2024-01-24 00:30:00
The Quebec chapter of the Bills Mafia sees one of its great leaders take the plogue. Not regarding the team that still resides in his heart, but rather regarding the legendary pre-matches that he has organized for 34 years. “It’s over for the tailgates, but I’m not dropping the Bills pantoute!”, Bob Genest vigorously specifies.
• Read also: Bills: fans generous with their kicker
• Read also: The Bills, damned for eternity
Last Sunday, his Bills experienced another heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, scoring 27-24 once morest the Chiefs in Buffalo. For the team’s loyal fans, it’s the continuation of an endless curse.
Still wearing his white Bills helmet, the friendly Bob Genest refuses to give up, even if this defeat, the third in four years in the playoffs at the hands of the Chiefs, is hard to swallow.
“It’s always disappointing because in Buffalo, we invent ways to lose. There are a lot of people who blame it on the kicker [Tyler Bass, qui a raté un placement de 44 verges en fin de match], but in reality, it was two or three missed plays that changed the shape of the match. It’s another good year lost,” he laments.
The end of an era
No question of renouncing his eternal oath of allegiance to the Bills, therefore, but the time has come to support the team in another way.
Since 1989, Bob Genest has become a sort of legendary figure for many football fans for his unparalleled hospitality before Bills games.
His increasingly popular tailgates attract dozens of Quebec fans every week who spread the word. To the point where the beast became too much to handle.
“I’ve been thinking regarding it for a long time. Having won on Sunday, I wouldn’t have made this announcement, but basically, I was there. The tailgate event has become bigger than the game.
“In the 1990s, I had time to organize all that. Now there’s a queue, there are so many people to serve! It ends when I get to my seat and I don’t always see the warm-up. It’s a bit of a shock for people who have come often, but I’ve given enough,” he sums up.
Bob Genest, flanked by many Bills supporters and the Quebec flag. Photo Stéphane Cadorette
Always present
Fear not, soldiers of the Bills Mafia! Bob Genest is not regarding to give up his numerous season tickets, which he will continue to sell. The 59-year-old self-employed worker from Blainville, who manages mobile canteens, will simply no longer be the first to arrive and the last to leave, as quarterbacks do on a team.
In the long run, we can understand that this whole operation wears out his man, as well as his partner Hélène, who is as busy as him in the pots and on the grill.
During the last season, Bob Genest estimates having concocted approximately 120 pounds of chili, nearly 4,000 meatballs and numerous other provisions for some 980 hungry people.
Like everywhere else, inflation has also pushed him to question himself.
“The price of food keeps increasing and I can’t charge people excessively for that,” he argues.
“If someone wants to continue the tailgate events, great,” he says.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BOB GENEST
Unforgettable memories
In recent months, a Facebook page titled Bob Buffalo Bills Tickets et Tailgate was created. It already has 936 members, which led Bob to believe that the number of meatballs to be shaped was not going to decrease in the years to come.
However, he does not hide the fact that next September, the desire to resume organizing tailgates may itch him a bit.
No question of giving in, however. This “retirement” seems definitive.
“It’s certain that in September, it will work on me a little, but I’m there. It allowed me to create friendships that have lasted all these years. There were people who came at the beginning with their children. Today, these children bring their children. For me, that’s my pay,” he concludes, hammering home his message one last time, just to make sure he’s understood.
“That won’t change, I will always stand behind the Bills.”
The next generation is already ready with Bob Genest’s granddaughters, Alycia and Sofia. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BOB GENEST
5 MARKET MEMORIES
Bills legends
One of the things Bob Genest has enjoyed over the years is being able to meet Bills legends. “We met lots of great players like Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Darryl Talley… We met Marv Levy. We saw the Bills owners and they took us out on the field and showed us around the locker room. We were there for Jim Kelly’s number to be retired. That’s something!”
Huge tailgates
Even though he is used to tailgates, Bob Genest can hardly forget two events. “Six or seven years ago, I served 243 people before a game once morest the Steelers. I had a lot of friends in Pittsburgh. I still remember that it took all my time, but with lots of people helping, it was very special. In Laval before leaving for an Alouettes game, I already had 493 people.”
The Immortal Doug Flutie
Bob Genest considers having seen more than 340 Bills games. He particularly appreciated the stint of quarterback Doug Flutie in the late 1990s, with his cookie-cutter plays. “I’ve seen so many special matches. Doug Flutie gave us many unique moments, even if he mightn’t see over his offensive line!
Return to Buffalo in the playoffs
The Bills’ long drought of 17 years without participating in the playoffs between 2000 and 2016 did not shake Bob Genest’s faith, but he was delighted to finally relive a playoff game in Buffalo last year. “I still remember the Bills’ return to the playoffs in 2017. It happened in Jacksonville and the year following in Houston. I mightn’t go and then there were the two years of pandemic. We had to wait until last year once morest the Dolphins and the Bengals to finally take advantage of it.
Meeting with LDT in Kansas City
Not all of the notable moments necessarily took place in Buffalo. “I went with a gang of 10 guys to see the Bills in Kansas City. We were sitting in a bar and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif came to meet us. He signed a lot of things and stayed for regarding forty minutes. The guys were really surprised to see that. We are privileged to experience all these moments
1706063865
#tailgates #Buffalo #Quebecer #Bills #Mafia #bows
