WBEN

‘”We definitely encourage fans to wear warm clothing, and the battery operated clothing is a change,” said Andy Major, Buffalo Bills Vice President of Operations and Guest Experience. “Fans can wear battery operated clothing. We made that change after a lot of fan feedback with our games now extending into January, it just made sense.”‘

‘”When there’s snow like that it can be a big time neutralizer. We (Bills) were a big favorite going into that game. The Colts had been pretty much eliminated from the playoffs and we were fighting for a playoff spot. Our cleats weren’t even getting down to the turf. We were slipping and falling. It was hardly even football out there,” he remembers.’

‘A large number of Bills fans gathered to celebrate the Bills’ fifth-straight playoff appearance, and cheer them on as they get ready to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.’

‘”Here’s what we know,” said Parker during an appearance on WBEN on Thursday. “We know temperatures are going to be in the 20s, and it’s going to be a very windy day with wind chills near zero. That’s locked in. We also know there will be a lake effect plume off Lake Erie. The next question is, where?”‘

‘”We’re pulling our Pittsburgh Taco off the menu this week out of love and support for our Buffalo Bills,” said Jimmy Spano, owner of Papi Grande’s. “We’re putting on a ‘Bills Mafia’ taco, and we’re just trying to support the team and give them any kind of support we can, as we lead them to victory this week, and hopefully all the way to the Super Bowl.”‘

‘”We definitely have a decent amount of champ merch. We’ve got hoodies, long sleeves, some t-shirts, knits and a couple of headwear pieces. Really the hope is to move a little bit further along, and have AFC Championship gear here,” said Jason Klein, general manager of retail at the Bills Store.’

‘”The holiday season is always a big bump in sales and retail sales, but something special happens when the Bills make the playoffs, and not just the playoffs,” said Nathan Mroz, owner of the BFLO Store. “When you talk about another AFC East title, and not just a title, we’re talking about, really, a dynasty now with four-straight division titles. That’s always great for business not just for our store here, but also in the region. I think everybody, economically speaking, really benefits when the Bills do well.”‘

‘Chants of “Let’s Go Buffalo” and “MVP” echoed near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga early Monday morning, as hundreds of members of “Bills Mafia” stayed up all night and into the early hours of the morning to watch the Bills “touchdown” in Western New York just before 5 a.m. EST.’

‘”It’s like Christmas came again, it’s a gift,” said Peggy Cerrone, owner of O’Neill’s Stadium Inn on the corner of Southwestern Boulevard and Abbott Road. “We’re so excited, especially with the way the season was halfway through. We were like, ‘We’re probably not going to see a postseason game,’ and, as you can imagine, it’s just such a bonus.”‘

‘”On the West Coast of Florida, there’s a lot of Bills bars. I think there’s over 70,” Holler told WBEN on Thuesday. “There’s a lot of Bills fans in Florida. It’s our one chance a year to see them in our home state, so there’s a lot that come here from Tampa, Orlando, Naples.”‘

‘The next phase of construction on the new state-of-the-art Buffalo Bills stadium will start soon, as cranes have arrived at the site of the team’s future home.’

‘The first step for many is getting tickets to Sunday night’s prime time tilt. Nick Giammusso says the nosebleeds are going for $450 each on secondary ticket sites. “There are about 2,000 tickets floating around in the secondary market right now. Whether those are going to get scooped up today and then drive prices higher, that’s that remains to be seen,” says Giammusso. He anticipates most of the demand will come from the visiting side.’

‘”We have seen so much interest throughout the year. Obviously right away, there was a really big spike nationwide, we had a 620% increase in traffic to our CPR materials online. Throughout the year, we have been doing several community trainings, we’ve been working with the Buffalo Bills on the heartbeat program, which has reached 1000s and 1000s of people with this with hands-only CPR education,” said Kristi Smorol, American Heart Association Communications Director.’

‘”There’s still some soil coming out as we’re doing other work, but for the most part, the major excavation and removal is complete,” said John Polka, vice president of stadium development for the Bills. “For folks who are either driving by on Abbott or here on game days, the walls that you’re seeing are steel piles that are driven, and then precast panels that go in those to hold back that excavation so that we can safely complete work inside. And some of the work that’s going on inside right now, or the majority of the work or the focus of the work is on the foundation’s that are going in preparation for structural steel to start here in the next 30-to-45 days.”‘

‘Chief Tim Carney says one incident happened pregame, the other before the end of the game. Those two face trespassing charges, and brings the total to 10 so far. “I think in probably more than half of the instances there was alcohol involved. In the other instances, I compare it to that big, shiny ball that kind of draws everyone’s attention,” says Carney. He believes the number will increase as construction draws closer to completion.’