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Skeptical Of Cult-Like Culture

Breaking news: The Buffalo Bills have earned a spot in the NFL playoffs. Upon returning to Buffalo at roughly 2 in the morning the team was met with hundreds of hysterical fans packed behind a gate to congratulate them. Josh Allen took a selfie with the group which now hangs in the Albright Knox art museum in Buffalo. Egads.

I trust I am not the only one who finds sports fanaticism on this level to be slightly disturbing. Whether it is sports, politics, or pop culture I am skeptical of cult-like behavior which, forgive me, is the only way to describe the so-called “Bills Mafia.” Never mind the glorification of the term Mafia which refers to organized crime and bloodshed by extension.

I am aware this all may sound a bit pretentious, condescending, holier-than-thou. I am a Bills fan. I’ve been rooting for them since I was a little kid. I am pleased that I will get to enjoy watching them in the playoffs with friends. Regardless, they are not worth jumping through a flaming table or going shirtless in freezing temperatures. The whole production is bizarre, even dystopian to me.

What does it say about our culture and our priorities that we’ve invested so much of ourselves into a game which exists primarily to generate advertising revenue? Is it really a good thing to idolize and obsess over a corporation run by billionaires, comprised of millionaires, who happen to be good at football?

Take a step back and look at these giant NFL complexes, funded in part by taxpayers, filled with screaming grown men wearing face paint and chicken wing hats. Sports have great value as an escape from the occasionally exhausting drudgery of everyday life. There is no escaping, though, if the franchise we favor torments us by their every move.

This company has great power when literally referred to as “we.” “We” won, “we” stink, “we” got screwed. No. We did not do anything. They are just a business like any other trying to make a fortune and it is much easier when we identify so blindly with them. The fans who play fantasy, purchase outrageously priced tickets, buy 12-dollar beer and expendable merchandise are responsible for athletes’ salaries dwarfing those of nurses, doctors, the military, and teachers.

Perhaps there are other things in our lives worthy of such passionate, undying loyalty. I don’t know exactly what that is for anyone else but we should all get to decide for ourselves. We only have so much mental energy and the Bills or any other team do not deserve the lion’s share of it. Go Bills!

Derek Smith is a Frewsburg native.

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