I can’t believe what I just read

Stunned.  Shocked.  Flabbergasted, even.

I just finished reading Jerry Sullivan’s column from today’s yesterday’s Buffalo News, and I have to say that I am first of all stunned about almost everything in the column, and am actually proud to have him echo many of the sentiments about which I have written over my five years here at BfloBlog.

I’ve been getting soft on Jerry for about eight months now, and I’m not sure why.  I think he has become more “humanized” to me in a few ways lately.  First of all, I know him.  We live in the same neighborhood and our kids once went to the same school.  We’ve been introduced by mutual friends on multiple occasions.  He doesn’t know I do this, but I sense he doesn’t have any clue what blogs are anyway.  Second, his radio show on WGR has made him seem more like a regular guy.  He talks about his kids, his girlfriend and his life.  Third, I have a very good friend who is a reporter at the News, and he and Jerry are good friends.  And I always think, “well, if he’s friends with Sullivan, how bad can Jerry really be?”

Also, I think Jerry is getting soft.  Or to state it in a better and more accurate way, he may finally be starting to figure out Buffalo after 20 years of living here.  He’s been through some huge life changes over the last three years, and I think (and this is just idle speculation here) he’s having a hard time reconciling his a-hole writer persona with his genuinely good guy real-life persona.

Sometimes I wonder why people bother, why Buffalo fans continue to support this team despite the losing and the chronic dysfunction of upper management. But on a day like Sunday, when people could just as easily have stayed home, you were reminded that for a die-hard Bills fan, every game has meaning.

Sometimes, even I need to be reminded of this.  And I’m the guy who claims to be the voice of the true fan.

You see a community demonstrate that sort of unconditional support for a team. You know there are countless thousands of others, scattered around the country and across the globe, following this flawed franchise by any means possible. And you have one overpowering thought: These people deserve better.

Shameless pandering?  I doubt it, because it’s not Sullivan’s style.  Maybe a light came on in his head.  Maybe he had some sort of revelation.  Maybe he finally started listening to his critics instead of rushing headlong into an argument with them in order to defend his “I’m sooooo neutral” positions.  Or maybe, just maybe, Sully’s heart grew three sizes that day.

Look, I’m not expecting Sullivan to suddenly turn into Stan Fischler and start writing homer columns that root, root, root for the home team.  But it would be nice if he started rooting for the fans who read his columns and buy his paper.

So here’s to you, Jerry.  You’ve taken your fair share of shit on this blog, so you deserve praise for getting it right.