I’m glad the 25th anniversary of Super Bowl XXV is over so the national “let’s pretend the Buffalo Bills won Super Bowl XXV” campaign can end. The Bills team of the early 1990’s has a legacy of determination, resiliency and talent that will never be diminished, so Bills fans can be proud of what is, not what if.
Ironically, three years ago on this very web site I wrote a “What if the Bills won Super Bowl XXV” article. But, to see it done again in “Four Falls of Buffalo” and on CBS Sunday was redundant for me. I am also a bit surprised that Kelly, Thomas, Levy, Tasker and Smith went along with the latest make believe feature done before Super Bowl 50. Maybe 25 years is enough time to forget the sting and have a little fun with yourself on a national stage.
It is really remarkable that a team that never won a Super Bowl continues to be on the national media radar as much as the Bills. The Vikings lost four Super Bowls and you never see their history being dredged up, although their losses were not consecutive.
Perhaps the number of HOF players that Bills team produced has something to do with the continued fascination, or Jim Kelly’s courageous battle against cancer, which gained national attention. Or maybe it’s just that the fog of time has only left admiration for a group of men who continued to get up despite being knocked down time and again.
I don’t believe that those players and their fans get even an ounce of consolation when playing “make believe”, no matter how well done. The “Four Falls of Buffalo” was very well constructed and edited, but honestly, I wasn’t crazy about the video magic at the end that made it appear that Norwood’s kick was good. CBS went even farther and optically changed the path of the ball, which looked cool, but for me only scratched open a scab that just won’t heal.
I’m pretty sure that Super Bowl 51 will not resurrect Super Bowl XXVI again for Bills nation. The heart breaking loss of XXV made that loss unique among the four suffered by the Bills. So, I will be fine with the real history the Buffalo Bills and can do without revisionist history, no matter how fun or high tech the redo is done.
Filed under: Koshinski's Korner
Tagged with: Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills, CBS, ESPN, Jim Kelly, Marv Levy, Steve Tasker, Super bowl XXV, Thurman Thomas
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