FanFocus with BillsMafia: Mafia Monday Interview with @The_Philster

“Mafia Monday” is a popular feature in the #BillsMafia movement. Every week, a selected member of the #FAMbase is interviewed. This is an interactive element where members of our community can get to know each other and build unity by becoming a little transparent.

Week 5′s Mafia Monday interview is Phil Brady, aka @The_Philster on Twitter.

How long have you been a Bills Fan, and what’s your earliest Bills memory?
Since 1993… Growing up, I wasn’t into football really… kinda liked the Bears because of the Fridge, Payton, McMahon, and Singletary but I didn’t know the game that well nor did I watch more than a few. In 1993, when I was about ship off for the Air Force, a friend had me over to his place a few days prior to spend the day watching football. As we watched the Eagles-Jets and Chiefs-Raiders games, he told me about the Bills, the history, the personalities of guys like Tasker, Thomas, and Talley and I was wearing a Kirby Jackson jersey by the time the Bills faced off against the Giants on SNF. Following the Bills kept me connected to home.

What is your favorite Bills memory?
Can’t pick just one… road trip to Seattle in 04, Hall of Fame inductions everytime a Bill has gone in since 1999 including HOF weekend in 09.

What was the first Bills game you attended?
I had never attended one before I got my season tickets in 1996. I was sold on it just from hearing the stories… which don’t compare to the real thing. Saw the Redskins preseason to start and a win over the Pats in the rain when Hansen stopped Meggett to seal the win as far as regular season goes. As for most memorable, the comeback against the Colts in 97, 22 penalties against the 49ers in 98 thanks to all the crowd noise, 31-0 over the Pats, 08 against the Raiders… I didn’t even watch when Lindell kicked the game-winner as time expired… knew he’d nail it. I grabbed some great pics of the Jills reacting to the kick going through instead, and the win over the Pats in 2011 are my top ones.

Do you own any Bills jerseys, and if so what ones?
Authentics: Kelly, Reed, Thomas, Smith, Tasker, Paup, Poz, Stevie, and Barnett. Replicas: Moulds, Early, Spielman, Antowain Smith, Winfield, Holocek, and T.O.

Favorite current Bill?
Toss-up between Stevie (always keeps it real), Fred “Action” Jackson, and Barnett (patron saint of #BillsMafia).

Favorite former Bill?
Talley (the heart and soul of the Bills defenses), Thurman (was the most complete RB of his era), and Reed (overlooked by the media and the HoF but had the numbers and the ability few could reach… I may be biased to think so, but I think he was every bit as good as Jerry Rice but Kelly spread the ball around a lot more than Montana and Young did so his numbers weren’t as high).

What is your favorite team to watch lose to the Bills?
Even though the Pats* are the biggest thorn in our side these days, it’s still the Fish for me.

Best tailgate food?
Buffalo Chicken Soup. Only make it once or twice a year and never have leftovers and I have one guy asking for it all offseason, too… lol

Other sports you enjoy following? If so, favorite teams?
Sabres and Penn State but my biggest passion outside the Bills is the Buffalo Bandits NLL team. It was a surreal experience being there when they won the Championship in 2008.

You run a site devoted to Buffalo sports cheerleaders. Tell us about it.

In 2001, I saw that Buffalo’s pro cheerleaders didn’t get a lot of positive publicity and, with the approval of the then-Jills director, I started up a Yahoo Club dedicated to all of Buffalo’s beauties on the sidelines. It wasn’t long before a few of the Jills on the squad at the time started aiding me on the site. In 2005, after several girls I knew had departed, leaving only 2 that knew me very well, including the current Jills coordinator, I decided to get more involved with more news and updates, photos, and a very popular Jill of The Week series. After a few years doing this with the little site on Yahoo, I launched the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog for a more professional look to my work, which promoted the squads it covered as well as supplemented the work of the official photographers of the squads.

In 2012, I was approached by Pro Player Insiders, on the recommendation of a Buffalo Jills alumnus who had previously written for them, to feature some of my work with the Jills on their site and have already written a pair of articles on the Blondes Vs Brunettes organization and a feature on a Jills alumnus now cheering with the Carolina Topcats with articles in the works on current members of the Buffalo Jills.

Lastly, what does “Bills Mafia” mean to you?
Supporting the Bills through thick and thin, and in a positive manner. Too often over the years, I’ve seen or heard “fans” personally attack players after a bad performance — but I’ve never seen the value in that. They’re professionals who won’t have jobs if they perform poorly and besides their own personal pride hurt by poor play, they’ll hear it from coaches and media more than enough. Negatve reinforcement as a means to get better performance breeds more resentment than anything and we’ll keep good players away by that kind of fandom. The positive manner of fandom that the Bills Mafia is at the forefront of has been key to bringing in good players from other teams and keeping our own from going elsewhere.

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About #FanFocus: The word fan first emerged as an Americanism around 1889 referring to baseball enthusiasts but today’s football fans are really the true modern day fanatics. While all sports have their fans, football fans have a uniquely intense devotion. We willingly submit to braving the elements in brutal temperatures, eat unusual culinary concoctions, theme decorate our homes, engage in remote control battles, and proudly wear body paint and tattoos all in an effort to show loyalty to our favorite players and teams. Pro Player Insiders is creating a special section on our website and partnering with dedicated fan groups throughout the country to highlight and engage with some of the most passionate NFL fans. If you are a fan group that fits that description, contact us on twitter @PlayerInsiders and let us know.