Getty Buffalo Bills fans cheer on their team during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kansas City’s mayor is preparing his city for an invasion of Bills Mafia this weekend.
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are set to play on Sunday in a game that could have major implications for this season. The Chiefs have finished ahead of the Bills in each of the last two seasons, and used their home-field advantage to knock the Bills out of the playoffs each year. The winner of Sunday’s game could gain an inside track to finishing No. 1 in the AFC again this year, and Bills fans are hoping to make their mark at Arrowhead Stadium.
Bills fans have been a well-traveled bunch in 2022, with big contingents of fans showing up for each of the road games so far this season. That is the case again this weekend, with many Bills fans arriving in Kansas City for what looks to be the biggest game of Buffalo’s regular season.
On the day before the game, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas took notice of the Bills fans gathering in his city and issued a tongue-in-cheek warning to his city.
“I’m seeing a lot of #BillsMafia in town,” he tweeted. “Please secure your folding tables.”
I’m seeing a lot of #BillsMafia in town. Please secure your folding tables.
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) October 14, 2022
Bills fans have made a tailgate tradition out of crashing through white folding tables, often from less-than-safe heights. The stunt has become so ingrained in Bills fans that All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs crashed through a folding table for the Best Catch Skills Showdown of last season’s Pro Bowl.
Stefon Diggs’ first catch in the Pro Bowl Best Catch Skills Showdown. This received a 86.7, the lowest score of the first round. pic.twitter.com/OfEwzuBk7b
— Ryan Talbot (@RyanTalbotBills) February 4, 2022
Mayor Lucas couldn’t seem to escape Bills fans. Early on Saturday morning, he presided over the kickoff of the Kansas City Marathon and shared some pictures of the race. One of the shots prominently showed a group of Bills fans decked out in jerseys from some mid- to late-2000s players, including quarterback Trent Edwards and wide receiver David Nelson.
pic.twitter.com/P5dL83uX3A
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) October 15, 2022
This won’t be the first time that Bills fans have descended onto Kansas City. A large portion also traveled for last season’s divisional round playoff game, filling up Bills Backers bars and taking up significant portions of Arrowhead Stadium.
The Buffalo News spoke to Mike Anthony, a Bills fan who grew up on Long Island and later moved to Las Vegas, but came to Kansas City for the playoff game. Anthony said he went to a Bills fan event at a bar and showed up five hours early — only to find that the place was already packed.
“I couldn’t believe we came in at 11:30 and we couldn’t get a seat already,” Anthony said.
Bills fans haven’t gotten the chance to see the Chiefs in Orchard Park in many years, dating back to before the Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes rivalry started. The teams have met twice in each of the last two seasons, with three of the games being played in Kansas City. The only game in Buffalo was in October 2020, when no fans were allowed into what was then New Era Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions.