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Seventeen playoff appearances, ten division titles, four conference championships, zero Super Bowl wins.
On Saturday, the first of 32 teams opened training camp in Rochester, New York.
Established 1959 by owner Ralph Wilson, the Buffalo Bills have yet to win the Super Bowl since the AFL-NFL Merger.
Is this the year they circle the wagons?
It is Wilson who will be enshrined a week from today with a newly minted plaque placed on the wall in Canton, but it is the ring that will be omitted when his presenter, Chris Berman, runs down the list of his accomplishments.
In a move that shocked most everyone, Wilson took an unorthodox approach during the off-season with his decision to sign the controversial Terrell Owens.
It is Owens who will likely share that Hall of Fame platform one day with Wilson, who has been entrusted as the man to deliver what they both crave most.
“The sky’s the limit. This is my 14th year. I come into every year planning to win, so it’s no different than me being here or anywhere else.” The man known as T.O. declared on the first day of camp.
While their personalities might be light-years apart, the 35-year old Owens and 92-year old Wilson share one thing in common- neither has ever won The Big One.
With large crowds packed on both sides of the field and his own personal fan following, the star wide out has brought a little bit of Hollywood to upstate New York.
The arrival of the T.O. Show has also brought raised expectations. “I suspect that it probably does because we get a lot more scrutiny from everybody,” Head coach Jauron admitted. “From our fans, from people that weren’t our fans before, they’re watching us now.”
Even his new quarterback, Trent Edwards concurred with the lofty goals set heading into 2009. “The expectations are sky-high right now, I don’t see why we can’t be playing deep into January and February, that’s the goal right now and that’s what we’re preparing to do.”
And so together, Wilson, Owens and his quarterback, lead those Buffalo Bills on the journey that has eluded the organization for oh so long.
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