Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - You may have forgotten about the New England Patriots. I know I mostly have.
The franchise that lived rent-free in the minds of many Buffalo Bills fans for more than two decades has been relegated to nothing more than an afterthought. In the last two seasons, the Patriots are 7-24, one of the worst teams in all of sports.
As attention has been turned to the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and within the AFC East to teams like the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets, let's take a look back at how your hatred for the Patriots took flight before Sunday's game at Highmark Stadium.
In his career, Tom Brady went 32-3 against the Bills. An astounding record that's the best against any opponent by a quarterback ever.
One of those three Patriots losses to the Bills came back in 2014 when Brady sat half the game because it was Week 17, and New England had everything clinched ahead of the playoffs.
That leaves just two real wins for the Bills out of 34 games.
Vanderbilt vs. Alabama isn't supposed to be possible in the NFL, but the Patriots and Bills made it so.
Don't get me wrong, the Bills pulled their weight in this unfair fight. As much as I have uttered the words "Tom Brady ruined my childhood as a Bills fan," the Bills were equally responsible.
As consistently great as the Patriots were, the Bills were just as consistently bad.
In those 20 years of dominance, there were plenty of heartbreaking moments in head-to-head matchups. Leodis McKelvin fumbling a kickoff in the fourth quarter of the 2009 season opener in Foxboro was the worst of them.
Bills fans whose hatred for the Patriots has been hibernating for a couple years could easily spark the hate thinking back on Brady's career against them, but they shouldn't stop there.
What followed in this rivalry after Brady bolted for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a different kind of infuriating. After the Patriots beat the Bills in one of the windiest games in the stadium's history with just three passing attempts from quarterback Mac Jones, the Bills Belichick parade began.
Couple this with the media out of Boston declaring the Bills' reign in the AFC East over, as well as Peter King comparing Belichick to "Sun-Tzu" for winning a game while only attempting a couple of passes.
Since that day, the Bills are 42-16, and have won four AFC East division titles.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are 16-37, and Belichick now coaches in the ACC.
There have been a lot of fun victories head-to-head between the Bills and Patriots since Brady left. Only a Super Bowl could top the euphoric feeling of ending Belichick's NFL run with a perfect playoff game.
If your Patriots feelings are dormant heading into Sunday's game, as they were for me, watch some old clips and highlights to remind yourself of how much you hate that team ahead of a game where the Bills are two-touchdown favorites.