Bills Mafia article from The Ringer

[Say When...]

32 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

we ARE all part of Bills Mafia whether you like it or not, sorry to break it to you. It's the name of the fanbase, you can only get out of it by dying or rooting for another team. 

 

It is sad that we have some idiots that sully the Bills Mafia name, but that is true of any fan base (like those in Raider Nation that are violent)...but the only way to combat the losers who break tables and light themselves on fire and put their hands down girlfriends pants in the stadium is to do GOOD things in the name of Bills Mafia like we all do daily/weekly/yearly. 

 

You can say "that's not me", but you are wrong. 

 

 

 

i'm going to respectfully disagree, after 18 years of living in Los Angeles i've met plenty of Raiders fans that absolutely did not associate themselves with the 'Raiders Nation' and i have to believe that goes for other fan bases as well, so I'm a Bills fan (since 1976) but in no part involved with Bills Mafia nor am i guilty by association.

 

not only do the acts embarrass me but the name in itself is a disappointment... seriously; how did the Raiders get 'Nation' and we get "Mafia"?

[eball]

47 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

This is quite a good, well written extensive article.

 

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/9/26/20884655/buffalo-bills-mafia-tailgate?stream=top

 

 

 

 

Really fun article.  Explains the origins as well, which obviously not everyone knows.

 

30 minutes ago, Lurker said:

“if you love the team, you’re part of it.”

 

Nope.   While I have no animosity toward this element of the Bills fan base, it is by no means representative.   More like the LAMP's posted here on TSW...

 

Meh.  I think the point is that Bills Mafia should be a nickname all Bills fans support.  It doesn't mean table-smashing and it doesn't mean the setup at Pinto Ron's (which existed long before Bills Mafia).  It means all true-blue, dyed-in-the-wool Bills fans who really do form a very odd, dysfunctional family.  "Mafia" doesn't or shouldn't infer "criminal" -- it's a reference to sticking up for your fellow fans when somebody disses the team.

 

I've never done anything "crazy" at a Bills tailgate (besides drink a bit too much) and I embrace the Bills Mafia moniker.

[PaattMaann]

11 minutes ago, Say When... said:

 

i'm going to respectfully disagree, after 18 years of living in Los Angeles i've met plenty of Raiders fans that absolutely did not associate themselves with the 'Raiders Nation' and i have to believe that goes for other fan bases as well, so I'm a Bills fan (since 1976) but in no part involved with Bills Mafia nor am i guilty by association.

 

not only do the acts embarrass me but the name in itself is a disappointment... seriously; how did the Raiders get 'Nation' and we get "Mafia"?

 

I respectfully accept your respectful disagreement.

 

But you are still part of it my guy. We all are. Thats like saying "I don't want to be called "Grandma" if your child has had a child and your on the younger side (because grandma makes you feel old)...you can call it whatever you want, but your still a "grandma" to everyone else.

 

You are still Bills Mafia to the core!

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, PaattMaann said:

 

I respectfully accept your respectful disagreement.

 

But you are still part of it my guy. We all are. Thats like saying "I don't want to be called "Grandma" if your child has had a child and your on the younger side (because grandma makes you feel old)...you can call it whatever you want, but your still a "grandma" to everyone else.

 

You are still Bills Mafia to the core!

Bad analogy, teach.  Grandmother is an official and legal position recognized by everyone everywhere for centuries.  BillsMafia is an unofficial position recognized by a portion of the fan base for a few years. 

[macaroni]

20 minutes ago, Moose said:

Is there a more sedate, Senior Citizen auxiliary of the Bills Mafia? I will be retiring soon and moving back home to Elmira - and I plan to attend more Bills games. 

 

 

Why yes there is … I'm a charter member.

 

instead of shots of whiskey from the thumbhole of a bowling ball we drink shots of Metamucil from a sippy cup, instead of leaping and crashing through a folding table we just kind of ease ourselves into a Barcalounger. Our version of an all nighter is to sleep through the night with out having to get up and pee.    

[PaattMaann]

9 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

Bad analogy, teach.  Grandmother is an official and legal position recognized by everyone everywhere for centuries.  BillsMafia is an unofficial position recognized by a portion of the fan base for a few years. 

 

its recognized by everyone, just not accepted by everyone, just like Grandma

[Kelly the Dog]

2 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

 

its recognized by everyone, just not accepted by everyone, just like Grandma

Fair enough. Completely untrue, but fair enough.

 

[Jauronimo]

At first I thought the name was dumb.  I've softened on that stance over the years and now embrace it.  Its nice to be known for something other than being a ***** football team, from a declining rustbelt city, that lost 4 Super Bowls.  My friends and colleagues in Texas loved all the BillsMafia antics shared on Barstool or Deadspin every Monday. 

 

The Bills fanbase has gained respect and recognition around the country for being as diehard a fanbase as you will find in sports.

[LabattBlue]

11 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

The Bills fanbase has gained respect and recognition around the country for being as diehard a fanbase as you will find in sports.

...so where are all BillsMafia diehards in December when the weather turns bad and the team is out of the playoffs?

[Jauronimo]

1 minute ago, LabattBlue said:

...so where are all BillsMafia diehards in December when the weather turns bad and the team is out of the playoffs?

How the f@#$ should I know?

[LabattBlue]

Just now, Jauronimo said:

How the f@#$ should I know?

My point is this fanbase is not as "diehard" as some people make them out to be.

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, LabattBlue said:

My point is this fanbase is not as "diehard" as some people make them out to be.

 

Diehard doesn't have to equal stupid.

 

Freezing your balls off for a meaningless game is stupid.

[Kelly the Dog]

1 minute ago, Gugny said:

 

Diehard doesn't have to equal stupid.

 

Freezing your balls off for a meaningless game is stupid.

As opposed to lighting yourself on fire as you jump off a car roof through a table?

[Bills fan since 87]

6 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

...so where are all BillsMafia diehards in December when the weather turns bad and the team is out of the playoffs?

 

Um, Hammer lot.....

[jethro_tull]

jump on tables, cover yourself in mustard and drink all you want to as long as you aren't driving.  no problem.  

public sex and throwing "toys"  on the field is over the line.  

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, jethro_tull said:

jump on tables, cover yourself in mustard and drink all you want to as long as you aren't driving.  no problem.  

public sex and throwing "toys"  on the field is over the line.  

drink all you want?  Just hope they don't end up sitting right behind you. 

[dpberr]

I love the Bills fan base for its spirit and philanthropy.    I like the oddities, the rituals, the weirdness and the amazing menagerie of fans from all walks of life.  I like how it's distinctly not corporate.  

 

However, the Bills Mafia name itself is just so dumb.  I feel like it was created by people who have never opened a history book and for some, especially Italian-Americans, I can see where it's culturally insensitive and disturbing, given the Italian mafia's violent history,  to see it so freely used.  

 

 

 

 

[Don Otreply]

It’s truly epic! That’s all one can say.

?????????

[Gugny]

8 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

As opposed to lighting yourself on fire as you jump off a car roof through a table?

 

Ha!  There's another word for that.

[PaattMaann]

6 minutes ago, dpberr said:

I love the Bills fan base for its spirit and philanthropy.    I like the oddities, the rituals, the weirdness and the amazing menagerie of fans from all walks of life.  I like how it's distinctly not corporate.  

 

However, the Bills Mafia name itself is just so dumb.  I feel like it was created by people who have never opened a history book and for some, especially Italian-Americans, I can see where it's culturally insensitive and disturbing, given the Italian mafia's violent history,  to see it so freely used.  

 

 

 

 

 

so then you are admitting you A) didnt read the article or B) dont know the story of where the name came from?