BILLS BACKERS of BOSTON: ALIVE AND GROWING IN WAKEFIELD

When a player spends over a decade in one place, an entire generation of fans comes to follow him or her, and if that player moves on to a different zip code, some fans may switch allegiances, if not addresses

Such is the case with Drew Bledsoe, who for so many years was the quarterback for the New England Patriots, but is now the field general for a divisional rival of the Super Bowl champions, the Buffalo Bills. Though last season was a magical one for the Patriots, as the team captured the attention of fans across the country with a finish that Cinderella would have been proud of, Bledsoe was one of the casualties of a tidal wave of support that swelled in this region behind quarterback Tom Brady. In the offseason it became clear that Bledsoe wanted a shot with a club where he could again be a starter, and New England shuffled him off to Buffalo.

For Bledsoe fans looking to follow their man as he suits up 500 miles away, there may be an easier method than attaching a dish to the side of their house. There have been a group of people meeting in Boston every Sunday for over 10 years, rooting for the Bills in a land full of Patriots supporters, and they're more than welcome to entertain a few new faces this fall.

The group is called the Bills Backers of Boston, and they are an official part of a nationwide network of Buffalo football fans. Many cities across the country have their own chapters, and a particular bar or restaurant where members head each Sunday or Monday night during the regular season (and, when successful, the postseason) to watch the games in a fun, friendly atmosphere.

The President of the Boston Chapter is Jeff Crump, a transplanted Western New Yorker who found it impossible to give up his beloved Bills when he moved to Massachusetts. "I grew up in Amherst, New York, and moved here after college in 1987," said Crump. "I've been a lifelong Bills fan.  I remember my Dad taking me to Bills games when I was a kid - my first game was in 1973.".

After moving to the area, Crump soon discovered that the television broadcast rules regarding the National Fbotball League didn't make things easy for a man trying to follow a team from afar.

"Not too long after I moved to the Boston area I heard about a bar, The Fours, that was showing Bills games on Sundays", said Crump. "At first, the group was small, perhaps 15 people there week to week. But as word spread we grew, and by 1990 the bar would be packed for games days.

"About that time I heard of Bills Backers International, which was being run by folks in the Bills Public Relations office.  It's an organization run by fans with the help of the team, and everyone involved is a volunteer. During the 1990 season George Pacil and myself gathered the first list of 'regulars' from the Fours. We ended up with about 75 people on our mailing list that year. Our first official season as the Bills Backers of Boston was 1992. This year we have 500 folks and meet at the Harp, a restaurant and pub on Causeway Street in Boston."

The club conducts many fundraisers over the course of the year, and has made donations to Jim Kelly's Hunter's Hope Foundation (to help fight Krabbe's leukodystrophy), Doug Flutie's Autism Foundation, and the Buffalo Bills Youth Foundation, which helps troubled youth in Western New York. The club also recently made a donation to the Drew Bledsoe Foundation and his Parenting with Dignity program.

Before the days of satellite television,, local Bills fans could only head to a local bar and hope the game being shown. "The main reason for organizing as a group was because if we could present ourselves as a group to a prospective host bar, we could ensure a place to watch the games " said Crump. "It's a business relationship - we give our members a place to watch the games, and we bring the bar business on a Sunday, when they wouldn't normally have it. Of course, it took on a life of it's own after that."

Though fans can now have games beamed into their homes if they choose, such a package isn't cheap. Many people can't afford it, and some who can choose to make the trek to the Harp for the simple feeling of being part of the group. "Living in Patriots country, we don't get to see the Bills on TV much," said Crump. "If you follow the team, it's not enough to catch the highlights on SportsCenter. On top of that, gathering at the Harp on Sundays really is a bit of a 'home away from home'. I am constantly meeting people that I have connections with from back home, folks that went to the same schools or know the people I grew UP with, and I know I'm not alone."

Membership numbers have grown over the years, and it doesn't hurt that local heroes like Doug Flutie and Bledsoe have become memhers of the Bills roster in recent years. "When Flutie joined the team, it was originally in a backup role," said Crump. "But when he became a regu lar starter it did bring in a few curious 'Flutopians' who wanted only to see him. I wouldn't say it caused a surge in our membership, but it certainly did energize folks. Even though most of our members are displaced Buffalonians, we live here and have friends and spouses who grew up here, so there were many new faces in the Harp those days. I guess you could call them casual fans."

Does he expect the same type of thing to happen now that Bledsoe calls Buffalo home? "I do expect a similar thing will happen with Bledsoe, but Drew has a very different public persona here than Flutie, who was almost a cult-like figure,' said Crump. "The one thing Drew Bledsoe will do - and already has done - is make New @ngland probably the Bills' biggest rival this year. Those two games are going to be crazy."

For more information on the Bills Backers of Boston club, visit their website at www.bostonbillsbackers.com

Copyright 2006 Bills Backers of Boston, All Rights Reserved.
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