Stephen Soroka was 10 years old in January 1991 when the Buffalo Bills made their first Super Bowl appearance. He lived in East Aurora, N.Y., about a 20-minute drive from Buffalo. Everyone he knew was caught up in the excitement of what seemed like a certain championship.
The Bills had gone 13-3 in the regular season and steamrollered the Dolphins and Raiders in the playoffs. On Super Bowl Sunday, Soroka’s father held a party, borrowing a big TV from his parents, and putting his family’s small TV in the kitchen “so that if someone had to run to the kitchen for some food, they could still watch the game.