Man’s teary face symbolizes Bills fans’ reaction to playoff win | Local News

The image of Poch’s crinkled face shown on SportsCenter and posted on Twitter by his cousin elicited all kinds of reaction from legions of Bills fans around the country.

“I cried b4 & after the came and idc who knows it,” tweeted one fan.

“This man is all of us,” said another.

Indeed, people from all over have been reaching out to the 40-year-old project manager for a Buffalo software company and father of three. He said people tell him he is a “symbol” for so many haunted by dreaded terms such as “the Ronnie Harmon drop,” “wide right” or “home run throwback” – all reminders of heart-breaking post-season losses.

Now he’s gearing up for what he hopes will be more playoff wins and a solid team for years to come.

“I think they’ve got a really good shot at this,” he said. “They’ve got a great coach, a great quarterback and a great defensive core. We’ll see how far it all takes them.”

Poch is just one of so many Bills fans anticipating another round of playoff games, unaccustomed as they are in recent years after the early 1990s run of four straight Super Bowls. The path ahead follows Saturday’s first game of the year in which Covid-19 restrictions were at least partially relaxed in Bills Stadium, allowing less than 10% of normal attendance.