Sometimes, even though the Bills didn't make it, the NFL postseason comes as a bit of a relief to Buffalo football fans. Sure, they don't get the excitement of seeing their team make a run at the Lombardi trophy, but at least they don't have to feel the continuing sting and ridicule of defeat.
On Wednesday, we had to feel kicked again by none other than the league's perennial pretty boy Tom Brady.
Sports columnist Jerry Sullivan was in Indianapolis covering the circus of insanity that precedes the Super Bowl when he heard a juicy little tidbit from Brady. The Hall-of-Fame-bound quarterback was remarking on how his dad comes to see him play all the time, even in wintry Buffalo.
Then he said something he'll regret until he remembers the fact that he is filthy stinking rich and married to a Brazilian supermodel: he insulted Buffalo's hotels.
"I don't know if you guys have ever been to the hotels in Buffalo," Brady said to the waiting media barracuda, "but they're not the nicest places in the world."
Brady then jokingly told the audience not to write that, as it would "get him in trouble."
Obviously, with an invitation like that, people had to immediately report it.
Almost as soon as he said it, the flaming ensued. The story spread all over Facebook and Twitter, and some big names got in on the Brady-hate bandwagon. Ed Healy, Vice President of Visit Buffalo Niagara mentioned some of the finer Buffalo hotels, including the Mansion on Delaware Avenue.
Even Senator Chuck Schumer threw his two cents in, telling Brady to ask Rob Gronkowski how great Buffalo is. In short, people were pissed.
But here's a thought: Who really cares?
Firstly, we should be used to this. Many other times, professional athletes have used Buffalo as a working punch line to a joke or just felt like ripping on our city. The image they see of Buffalo, albeit a small slice, is not a pretty one. A trip down Kensington past vacant buildings covered in spray paint greets them, and a very generic hotel ends up being their destination.
That's right, we said it. The hotel they stay at is not at the level that NFL players are used to. Sure, there are nice hotels like the Mansion, but they can't hold enough people to even be considered for a massive team.
On that note, why do we give a rat's ass what pretty boy Brady has to say about our hotels? We aren't Las Vegas or New York City. We're a small city, and we don't need to build a massive five star hotel to pamper whiny athletes. There are better things to focus our resources on. Maybe it will remind them what it is to live like a normal human being for a little while.
Buffalo fans are some of the most devoted in the world. We know our team, we know our sports, and even though we might not win we stick with our guys. That's probably why we get so sensitive when someone makes a crack about our city or our team. We feel like an attack on our city is an attack on us.
Don't take it personally. Times are hard, and it's been a long time since we've seen the NFL postseason promised land, but we will continue to do what we do best: keep on working and help each other up when we're down even when it's tough.
That's something Boston and Brady can't take from us.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
