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It’s what the Buffalo Bills are most known for nationally – losing four consecutive Super Bowls. During the early 1990s when the team was in the midst of the four straight losses, they were the butt of all the late night comedians’ jokes. All of the “wide right” jokes and the initials B.I.L.L.S. standing for Boy I Love Losing Superbowls; the Hemlich maneuver “choking”  posters with the Bills’ logo on them, etc. If you’re a Bills’ fan, it was painful. Looking back, however, the people who really understand the game never laughed at the Bills for the losses, rather, they respected them for completing the journey. Four straight trips to the big game, never accomplished before or since. I distinctly remember a quote from Mike Ditka, referring to the team being labeled a loser – “you’re never a loser until you stop trying”. Certainly, the Bills never stopped trying.

Scott Norwood

 

Scott Norwood, the kicker who was wide right on the game-ending field goal attempt in Super Bowl XXV, has always been the poster child for the Bills’ losing reputation. But I’ve stated it before, blaming him for the loss, when his career history clearly showed the 47 yard kick was at the top end of his range and was a 50% prospect at best, is not accurate. Norwood was a major reason why the Bills were in the Super Bowl to begin with. If you’ve seen any replays of the game, then it should be clear that there were a lot of other contributors to the loss. To his credit, Norwood handled the loss with class and dignity, and the true fans of the team never really blamed him.

Don Beebe

 

Sorting through the carnage of the Bills’ Super Bowl failures, there were a lot of examples of the team’s “circle the wagons” mentality, of their never-give-up attitude, and the one that stands out the most is Don Beebe’s running down of Dallas’ Leon Lett, knocking the ball out of his hands as he prepared to celebrate a sure fumble recovery touchdown. The Bills were losing, 52-17 at the time and Beebe had no business hustling like he did to complete the play. But the fact that he did became a focal point for fans, a teaching moment for parents to instill in their children to never give up, no matter how long the odds against you or how embarrassing the situation you’re in. It was a gratifying moment, a few years later, that Beebe was able to get a Super Bowl ring, while winding down his career playing in Green Bay. It was poetic justice, a win for a good guy who years earlier showed the heart of a Super Bowl champion even though his team didn’t win.

 

Jim Kelly

 

As the quarterback, and field general, of the Bills’ offense throughout the era that included the four Super Bowl losses, Jim Kelly shoulders most of the blame for those losses. In fact, he didn’t play very well in 3 of the games, and was injured in one of them. Despite the losses, people who know football didn’t blame Kelly or label him a loser. Instead, he was a first ballot Hall of Famer, the ultimate sign of respect for a player. Kelly’s ability was always unquestioned. His toughness was admired. He was a throwback to an earlier era, when quarterbacks were still legitimate football players. And although the fact that he never managed to win that elusive Super Bowl ring probably is a thorn in his side, I believe the losses did a lot to prepare him for challenges he would face later in his life. They gave him perspective. The Super Bowls, ultimately, were just football games, and their importance paled in comparison to what he and his family went through with his young, ailing son. As for his on-the-field accomplishments, I think it’s important to point out that although he never won the Super Bowl, he got his team there four times, and did it in games that included playoff victories over Dan Marino,  John Elway and Joe Montana.