As a die hard Dolphins fan living in Rochester, NY, I was extremely skeptical about attending a Bills game with one of BillsMafia’s most known members, @billsmafia_babe otherwise knwon as Ashley Petty. My initial thoughts were that I would just go to the game, wear neutral clothing, and tailgate for a few hours to learn more about the fans, but my experience turned into much more than that.
First off, I dressed in all Bills gear (minus my Miami Dolphin’s key chain, which gave me away later) and immediataley was accepted by the whole Bills Mafia crew! As an outsider looking in, these people are one huge family and they include everyone. As we parked, Ashley was saying hello to literally everyone in Hammer’s lot, which apparently is a prime lot to tailgate in. It was really difficult for me to play along with being a Bills fan, but the yelling, talking about stats, and complaining about Fitzpatrick was so much fun! I have never experienced anything like this at any other games I have attended, which was an eye opening experience for me. We have to step up our game, Finsfans!
After about 3 hours of initial tailgating, because we arrived there at 8:15 in the morning as dedicated fans should, the “ketchup” ceremony began. During this ceremony, a bunch of fans get up on a van with ketchup and mustard guns in order to squirt it onto a hamburger that a man named Pinto holds up on the ground level. Everyone in the lot shouts that they want ketchup and the spraying madness begins. I nearly got splashed with ketchup because I did not realize that if you stand too close, you are in the line of fire. This is followed by the Bills Shout song, which everyone sings along to. This ceremony was so fun and crazy that I would go to another Bills game just to watch it again.
Later in the day, most of the Bills Mafia found out I was a Dolphins fan and, to my surprise, did not care at all. There were a few jabs here and there, but they still welcomed me, which is truly saying something about this fan base. Even if you do not belong, they are not going to kick you out as others would do, they were even kind enough to respect the Jets fans that unknowingly parked in Hammer’s lot.
Once the game started, I was cheering in full Bill’s fan force. On every play people cheer or boo, but the Bills played great against the Jets, so there was not much booing this time around. During this game, Stevie Johnson hit 1000 yards, setting a Bill’s record and everyone went nuts! My friend Ashley actually cried, showing the dedication of many of these fans. One peculiarity about this game was that almost the entire Bill’s crowd started cheering for Tebow to come onto the field, I guess Tebow-mania affects all. The Bills ended up winning the game and on the way out of the stadium I could still hear Bill’s cheers long after the players left the field.
All in all this experience was a blast! I did not feel left out, hated, or picked on, these fans really welcomed me and showed me what it is like to be a Bill’s fan. Next year I will gladly go to another Bill’s game, but this time with some added face paint and a better understanding of how these fans work.
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