Bills Backers International Keeps Growing

This article appeared in the September, 1999 edition of Niagara Frontier Sports & Leisure

By Heidi Roth

It seems like die-hard Bills fans in Buffalo will do just about anything to watch a game, braving the cold and snow to gather with fellow fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium in support of their hometown team. At the same time, other groups of loyal fans go to their own great lengths to gather together as well, in places all over the country and even the world. And, while the weather from November until January may be a little better in, say, Titusville, Florida, the fans there match up equally as far as loyalty and support for the Bills. These groups of fans make up Bills Backers International (BBI), a network of Bills fan clubs throughout the world.

BBI was formed in 1986 to organize existing Bills fan clubs into a worldwide network with one central steering committee. The organization , that began modestly with a handful of existing clubs (Buffalo Bills Booster Club, Bills Monday -Quarterback Club, Southern California Bills Backers, United Kingdom Bills Backers and Gowanda Area Bills Backers) has grown to a network of over 230 chapters and more than 12,000 total members. Bills Backers can be found in 43 states and eight countries around the globe, including the United States, England, Japan, Germany, Australia, Scotland, France and Canada. And, coordinator Alicia Braaten and assistant coordinator Darcy Ballard, both volunteers, will proudly tell you those numbers keep increasing each year.

Backers chapters can range from one person up to 500 or more, and they are independently governed. BBI simply serves as a way to connect them to each other and provide them with information about the Bills. When an existing group of Bills' fans registers with BIB, they receive membership cards ' a BIB directory and various print mate- rials throughout the year, such as Bills and NFL newsletters, schedule cards and press releases. As Ballard puts it, "anyway we can keep out-of-town fans as close in touch with the Bills as possible." Braaten adds, "What we offer fans is networking. We can put fans in distant places in touch with one another. When you live in the area, you tend to take the Bills for granted. But, it's nice to be able to provide things like media guides, team photos and contacts to other fans for people who don't have access to those items."

Networking is a key component of BBI. Bills Backers in other NFL cities have started a prece- dent of "hosting" fellow Backers to a weekend of activities when the Bills have away games. When Buffalo opened the 1998 season in San Diego, over 1,000 Bills fans were in attendance as a result of the organizing efforts of the San Diego Bills Backers and the Southern California Bills Backers. The 949 tickets pur- chased by the Backers set a Qualcom Stadium all-time record high for group sales, and Ballard declared it the "largest gathering of Bills fans on the West coast since the Pasadena Super Bowl in 1993."

The Phoenix Bills Backers and the Bills Backers of Arizona are trying their hardest to outdo their California counterparts in 1999 when the Bills take on the Cardinals on December 19th. The Phoenix Bills Backers have a weekend of events planned, including a "Welcome to Phoenix" party on Friday night, a "Saturday Night Bash" and a game day "Buffalo Style Tailgate Party" The Bills Backers of Arizona have plans for a Friday night mixer, a "Stampede in the Desert" party on Saturday and a "Tailgate Luncheon" on Sunday Oh and there's a football game somewhere in there, too.

Buffalo-area Bills Backers also like to get involved in hosting weekend activities. The Bills Backers of North Buffalo have a weekend trip to Washington planned for the Bills' November 7th game against the Redskins.  Local BBI chapters welcomed out-of-towners from Pennsylvania, Florida, Vermont and Arizona at the annual Bills Backers Day at training camp on July 31. Even more backers are expected to attend Bills Backers Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium when the Bills host the Eagles on September 26th.

All that's needed to start a BBI chapter is a love of the Bills and a meeting place with a big screen to watch all the games. More often than not, however, chapters become more than just once a week clubs meeting from September to January Backers seem to form a bond with one another that goes beyond just watching football games. That is testimony to the success of BBI and a sign that the organization will continue to grow and pro- mote the Bills throughout the world. So, whether groups of people are watching a Bills' game amidst a Buffalo snow flurry, under palm trees in Florida, or even with Scottish bagpipes playing in the distance, two facts can- not be disputed: they are loyal and they are true fans of the Buffalo Bills.                           

Copyright 2006 Bills Backers of Boston, All Rights Reserved.
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