CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — After the Bills squished the fish on Sunday, fans are already setting their sights on the team’s Week 5 matchup across the pond.
The Buffalo Niagara International Airport was full of people donning Bills gear on “Victory Monday.” Many of them were flying out of Buffalo after traveling here for last weekend’s game against Miami. A few were on the first leg of their journey to London.
“I am ecstatic. We’ve been waiting since February,” Dan Vaccaro of North Tonawanda said.
Vaccaro says he is excited to watch his team play on the international stage and see the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium, which Bills officials have said served as a model for the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
“Obviously the new stadium is the talk of the town. It’s supposed to be a carbon copy, so I figured if nothing else, get a chance to take a look at it so when we go for our season tickets I know exactly where to go,” Vaccaro said.
Bills Backers clubs across the United Kingdom are ready for the chance to welcome fans back to London. The last time the Bills played there was at Wembley Stadium in 2015 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are also their opponent this week. EJ Manuel was the starting quarterback for Buffalo at the time and the Bills lost 34-31 in that game.
“It’s really a way to welcome Bills Mafia to London and also personally for me and the promoter, trying to outdo what we did in 2015, which was actually quite successful,” Matt Swain, chairman of the UK Bills Backers, said.
Swain says his organization has several events planned throughout the weekend to bring fans together. He became a Bills fan in the early 2000s and became more serious about the team while studying at university.
Fans who are heading out early are planning on taking some time to experience the sights and sounds of London before kickoff on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing Buckingham Palace, Tower of London. I’m actually a big Winston Churchill fan, so I actually have a tour booked to see the Winston Churchill war rooms,” Vaccaro added.
For British Bills fans, they are excited to share their ‘fandemonium’ with the world and grow American football in their country.
“We’re starting to grow in popularity and just figure it as a way we can really bring up and raise the profile of the Bills and the NFL in general in the UK. We are trying to play catch up let’s put it at that,” Swain explained.
This game is technically a home game for Buffalo. Fans tell News 4 they hope Bills Mafia brings the same noise level to the Hotspurs Stadium as they brought to Highmark Stadium last Sunday for the Miami game.
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Tara Lynch is a Buffalo native and Emmy-nominated reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2022. She previously worked at WETM in Elmira, N.Y., a sister station of News 4. You can follow Tara on Facebook and Twitter and find more of her work here.