ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WBEN)......Memory lane has taken both Jim Kelly and Steve Tasker down Abbott Road.
As "old" Highmark Stadium continues to be demolished and "new" Highmark Stadium just weeks away from making its official debut, both Kelly and Tasker got wistful as they thought about their personal memories of "The Ralph."
"How much time do you got?," Kelly joked when asked about his memories.
For Kelly, he immediately thought of his regular season 1986 debut with the Bills.
True, the Bills lost 28-24 but Kelly threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
Among the 80,000-plus fans who jammed into what was then-Rich Stadium was Kelly's parents and five brothers.
"It was my dream to play in the NFL and my family was there to watch it," Kelly said.
The Kelly family were regulars in the stadium for the 11 seasons that Jim Kelly played for the Bills.
On the field, Kelly said the Bills' 51-3 1990 season AFC championship victory of the then-L.A. Raiders ranks right up.
"And, then to see so many of the fans make their way to Tampa (for Super Bowl 25...and you know what happened)," Kelly said.
Tasker agrees the 51-3 game was special to all the players on that team.
Tasker, a special teams ace and wide receiver, said he remembers the crowd going wild when he returned a 67-yard kick-off on a frigid cold January day in 1994 as the Bills beat, again, the Raiders.
"I guess we were to the Raiders back then what Kansas City is to us now," Tasker said.
Since 1986, Tasker has been connected to the Bills as a player and now as a member of Bills broadcast team.
"I have so many memories, you just can't count them all," Tasker said.
That said, Tasker said he is uber excited for the new stadium to open this summer.
"But, seeing the old place torn down is still kind of rough," Tasker said.
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Bills' greats talk about their Highmark Stadium memories
Bills' greats talk about their Highmark Stadium memories
