Quite a lengthy thread about my experience with the #Bills and #BillsMafia

Back in 2012, I was doing research on a book I was considering writing. One of my subjects were Bills Fans.

I interviewed about dozens. Every time I reached out to someone through email to interview about the book, they said yes without hesitation . It was by far the easiest city to get material.

When I flew to Buffalo, almost everyone wanted to talk about their Bills. Reminder, the Bills were enduring a stretch of 11 out of 12 non-winning seasons. I went to training camp and you would have thought they were title contenders.

When in Buffalo, I drove to Alfred University and spoke with @DanNapolitano1 and the Daydream Billievers. After an almost hour long conversation about the Bills, he gave me his season tickets for the next game.

Somehow word got out about my interest, because everywhere I went people wanted to talk Bills. At bars, in taxis, in hotel lobbies, and especially at the tailgate.

That’s where I was introduced to the #BillsMafia

There were no projectile humans flying through the air to break tables. No keg stands. Just really good men, women and children welcoming me into their tailgate tents, fed me, beveraged me and shared their Bills experience.

The stories were uplifting, tragic, desperate, heart-warming, but all were said with smiles, because it involved their beloved Bills.

As I continued my research, I met @DelReid. His charity @26shirts crystallized who #BillsMafia truly was and is. This company started out as Bills fans helping people in need. the public would learned about the heart of Buffalo with@Lj_era8 and his charity this year.

Overwhelmingly, Buffalo and Bills fans were intertwined more than any fan base I ever encountered. Despite this connection, the success of the team never altered the pride in its city or its team.

Now, as they are one game away from reaching the pinnacle, I find myself thinking back to that trip. The exuberance and nostalgia that Bills fans spoke about the early 90s. The experience of being a Western New Yorker oblivious to what lay ahead.

There’s been a lot of transformation. A common theme in rust belt cities. A region hit incredibly hard recently in the Great Recession. But the city responded. They moved to tech, medicine, revitalized their downtown.

There was no other choice. Buffalo, just like its Bills were always destined for a comeback. And while they continue to fight as a civic economic enterprise, I’d imagine the wealth of pride beaming through Western NY today is enough to fuel the city for decades to come.

I’m rooting for the @BuffaloBills today. Not because I like their team more than the other 3. But because no other team represents the ideals of the country we live in.

An underdog group that regardless of winning and losing will continue to help their fellow human. Powerless in the direction of the team, they do what they feel is right for themselves and others. In the end, it’s what we should all aspire to.