Bills Tailgating: A Rite of Passage

Eight Sundays a year, a small Western New York town called Orchard Park is transformed into an international destination attracting football fans from all over the world. Starting roughly 24 hours before kickoff, cars, trucks, RV’s and buses migrate down New York’s I-90 into the quiet town, injecting Orchard Park with shot of energy rarely paralleled anywhere else in the world. 70,000 of the nations most diehard football fans cram front and backyards bringing with them grills, games, tents, and most certainly, alcohol. Learning to tailgate here is like learning philosophy from Socrates himself, and I am proud to say this is the culture in which I was raised, and most importantly where I learned to tailgate.

It speaks a lot to the principles of a Buffalo Bills tailgate that I was not allowed to attend one until I was at least thirteen years old. When a young Buffalonian tells their parents they are attending one themselves, they watch them depart from the driveway as if they are getting on the bus to join the military, terrified and proud. As the young western new yorker drives down 20A towards the stadium, their stomach turns as they see the masses en route to the lots and they have the sudden realization that they are not children anymore, they are now a Bills fan.

While it may sound intense, even slightly disturbing, this is what a tailgate should be, a rite of passage. In Buffalo, a tailgate is where a young person learns what most Americans learn in their first semester away at college. Most importantly however, it teaches them what it means to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Here they learn what it takes to be a member of a community, how to contribute food, drink and good times to those around them. It is a rite of passage I wish everybody could have experienced, and one I am proud to say I completed myself. Tailgate safely, and most importantly, Go Bills.