Western New York has two things in spades: residents who take their long-suffering Buffalo Bills fandom beyond the point of rational thought and snow.
When these two surpluses intersect, it can create magic. Last week, each Buffalo touchdown was accompanied by a symphony of snowballs launched into the air in celebration. It can also create problems.
We saw this vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers when fans tried to break up a potential George Pickens catch by slinging ice at the field. That led to some backlash — but not enough to prevent the fans who packed Highmark Stadium for a divisional round game against the Kansas City Chiefs from doing it again.
when you try to break up a touchdown pass with a snowball from the stands but instead nearly blast your own cornerback in the crotch pic.twitter.com/M5IJ0bXuJH
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 22, 2024
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had no chance of catching that overthrown pass. And even if Patrick Mahomes put it on his numbers there’s always a reasonable chance he’d drop it anyway. That made Sunday’s ice ball especially egregious — and fans and analysts made sure to take Bills Mafia to task for it.
UPDATE: Things didn’t get any better once the Chiefs had clinched the win. Here’s a look at the Kansas City sideline as their players made sure the western New York faithful knew the score.
annnnnd here come the snowballs pic.twitter.com/PC6RZTb1Gq
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 22, 2024
