Editor's note: Please accept my apologies in advance as this is an unapologetic love letter to Scott's Bills brethren. He does make a semi-interesting point at the end.
Scott,
The Bills "Mafia" (which means family) is a moniker applied to the Buffalo Bills fan long-standing and loyal fan base. This is not a name bestowed upon them by the organization, which preferred the "12th man," but the Mafia would have nothing to do with it. They chose this name because it reflected what they saw in themselves: a unique, rough, and rugged band of brothers (and sisters) that thought of themselves as a family.
Pre-game tailgating at the Bills stadium is as epic as anywhere in the NFL. Whether it's table slamming , ketchup dousing, or just sampling from one of the most outrageous tailgating set-ups you have ever seen, a game day trip to 1 Bills Drive is not something likely to be replicated anywhere else.
As you can see, the Bills Mafia are serious (and a little crazy) about their Buffalo Bills.
Keep in mind that the Mafia are not people who sit in luxury skyboxes, as the Bills Stadium doesn't have any. They do not enjoy sipping chilled drinks under the confines of a climate-controlled dome. Their beverages come pre-chilled by the coldest, snowiest, and oldest open-aired stadium in the NFL. Adding insult to injury, the Bills lack of off-field amenities is surpassed only by their lack of on-field success. And yet, there they are, showing up every week, 80,000 strong.
This team, and their fan base, know pain, sacrifice, and suffering. These are blue-collar, hard-working people supporting their small-market team, with little to no national fan-base or the additional revenue that comes with it.
The City of Buffalo embodies and embraces its Bills in good and bad times. And the players embrace and embody their city. Even after retiring or being traded, many Bills return to live out their days in this weather-worn but welcoming city.
On the field, the Bill's are fierce, loyal, and unflinching. Off the field, their Mafia are supportive, kind, and generous. Even towards their opponents.
In 2018, after a seventeen-year playoff drought, first-year head coach Sean McDermott led the team to the playoffs. The Bills were 9-7 and in a tie-breaking scenario. Their playoff appearance was made possible by a last-second and miraculous comeback by Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals over the Baltimore Ravens.
The fans were so appreciative of ending their seventeen-year playoff drought, the fans donated over $400,000 to Andy Dalton's charity, the majority of which came in $17 increments. Word of the unique act of gratitude made news through the NFL and across professional sports. Andy Dalton responded in kind by giving a sizable donation to Buffalo's Roswell Park Comprehensive Pediatric Cancer Center, where my brother Todd was treated from 1971-73. The act of generosity was both kind and clever but would not be singular.
When quarterback Josh Allen's grandmother passed away earlier this season, the Mafia donated over $1,000,000 to her favorite charity, the Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo. After that, Bills fans donated $440,000 to cornerback Josh Norman's charity, Starz 24, which helps small Buffalo businesses in need.
Just last week, after Raven's quarterback Lamar Jackson left the game with a concussion, Bills fans answered the call again by donating over $445,000 to his favorite charity, Backpacks Full of Food. The Mafia challenged the Chiefs fans to match their donation.
Like many of you, I am proud of my team and passionate about their success. But more than anything, I am amazed by the sense of community the Mafia has built and how they have actioned it for good. I appreciate how vehemently they will cheer against an opponent and how generous they will give to that same person when the game is over. They remind me that riches can come in increments of $17 and that as our nation deals with herd immunity, the Mafia rallies to help as a herd community.
Music education is a mafia unto itself. Similar to the NFL, we are located in many locations and have different passions, but we bonded by the same cause. Whether you build an instrument, sell sheet music, fabricate reeds, teach a pre-school music class, or prepare future music educators, we all want more people to experience the benefits of making music.
Yes, we may live in different locales, teach different levels, and content areas, but we need to be reminded that after the school bell rings, the store closes, and the plants shut down, we are all rooting for the same thing, MUSIC.
The lesson learned from the Bills Mafia is one that should resonate with all of us: as our profession and country deal with herd immunity, it is vital that we also remain a herd community.
After all, our Music Education Mafia understands that the herd's word tells us that to have any national credibility, we must first be in lockstep as a community.
Thanks for indulging me. We'll be back next year. I BILLIEVE!
Have a great week.
- Scott
Proud Member of the Bills & Music Ed Mafia
p.s. After losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, at 2:00 a.m., over 1,000 fans met the team at the Buffalo Airport, where it was five degrees out.
p.p.s p.p.s. I will be hosting a webinar next week called Recruitment Roadmap. You won't believe the amount of work we have put into it and what we have built for you. This is a 30-minute webinar that you won't want to miss. In 24 hours we have already had over 600 registrations.