured a Friday morning flight to Buffalo.
Slight problem. The airplane wasn’t working properly. Of course, it is better that they figured out the problem with a door that wouldn’t close before take-off than after we had left the ground, so I’m not complaining too much.
Well, not about that part. The complaining comes because that delay cost me two hours. Then, when we landed in Washington, D.C., there was a plane at our gate, which forced us to sit on the tarmac another 45 minutes. That forces us to miss our flight to Buffalo.
To make a long story short, we ended up getting to our final destination five hours late.
I’ve already contacted the airline to complain (none of the issues were weather related) and they’ve offered me 5000 frequent flyer miles as an apology, which is probably about $50 off a future flight… on an airline I’m not happy with at the moment.
I still love to travel… even if the actual traveling part is now the equivalent of a cramped, expensive bus ride. Thanks for letting me vent. This saved me the co-pay for my therapist.
Things started turning around when we walked through the Buffalo Airport. Everywhere you looked there were Buffalo Bills colors and logos and flags and helmets. I’ve said multiple times before that if the SEC is ever to expand into professional football, the Bills should be their first selection.
Does that sound ridiculous? Sure does. You know what else is ridiculous? California and Pittsburgh playing in the same conference. UCLA and Rutgers playing in the same conference. There is no more normalcy in American sports.
On Sunday we watched the Bills play the Denver Broncos in the AFC Wild Card playoffs. Both franchises have been home to Tennessee Volunteers alums of the recent past. Think Peerless Price and Shawn Bryson on the Bills, and of course Peyton Manning on the Broncos.
Before the game I had the chance to tailgate with some ole college friends of mine. I was fraternity brothers with Tony and Matt some 30+ years ago. Sports helps keep those connections alive.
The game itself was fairly uneventful. Buffalo QB Josh Allen led the Bills to a 31-7 victory, as the drive to Buffalo’s first Super Bowl victory in team history continues.
With the Tennessee Volunteers out of the College Football Playoff pretty early, the pro game takes more of the football attention span… at least it does for me. The NFL might be an infallible organization, but it isn’t nearly as entertaining as the college game. That said, Buffalo is as close to a Knoxville type experience as it gets. I look forward to those Bills games almost as much as I do a Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
And come mid-February, we will be more than six months away from any real football.
Enjoy the games while you can.
