A Stadium Goodbye

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 team and for the people of Western New York to create their memories.

The suburban location means much of the tailgating happens in dozens of backyards - big and small - who on gameday transform from homes to tailgate centers.

The atmosphere of tailgating on grass in a backyard is entirely different than parking between the lines in a stadium parking lot. In a “backyard” the scene, the feeling is natural - not forced.

Growing up, we parked and tailgated 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.

1978 - My Mom and Dad in front (looking thrilled)

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

But 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.

There was always a moment of excitement as you left the dark, drab concourse and were greeted by the bright green field below.

An early 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 was pounding on the car, opening the doors and taking swings at six 50+ year old men and a 9 year old kid. Luckily 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 asshole bumped them with his car and they went to town on them.

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

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.

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.

In college, tailgating in the snow with a group of 10-15 of us

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. 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 1993 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 concourse 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, quelling the crowd with videos of women in the stands flashing the camer

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 fans will be closer.

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

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