By Wes Sagurney
After 52 years, the Bills are finally moving on from their current arena, Highmark Stadium. Bills fans and players have lived through the good, bad, and ugly in this stadium. Which moments in this stadium are most important? Is the new stadium a bad idea? Answers to all these questions are in this article.
Good Moments
Many good games and events have happened at Highmark throughout the years. One of the best moments was the tearing down of the goalposts versus the Dolphins in 1980. The context behind this moment was a 20-game losing streak against the Miami Dolphins.
The Bills didn't beat the Dolphins at all throughout the entire decade of the 1970s. The Bills played the Dolphins for the first time in the 1980 season and pulled off a miraculous victory, scoring two touchdowns late in the game, leading to a 17-7 win. After the game, Bills fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. Another great moment in Highmark was “The Comeback.” This occurred in 1993 when the Bills’ quarterback, Jim Kelly, went down with an injury. Backup QB Frank Reich stepped in. In the first half, things looked bleak. At one point, the Oilers held a 35-3 lead. The Bills were able to flip the script and send the game to OT. After a battle in Overtime, the Bills overcame adversity by winning the game 41-38.
Bad Moments
Although the Bills have been one of the best in the NFL for the past few seasons, it doesn’t mean that they haven't been through some rough moments. One of the worst was the time known as the “dark period” from the years 2000-2016. The Bills failed to make the playoffs and fell to either 3rd or 4th in the division every year. The Bills even finished last in the division for 6 straight years from 2008-2013. It wasn't until 2017 that the Bills were able to snap the drought by finally making the playoffs. Although this rough history seems horrible, most bad Bills moments happened on the road, some of these include the Hail Murray, 13 Seconds, and a couple of playoff losses.
Is the Bills' New Stadium a Good Idea?
In my opinion, the Bills' stadium is a good idea due to the fact that the field should keep players from having as many injuries because of a state-of-the-art grass field being put in.
Another pro is that 50% or more of fans will be covered from the elements during snow and rain games. The only con is that you can't replace thousands of memories made in that historical stadium throughout the years. Though Highmark might not live in a few years, the memories every Bills fan has made there will live on forever.