Sports-related curses
The Buffalo sports curse is an explanation for Buffalo's inability to win a Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or an NBA championship. Those who believe in the Buffalo curse cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills for the 1990–1993 seasons (and the team's failure to qualify for the NFL playoffs from 2000 to 2017), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres ever to win the Stanley Cup (despite winning the Presidents' Trophy for most regular-season points in 2006–07). The Bills, however, won two American Football League (AFL) titles (1964 and 1965), the latter occurring just months before an agreement was reached to merge the AFL and the National Football League (NFL) (Bills owner Ralph Wilson initiated the talks to merge the two leagues, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame). In spite of that, it has been argued that this was achieved when the AFL was in its infancy as an upstart league, garnering little, if any, national attention before merging with the established NFL, and that even if they are considered to be at par, since there would be no Super Bowl until after the 1966 season, the Bills could be no greater than co-champions. There have been conflicting suggestions on how the Bills would have fared against the Green Bay Packers or Cleveland Browns, much as there have been disputes over how well the San Diego Chargers would have played against the Bears in 1963, had the Super Bowl existed at that time.
Bills–Patriots rivalry
The Bills continued to dominate the Patriots in the early 1990s, winning eight of the first nine games, including five straight. New England, however, made the rivalry more competitive with the addition of Drew Bledsoe as quarterback and the hiring of Parcells as head coach. The Bills also saw many of their Super Bowl players leave during this time period. By the end of the 1990s, the Bills led the decade with 12 wins to the Patriots' 8 wins. Throughout the decade, the two teams combined to win the AFC East six times, with the Patriots reaching the Super Bowl in 1996 and the Bills reaching the Super Bowl in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993.