Gary Crane has been loyally supporting the Buffalo Bills for over 40 years. A dedicated Season Ticket Member, Crane has seen just about everything when it comes to Bills football and has cherished it all. From witnessing one of the most iconic moments in sports history with the 1993 Comeback Game against the Houston Oilers, to attending three of the four Super Bowls that the Bills appeared in, Crane has made his fair share of great memories.
"One of my favorites was the first time we went to the Super Bowl because I had already gotten tickets through the lottery, so I know if we won that [AFC Championship game], I was going to be able to go to that first Super Bowl," he explained. "That was kind of a thrilling one to stand there and to go through that…
"I got to go to three Super Bowls, each time with a different member of my group that was really there for me all those years."
The one thing that he values above all else however, are the good times that he's had with his friends and family at Bills games.
"We started taking our kids when they were very young, that's why I went to the four seats and after that we increased all the way to eight because I had other family members, my sister, my brother-in-law, who wanted to join in," said Crane. "We've had them most of the years that we've been there.
"We had a lot of friends from Canada, where they'd come over and visit and had never been to a Bills game, so to see somebody's face when they go in for the first time to that stadium was very enjoyable. Over the years we've had quite a few friends actually that we've taken and introduced them to going to a game…"
Throughout his time as a Bills fan and Season Ticket Member, Crane has watched many different players take the field for the team. His all-time favorite Bills are quarterbacks Jack Kemp and Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and defensive end Bruce Smith. His favorite on the current team is defensive tackle Kyle Williams.
As a Season Ticket Member, Crane has come to appreciate the perks that are associated with his membership, especially his dedicated Account Representative and the Bills Bucks Card that he uses to purchase merchandise for his grandchildren. His favorite thing about being a Bills Season Ticket Member though, is that he can come and cheer on his Bills – something that he doesn't take for granted after a triple bypass surgery, that he had three years ago, forced him to miss several games. Crane, who is now healthy enough to attend games again, realized in his time away how special they truly are.
"I went to the home opener this year with my son, so I actually got back and said to my son, 'It was just a thrill to literally be back at those games after missing a few years,'" said Crane. "It took me longer than they thought [to recover], but it was really nice to be able to get back. Being that I was gone, I didn't realize until I was there sitting at the home opener, how much I had missed being there because we had done it for all of those years. I never missed a home opener in all of those other years."
Congratulations, Gary!
The Buffalo Bills would like to thank Gary for his many years of being a loyal Bills Season Ticket Member and our Season Ticket Member of the Game. In addition to Gary being selected as a Season Ticket Member of the Game, he received a club seat upgrade at the Jets vs. Bills matchup on Sunday, Dec. 9, an autographed item and select Bills merchandise.
If you would like to nominate a Season Ticket Member of the Game, please fill out the form located here.
