YORK, N.Y. — More than 70,000 football fans fill Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park for each Buffalo Bills home game. People from all walks of life make up the group of diehards known as the Bills Mafia and one of them has a day job to protect and serve students. They know exactly where her football allegiance lies.
For the students at York Central Schools, Becky Kane is their biggest fan. The Livingston County Sheriff’s deputy is also their protector.
“All of these kids I’ve had since they were in pre-K,” said Kane. “These kids, when they walk through the door and come into the building, are my kids.”
On Halloween, School Resource Officer Kane fit right in, gearing up and showing off her true colors.
“Go Bills,” she said, as she put on a hat, chain medallion, feathers and other gear with the team’s familiar red, white and blue.
Kane has walked these hallways for 13 years. All of her kids matter. Students and teachers and other staff love her. It goes without saying she also loves her Buffalo Bills.
“I was born a Bills fan, first off,” said Kane, who went to her first Bills game with her father when she was 8. “I had no other option.”
That’s true in much of Western New York. Kane takes it to the next level, especially on Sundays, when she joins a fan base known as the Bills Mafia.
“I bleed red, white and blue,” she said. “It’s like my therapy. Some days it’s a good session, some days it’s a bad session.”
At games, Kane often winds up on TV. She is a celebrity and a dreamer.
“If the Bills win the Super Bowl, I don't know, it'll be ecstatic, it'll be crazy,” she said. “I couldn't even imagine it. I say we're going to win every year. But obviously, I'm 0-for right now.”
Kane has an infectious laugh. She talks to students about their problems and their triumphs. She is quick to offer a hug or an encouraging word. The kind of support the kids need is the kind of support her beloved Buffalo Bills get.
Win or lose, that can’t be beat.
“That’s what I love about being a Bills fan,” she said. “It’s the passion, going there for the game. If you’re the 12th man you gotta show up. It’s a must.”