Matchday. Joe unlocks his restaurant. "Ferguson's – Authentic Buffalo Food & Sports" is written in blue and red above the entry ever since the days his father ran this place. The room is stuffy. Joe opens a window and lets some fresh air in. "Better," he concludes and starts thinking about football while going through his daily routine.
Buffalo never won a SuperBowl. Joe takes that personally. In the first half of the 90s he lost four in a row to the Giants, the Redskins, and the Cowboys. Then his father to cancer. Joe had to promise him to celebrate the big one for him. Soon a decade has gone past, and Buffalo never reached a SuperBowl again. This year they are facing the same three opponents again. The perfect year to finally come full circle. Last week they beat Washington and stand at 3-0.
Today the Dolphins come to town. Worse, today Dolphins fans come to town. It doesn't take long before an obnoxious pod of them enters his establishment. They remind him of the time the Dolphins beat the Bills throughout all of the 70s though clearly no one present has been alive at the time. They provide the valuable insight that Miami is red-hot but demand him to shut the window because they are freezing. And once the game starts, they switch from praising to trashing their own QB after he gets strip sacked in a rough hit by Greg Rousseau. Joe knows why he never liked Miami supporters.
"It's not that I don't think Tua is good, I just don't like how he carries himself."
"Yeah, yeah. It's hard to look up to somebody like this."
Tua gets up from the ground, visibly shaken.
"He just doesn't have the right mindset. In the end it is about what you have up here."
Joe interrupts them: "The menu. May I recommend some authentic wings or beef on ..."
"Burger!"
"Yeah, yeah. Burgers all around."
He knows why he never liked them. Nevertheless, he serves them. Though it helps that meanwhile the Dolphins' football team gets served as well. Josh Allen throws two touchdowns and rushes for another two. The Dolphins fans don't fancy the recommended sponge candy for dessert.
"The check please!"
It's always burgers and the check. Joe sighs but complies.
