I grew up in a home of major Buffalo Bills fans. My father and brother have season tickets and have been going to the games since my brother was little. Football was always on in my house and my brother played football. They even got my mom and I into it. I’m writing this to you on a victory Monday! The Buffalo Bills won their first playoff game yesterday against Jacksonville. My mom was texting me this morning about the next game, and she got me thinking about everything that the Buffalo Bills have taught me over the years. I want to share some of these valuable lessons with you that we can apply to our life:
Let’s start with the fact that they have taught me to never give up. Through all the ups and downs in life, just keep going. There will be wins and losses over time and we need to learn to ride the waves and keep going. We build resilience through this, and the Buffalo Bills are one of the most resilient teams. We need to always remember that our setbacks are not what define us. How we respond and push through is what truly matters. Their resilience (and their fans’ resilience) always impresses and inspires me.
Your true fans / friends will always be by your side through all the ups and downs. Friends get mad at each other. Everyone has seen fans yelling at the Bills from their couch. It doesn’t matter if they win or lose or how they play – true blue fans will always be by their side and will be loyal. This applies to our life too. Our true friends will always be by our side through the ups and downs, and we learn who our true friends are.
They teach us to Billieve in them and ourselves. They need to believe every day that they go out and play that they can do it. They can handle a tough game. They can handle winning or losing. We can handle the ups and downs in life, and the Bills are a wonderful example of this.
They teach us to play through the pain and work through it. I was listening to the commentator tell us that Josh had a bad ankle that he was playing with. I don’t necessarily think that they should play with injuries. I am not promoting that. I am promoting that when they get hurt, they tend to get back up and play. That is a wonderful example for us. When life gives you pain, you can work through it. You are going to get knocked down. Can you get back up? If they can then you can!
They show us how important community support is. Bills fans are known for their loyalty and support through thick and thin. That is the type of community that we all need. Lean on your village and know that you aren’t alone. The Bills aren’t alone and neither are you. They know that through the hard games and hard seasons that their Bills Mafia are there for them and makes it easier to go through.
They give us hope. We are always hopeful that they will have a great season and a great game. We hope that they will make great plays and have good teamwork to pull off the win. I hear Bills fans say, “this will be our year.” That is pure hope.
We all tend to go, go, go in our days. I love that the Bills game gives our entire community a reason to pause and sit and watch the game. We all miss football Sundays when it ends. It is a treat and so many people look forward to it.
They also bring people together. Look at all those people in the stadium together cheering them on. If people aren’t at the stadium they may be at a bar, at a friend’s house, or at their own house on the phone with fellow fans. Bills fans find each other in different cities. It is a great reason to throw a party and have people over. We all know what the water cooler conversation is at work the day after a game. I love walking around my community and seeing everyone in Bills gear. The best is when we go away wearing Bills clothes and people randomly yell, “Go Bills,” to us. It has become a greeting.
They teach us how to handle adversity. One of my favorite things about the Bills is their kindness and humility. They don’t tend to be sore losers. They are kind to the other team whether they win or lose. I love seeing how the teams treat each other. It’s not always a pretty sight but I tend to be proud of what I see from Buffalo’s end. Whatever life throws at you, be kind and humble through it. They are an excellent example of this.
You may not like this one, but the Bills have shown me that I never know what to expect. With one minute left I know that they may win and they may lose. A lot can happen in one minute. A lot of you aren’t going to agree with this but they teach me to go with the flow and see what happens. I thought to myself, “Our team may be finished for the season in a minute, but I have faith that they can pull this off.” I keep the faith, I ride the waves with them, and I learn that I truly never know what could happen.
The Bills show us that progress is not always going to be a straight line forward. They may take a few steps back before they go forward again. We can’t expect them to play perfectly every game and win every game. We know that they are humans who make mistakes. What we can expect from them is to:
Show up to every game. Minus major injuries, we know that they will show up. We know that their heart and commitment is in it and that is a wonderful example for all of us. After interviewing hundreds of experts about parenting, one line keeps coming up from all of them, “Just keep showing up.” Show up to parent. Show up to work. They need to show up and play the game. When we commit and are consistent, we tend to win in life.
They show me how important leadership is. They need Josh and their coaches to ground them and help them through high pressured situations. We can learn from this as parents. Our kids need us to be their calm grounded force to help them through life. A good leader can take their team far.
I notice that the team and the fans celebrate the small and big wins along the way. I want us all to take that with us as I conclude our lessons from the Bills. I want us to remember to celebrate all our wins whether they are big or small. Let’s hope that we can continue to celebrate the Bills wins through the season.
I try to get attached to the journey vs. the outcome. Let’s enjoy ourselves along the journey of life and through all the Bills games. Whether they win or lose, we are true-blue Bills fans. Be loyal. Be committed. Be consistent. Show up. Go Bills! I will always Billieve that they can do it!
Dedicated to my dad and brother. True blue Bills fans!!
Laughing, Learning, Loving,
Rebecca Greene, LCSW-R
Check out my 
:
Whinypaluza Notes:
Whinypaluza Mom Group:
If you are looking for a supportive community, come join the free Whinypaluza Mom Facebook group. I created this as I wanted us to have a place where we can talk about tips, strengths and challenges we are having. It is another step I took to help everyone to know that you are not alone. Come jump in and join us and bring a friend with you! I love to give away prizes. This group is private so please find me on Facebook at Whinypaluza or Rebecca Greene and message me to ask for an invite. I’m also on Instagram @becgreene5 pand @whinypaluza_mom. I am also on Tik tok @whinypaluzamom.
The Whinypaluza Schedule:
Whinypaluza Wednesdays: My weekly blog comes out every Wednesday. I am always open to your topic requests. A new Vlog (video blog) also comes out every Wednesday night on Facebook at 9:00 PM Eastern time to discuss the blog. If you would rather listen to a podcast than watch a Vlog, you can wait for the following Wednesday, and the Vlog is released on my Podcast.
Family Fridays: Every Friday morning a new Podcast is released. Most of my episodes on Fridays are me discussing parenting and marriage with experts on the topic. If you would rather watch the Podcast instead of listen, you can watch it on You Tube. If you would like to be on my Podcast or know someone who would like to please message me on Facebook or Instagram or at whinypaluzamom@gmail.com
I would greatly appreciate it if you would subscribe, rate my podcast and leave me a five-star review. This leads to it being shown to more people that we can help. I appreciate it when you share my blogs, vlogs and podcasts with a friend so that we can build our community and help people one mama at a time. Every time you like and/or comment on a post it helps and is so appreciated!
