If you happened to find yourself at a Buffalo Bills game this season, you’d see the normal jersey’s that fans typically don in Buffalo. The Jim Kelly’s, Thurman Thomas’, Tyrod Taylor’s, and even some Sammy Watkins’. The legends that are still so popular in this city.

You’d also notice another player’s jersey scattered throughout the crowd, former-Bills running back Fred Jackson’s.

Fred Jackson is one of those Cinderella stories you sometimes hear of in the NFL. Gritty, resilient, and determined to make it. He’s Western New York in the flesh.

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For Jackson, he didn’t take the conventional path that many players in the NFL have. He didn’t get the lavish treatment of a powerhouse program or the nationally televised game. He wasn’t on the draft boards or being talked about by analysts on TV. He was hard working and just wanted to play football.

Part of what made Jackson into the player he became was the neglect he felt. It wasn’t an easy journey. The only opportunity for him to play college football was at a small Division III school in Iowa named Coe College. Bills fans will know its name only as Marv Levy’s alma mater. Jackson knew it as the place who took a chance on him and gave him an opportunity.

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After school, Jackson didn’t hear the calls from the NFL. Three tryouts and no opportunities later and he decided to play arena football in the US. After being named co-MVP, he went overseas to Germany for NFL Europa. It wasn’t until then that the Buffalo Bills took notice and then-GM Marv Levy offered him a tryout for their 2006 training camp. In 2007, he made his first start in a Buffalo Bills uniform.

After that first start, Jackson was Buffalo’s guy. He fit in. He became a local mainstay and an instant fan favorite.

Jackson was the face of the team and city in so many ways. What connected the fans and Jackson at a deeper level was that, in a way, he resembled them. He was a dedicated, hard-working individual. He became a Buffalonian on the field. That determination to keep moving forward in the face of adversity and struggle. That will to never, ever give up. It was there inside of him and it was there for Bills fans.

Jackson is now as much a part of the Bills’ history as the blue and red they throw on each game day. Heck, there are fans out there today who’d think he’d make a fine addition to their current roster. It was impossible not to root for him when you see so much of yourself.

For Jackson, the journey has now come full circle as he leads the charge at New Era Field. It will be an emotional moment for him and for the fans. Jackson is coming back to where he made an impact on the history of Buffalo football and the place the changed his life forever.

He’s coming home.