Dan T. Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 So much to like about this feature article in the New York Times, about life as much as football... by Andrea Elliott ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Let’s start with the fact that my grandmother Evelyn Elliott is 107 years old. Add to this that she gave up driving only five years ago, can Skype from her iPad and rode out November’s blizzard stranded in the modest house where she has lived since 1932. Yet these are minor points of family lore when you consider how she spends her Sunday afternoons. The woman is a football fanatic. There is no visiting Grandma during a Buffalo Bills game unless you plan to sit in reverent silence — except if they score, at which point you will hear a faint centenarian whoop. And definitely don’t bother her with talk of brain injuries or domestic abuse scandals or cheerleaders who are not being paid. “I’m just about the game,” she says with the kind of steely resolve one gets after surviving two world wars and the Great Depression, among other calamities. If football is Grandma’s second religion (she has been known to miss church on big game days), then the Bills are her alternate parish, yielding an extended collection of great-grandchildren to be both heralded and scolded. No one runs faster than defensive back Aaron Williams, but if he misses an interception, she purses her lips. Others may be wowed by a new draft pick, but to Grandma, he is “still a rookie” who must carry his weight. Touchdowns are great and all, but if you want to impress her, pull off a Hail Mary pass. As one of six grandchildren reared within this prove-your-worth dynamic, I have long searched for a way to understand the inner workings of this woman’s mind. It finally struck me that football might be the route. So we headed to Ralph Wilson Stadium last Sunday for the Bills’ final home game of the season. “What are you thinking right now?” I asked her on the drive over. “You ask too many questions,” she replied. I HAVE INTERVIEWED militant jihadists, prosecutors, drug dealers and counterterrorism specialists at the Central Intelligence Agency. None of them prepared me for the challenge of extracting personal information from my grandmother. Rest: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/sports/football/at-107-a-buffalo-bills-fan-who-sees-it-all.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-middle-span-region®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region&_r=1 Grandma Evie and Jim Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointyfootball Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Great article. I've seen my two grandmothers (96 & 95) buried in past 2 years. What they had been able to see/experience in their lifetimes is amazing. What's really incredible about the above story is finding someone that age that into a sports team. My grandmas definitely were not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Enjoyed that. Always reminds me of the movie- Buffalo 66, when Christina Ricci goes to the house of the weird guy (Vincent Gallo) and his mother keeps watching the Buffalo Bills 66 championship game on VHS. She yells, even though she knows the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 5 star post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Thank you for posting this. I cheer for no other team but the Redskins, but I have a soft spot for the Bills because they seem to have that "hometown, our team" sort of feel to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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