The Bills need more than luck in London
I'm starting today's blog with the lyrics to an old jazz standard “A Foggy Day in London Town” with just two small edits – which I have underlined.
A foggy day in London Town....had me low and had me down. I viewed the morning with alarm...The Buffalo Bills had lost their charm. How long, I wondered, could this thing last? But the age of miracles hadn't passed, for suddenly, I saw them there, and through foggy London Town the sun was shining everywhere.
A lot of fans will be viewing this upcoming Sunday morning game in London with some alarm and maybe even a sense of impending doom. With all the injuries they have incurred, the Bills players are like the walking dead, or maybe they’re just dead men walking - a euphemism for anyone who is facing an impending and unavoidable loss.
No matter what you call them, they are banged up pretty good and have definitely lost their "charm." All the boasting and bragging have now turned into second guessing and finger pointing.
The lyrics in the song ask the question: How long, you wonder, could this thing last? The answer to that question can only be determined at Wembley Stadium this Sunday. Good coaches and good players find a way to win, even when the chips - called french fries in London - are down.
So how do they get their swagger back?
Eating a box of lucky charms won’t get it done, although it has worked pretty good for Cam Newton.
Catching a Leprechaun, who will show them the way to their pot of gold (the playoffs) at the end of the rainbow, won’t cut it either.
How about four leaf clovers plucked from the Royal Garden at Buckingham Palace and tucked into a horseshoe - then tucked into their pants?
Or maybe they could borrow some of the "Netsuke" from the British Museum collection which includes around 3,300 of these good luck charms - some carved in the form of the mythical beast the Kirin, which had a human face and beard, two horns, a domed lump on its forehead and cloven hooves. That sounds a lot like a Buffalo to me - but it still won't help unless they can make it jump off their helmets and do some blocking.
As a former player for the Buffalo Bills, I never believed that luck alone would be the main factor in a game and I never wore a Netsuke or any other type of good luck charm. I had routines and things that you might call "rituals" that I went through before the start of every game - as most players do.
In my case, I had to have everything on my uniform just right. Socks at a certain height; Wrist bands with the Bills logo up; Belt at the same numbered hole; Chin strap perfectly centered. My uniform was "fung shui" all the way. But, as Steve Wonder would say, "When you believe in things that you don't understand, then you suffer, Superstition ain't the way" so my pre-game routine didn't end with just suiting up. In my mind, I would go over everything I had practiced that week, so that when it came time for the game, I wouldn't have to think as much and therefore I could react quicker and rely on my instincts - which are "an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in response to certain stimuli" as Webster's Dictionary defines it. I know that sounds very Darwinian - but trust me, I do believe in a higher power - one that gives us free will and allows us to create our own destiny. And so I would say a prayer before I hit the field - asking for a good personal performance and for the health and safety of me and my teammates. I had some good days..... and some not so good days in the performance category, but as far as the health and safety part of my prayers - that didn't seem to get answered on too many occassions.
I don't really know if any of my prayers were actualy answered and I don't believe that God is performing any miracles to determine the outcomes of games - unless you want to count the 1981 Hail Mary that was caught by Roland Hooks to beat the New England Patriots (Just kidding of course). Here's a link to that unbelievable - and very lucky - victory. Go to the 1 hr, 10 minute and 20 second point of the video and you will see that God Loves the Bills and hates the Patriots. (Again, just kidding)
The Foggy Day song tells us that the age of miracles hasn’t passed, but if the Bills players and coaches can’t find a way to get out of London with a win, they’re going to need something miraculous to happen in order to make the playoffs this year.
There's only one way the Bills can make that happen....... and I’m sorry to say that Jesus will not intervene on their behalf. So if they do win, I hope the players don’t thank God for the victory, but instead thank their teammates, their coaches and that they remembered their six P’s - Perfect Practice Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
That’s right. If the Bills players and coaches want to walk away with a W, it won’t be because their prayers were answered, or they wore a lucky charm, or performed a superstitious ritual, or anything else - other than straight up hard work, mental preparation and a "never say die" type of attitude and determination to win the game.
Well, that's my tuppence (two cents in Britain) and you can take that to the Bank - or you can use it to feed the birds!
btw: Here’s my solo guitar rendition of “A Foggy Day in London Town.” Like the song, I hope it brings a ray of sunshine "through the fog" to everyone who hears it. Go Bills!
