Goodbye and Thank You

Today the Bills will play what is almost certainly their last game in Highmark Stadium.

For over 50 years this place - Rich Stadium / Ralph Wilson Stadium / New Era Field / Highmark Stadium has been the home of joy, celebration, laughter, and heartbreak for the people in Western New York and beyond.

It has been home to some of the best memories of my life. Memories with my Dad, my good friends and now my family.

This stadium is big, simple and friendly. And while we may not have always realized it, so much about it made it the perfect place for the people of Western New York to create their memories.

Growing up, we parked in the “mud lot” - an affectionate name given to a huge field in the backyard of a home on Big Tree Road. Like most lots, the mud lot had its own community - it felt like all of our town was there in the back right corner.

Walking to the stadium from mud lot was sometimes an event itself. It originally involved crossing a very small stream - just a few feet wide. Some would jump over, others would use the wooden plank - and sometimes the most drunk would fall in, often getting laughed at by their friends as the rest of us streamed by.

While most NFL stadiums are towering ovals of steel, Highmark is low, open and inviting as you approach.

On the inside, the concourses are narrow and cramped. In winter, the steady low thud of boots, combined with the swish of snowpants created a distinct soundtrack I will never forget.

The men's bathrooms had communal stainless steel trough urinals, along with communal stainless steel sinks. The difference between the two wasn't always clear - so much so that “Do Not Urinate in Sink” had to be stenciled on the wall.

The "mud lot" - early 200s

For years a huge Marlboro billboard towered over the stadium just below the scoreboard.

Early on, the scoreboard featured a black and white “video screen” that in reality was a grid of 40 watt bulbs. Once or twice a game they would muster up enough computing power to show a black and white replay - which was a big deal back then. The replay would only last a few seconds, and each subsequent replay got worse and worse as 20% of the bulbs would be out by the end of the game. In the late 80s it was replaced by a larger color version of this - it could do lots of graphics but I don't believe we had true video until some point in the 90s.

A few times per game the PA stadium would play "Day-O" in a call and response sequence with fans. And slow and low "Miiiighyyyyy Taaacooo Miiiighyyyyy Taaacooo" commercials were classic.

There was always a moment of excitement as you left the dark, drab concourse and were greeted by the bright green field below. For years, the events on that field connected my Dad and I. Some of the memories are of the games and the celebrations, and others of the other pieces of the event surrounding them.

When I was young I remember my quiet relief after my dad made it inside without security finding his 2 hidden cans of Genny Light. Fair to say he was a bit of a cheapskate. The parking lot we used accepted Canadian money at par - an effort to attract Canadians to their parking lot. My dad saw this as an opportunity and would stock up on Canadian cash before the season so he could pay $15 Canadian instead of $15 American each week.

A somewhat traumatic memory happened after a Monday night game around 1982. My 9 year old self was squeezed into a car with my Dad and 5 of his friends. As we tried to leave the parking lot, a group of well-lubricated guys walking in front of us wouldn't move out of the way. My Dad's friend was driving and after a quick honk produced no reaction, he decided that they might be more likely to move aside if he tapped them with his bumper. Bad idea.

Before we knew it, a group of 30 year old drunks were pounding on the car, opening the doors and taking swings at six 50+ year old men and a 9 year old kid. Fortunately for us, when they moved to open our doors they were no longer in front of the car and we sped away from the scene.

It makes me laugh to think that somewhere out there are a group of 75 year old guys reminiscing about the time some @sshole bumped them with his car and they went to town on them.

My Parents in 1978 - front row looking thrilled

Early 90s Playoff Game

2024- Full Circle

I've been lucky enough to witness and celebrate some great games with my dad, my friends, my family and complete strangers.

There was the 35-3 comeback vs the Oilers, the 51-3 stomping of the Raiders in the first AFC Championship game and the Flutie miracle vs Jacksonville. The feeling of leaving the stadium after a big or dramatic win was electric - the yells, the chants and high fiving strangers while fast-walking to the car to avoid traffic.

My son and I went to the playoff game vs the Ravens last year, and I'll never forget the look on his face after Mark Andrews dropped the pass that sealed our win. And last week I was giddy on the inside as my daughter insisted she wanted to go to the Eagles game despite the 35 degree and rainy weather.

The first game I remember attending was the opening game of the 1980 season - the Bills beat the Dolphins for the first time in 20 tries and the fans stormed the field and took down the goalposts. Imagine the reaction today if NFL fans tore down the goalposts after the opening game of the season.

When we won the AFC East vs the Dolphins in 1990, the fans again took down the goalposts. I went to the game with my future brother in law who understandably didn't want to upset my stern father with news of me storming the field. So I jealously watched as hundreds poured by me down the aisle and onto the field.

The coldest game was a 1994 playoff game vs the Raiders - 0 degrees with a windchill of -32. After a bad semester at college, my Dad told me he wouldn't take me to the game. My path to a ticket was selling handwarmers in the parking lot - mostly to men whose wives wanted to go home before they had even entered the gates. My dad was both annoyed I made it in, but also impressed at how I did it.

It wasn't just football in the stadium. Everyone from the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynard, Michael Jackson and The Who played there. In 2000 country star Kenny Chesney was famously arrested for stealing a horse from a Sheriff's Department deputy.

For me there was a Grateful Dead concert the day after I graduated from High School and a wild 1992 Guns n Roses - Metallica - Faith no More concert I will never forget.

During the break between Metallica and Guns n Roses - a small food fight in a corner of the stadium slowly grew, becoming total chaos as the entire stadium (at least those hadn't run to the contest for safety) started throwing anything they could get their hands on. Once the 18 inch in diameter industrial toilet paper rolls started launching from the upper deck, the board operators moved into action, calling the crowd with videos of women in the stands flashing the camera.

Next September, the Bills will move into their new home across the street from the Stadium they've been in since 1973.

The new $2 Billion facility will be an upgrade from top to bottom. The fans will be closer. The seats will be more comfortable, the scoreboards bigger and the food will be better.

It will be great, but it won't be the same.