A room full of strangers. Most slightly tipsy. When you walk into the crowded bar, they make room for you. They reach out and pat you on the back, smiles on their faces, excitement in their voices. They shout your name, tug at your sport coat, take your picture, and most of them have never met you.
Van Miller walked into a party like that one night in Ft. Lauderdale, and I walked right behind him. The occasion—a Bills fan party sponsored by restaurateur Russell Salvatore at Shooter’s Bar on the Intra-Coastal. It’s the night before the Bills-Dolphins Monday night game in November 1988.