ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills fans aren’t just from Buffalo. Many travel the distance to cheer on the players.

Hannah Bouchard came all of the way from Maryland to join the tailgating scene with her friend, Shannon McClintock, who has lived in Buffalo for 20 years. 

What You Need To Know

  • A group of Bills fans from Corning gets up and on the road by 5 a.m. on game days to set up a spirited tailgate

  • The festivities include a Bills Mafia bus

  • Ahead of each home game, the group plans out their tailgating food

“I had to bring her to a Bills game,” McClintock said. “She had never been. She wanted to come last year, but obviously she couldn’t. So I have to give her the whole experience.”

“This is crazy fun,” Bouchard added.

Whether Bills fans are attending an in-person game for the first time, like Bouchard, or they’re regulars, “fun” is a word used by many.

One group drives from Corning for every home game. They leave at 5 a.m. to arrive for tailgating at 7. But they say that all of the time on the road is worth it.

“We have a whole setup every week,” Corning resident Pauline Twist said.

This includes a Bills Mafia bus.

“We bought a bus, we renovated it, and all the hall of famers signed it,” Twist said.

Ahead of each home game, the group plans out their tailgating food.

“We have a menu every week that we go by,” Twist said. “We change it up. Everyone has their own thing that they have to bring.”

Whether people are coming to support the Bills from near or far, most of them have the same prediction.

“We are going to the Super Bowl,” Twist said.