Go Bills / Football Friday, Vol. 4

A week or two ago, Sunny and I were at Wal-Mart doing our grocery shopping. I was wearing an old Buffalo Bills T-shirt. Now, I am not, nor have I ever been, a Buffalo Bills fan. When I was in college, I went to this sports clothing store in the mall and this Bills shirt was on sale for $2. Like any other college kid, I had an eye for a deal, so I bought the shirt. I’ll still wear it when I mow the grass, play ball or — as luck would have it — go to the grocery store.

I’m walking through the dairy section, looking for some cottage cheese or something, when I notice this tall figure approaching me out of the corner of my eye. He walks up to me quickly, sticks his hand out and, with a huge grin on his face, says in a boisterous tone, “GO BILLS!”

I’m taken aback at first, forgetting that I’m wearing the shirt. Strange Man continues talking with unnerving enthusiasm and a distinct northern accent.

“My name’s Jim. I grew up just outside Buffalo. Are you from Bills country, too?”

“Uh, no, I grew up in Nashville.”

“Nashville? Tennessee? Wow, I didn’t know there were Bills fans that far south! How’d you end up a Bills fan?”

At this point, I was faced with a moral dilemma. Do I go along with the charade, pretending to be a Bills fan just to placate this poor, desperate soul who is just longing for some community, even if that community is comprised of just the two of us? Or do I crush this dude’s spirits, tell him I’m completely ambivalent toward his precious Bills and I only own the shirt because it was on sale for $2?

With Jim standing there before me with his eyes aglow at the prospect of finding another Bills fan on the dairy aisle all the way down here in Huntsville, Alabama….I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t break his heart like that. Here’s my answer to his question:

“Well, I always enjoyed playing with the Bills on Tecmo Bowl.”

Now this was true. I did enjoy playing with the Bills on Tecmo Bowl. Jim just stood there for a second, dumbfounded, and then continued to tell me about growing up going to Bills games, how work had brought him to the south and how he hoped to take his son to a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium someday soon. I wished him well and as we parted ways, he turned back around as he neared the eggs and said, once again, “GO BILLS!”

Go Bills, indeed, Jim.
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All right, on to the football picks. After an 8-1 tally last week, I’m standing at 44-11 on the season. Nice.

I’ll begin with this week’s SEC games. First, the throwaways:
Bama will roll over Duke.
Mississippi State will be crushed by West Virginia.
Spurrier’s Gamecocks will defeat Kentucky.

I’m honestly torn on Vandy vs. Ole Miss. Originally, I picked Ole Miss to win this one, but I think I’m going to make an about-face here. Vandy has looked decent all season and they look to be the more disciplined team. I can’t believe I’m picking Vandy to win an SEC game on the road.

Arkansas at Auburn will be close. I see the Hogs giving Auburn a fight, but the Tigers are just too talented. AU will pull away late. Auburn wins 31-17.

Two premiere games are on tap Saturday:
LSU at Florida should be quite a doozy. The Gators begin the gauntlet portion of their season, playing LSU, Auburn and Georgia their next three games. LSU continues to look like a powerhouse. This one could honestly go either way. I’d love to see the Gators lose, as it would help out my Vols. But playing at the Swamp could be the deciding factor here. Reluctantly, I’ll say Gators by a hair.

The game I’m most concerned about, as always, is the Tennessee game. This week we travel to Athens to play the Georgia Bulldogs. Early on, I picked Georgia to win this one, but the past few weeks have caused me to change my mind. Georgia has looked very beatable the past two weeks and the Vols continue to click on offense under the direction of David Cutcliffe. I know it’s tough to win on the road in our conference, but I like the boys in orange to get it done this week. My prediction: 28-20, Vols win.

This week’s prime time NFL games are pretty tasty, too. Sunday night’s showdown pits the reeling Pittsburgh Steelers against the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers lost a tough one last week to Baltimore while the Steelers are trying to not start the season 1-3. Sorry, Bill Cowher, but you’re not going to get a win this week. San Diego is one of the premiere franchises in the league right now, with an awesome defense and a surprisingly solid O. Until Big Ben regains his mojo, the Steelers are going to struggle to put points on the board. Chargers win.

Monday night’s Baltimore / Denver game should be another good one. The Ravens are a surprising 4-0 after a last minute win against the Chargers last week. Denver stands at 2-1 and they’re playing at home. At some point, the Ravens have to lose a game. Might as well be this week. Broncos over the Birds.

Finally, in honor of Jim, I’ll add the Bills / Bears game to my picks this week. The Bears look to be the best team in the NFL at this point after rolling over the Seahawks last week. But maybe Jim’s enthusiasm is contagious. It’ll be hard for the Bears to get up after last week’s big time win. Maybe, just maybe, the Bills get the Bears at the right time. This one’s for you, Jim. I’m picking the Bills in a big time upset. I might even wear my shirt.