Football teams worked hard to make it to the playoffs, but you can never turn down a little bit of extra luck. For many Buffalo Bills fans, that comes in the form of water buffalo hats, which send good vibes from every corner of this diverse fan base.
For Munawara Sultana, it started as a job.
“I just moved from Pakistan here. I have applied for asylum...political asylum here," said Sultana.
But it didn’t take long for this to become much more.
“The moment I stepped in, it was a home," Sultana recalled. "Everyone was so loving and I don’t miss my home anymore.”
Sultana is a seamstress at Stitch Buffalo. This time of year though, her creations are stitching together the community of Bills Mafia.
“I follow [the Bills] and I wish them the best,” Sultana said.
“You wanna see the different colors, right,” asked Therese Forton-Barnes, the grand poohbah of the Water Buffalo Club.
You may have seen these water buffalo hats in the crowd at home and away games.
“For me, I think I might go with the blue hat with the white horn,” said Bills fan Tim Pawarski as he weighed his hat options.
“It is said that the horn protects against the evil eye,” read Forton-Barnes off a sticker that comes with the hats.
The hats are a way to bring some luck and support local immigrants and refugees, while providing fun for all ages.
“Kids wearing them at age 2, to somebody I sent to who was 95-years-old," said Forton-Barnes. "Everyone gets into it.”
For their wearers, it’s part of the experience.
“I think this is the year we’re going to go to the Super Bowl and we’re going to win the Super Bowl, so this is kind of my souvenir to enjoy the season,” said Pawarski.
To Therese Forton-Barnes, it’s that and much more.
“I get tears in my eyes when I think about how this is helping the community and really helping the refugees," she said. "It’s so rewarding to know they are such a part of this. They didn’t even know who the Bills were. Now they do!”
As she inducted another member into the club, you have to wonder, maybe there is something to these hats.
“One of our colleagues, Palwasha, who also makes these hats, she said, 'oh we prayed for them, that’s why they’re here,'" said Sultana. "So we are going to keep praying for them so they are going to win the Super Bowl!”
“Almost like every hat is a little prayer,” said Spectrum News 1 Buffalo.
“Yeah,” Sultana replied.
The hats don't just help refugees. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the bison exhibit at the Buffalo Zoo
Water buffalo hats embody community that Bill-ieves
PUBLISHED January 20, 2023 @5:17 PM