as it happened5:01Buffalo Bills fans work hard and play hard while shoveling snow from the stadium
Buffalo football fans found an innovative way to have fun and relieve stress during a snowstorm this weekend by shoveling snow at the team’s home stadium.
The Buffalo Bills are asking residents to come to Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York over the weekend and Monday morning to clear snow ahead of their wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hundreds of people answered the call, including Buffalo resident Eric Shields, who shot a video of a rambunctious Bills fan sliding down a snow chute topless on Saturday, which went viral.
“The guy was like, ‘Oh, I’m leaving.’ Then the other guy was like, ‘Oh, take your shirt off!’ And he said, ‘Okay,’ and took off his shirt,” Shields said. as it happened Hosted by Nir Koksal.
“I had to film it.”
As extreme winter weather hit parts of the United States over the weekend, the Bills and stadium management company Jani King issued multiple statements asking fans to help clean up the stadium.
“I woke up in the morning, guzzled down a Monster Energy drink, and was ready for the day,” Shields said.
Those brave enough to brave the cold were paid $20 an hour for their work, plus a free hot meal.
“We had chicken fingers,” Shields said. “They’re relatively expensive in games, so getting them for free is a perk.”
Most of the shovelers were part of the team’s fan base known as the Bills Mafia, but Shields stood out wearing a New England Patriots mask.
“I was going to wear the jersey, but I didn’t want to mess it up,” he said.
Bills fans gave him gentle teasing, he says, but the lifelong Patriots fan and Buffalo resident is used to such things.
“It’s all for fun,” he said. “No matter which team I like, I love my city.”
Officials, along with stadium staff, worked throughout Saturday and Sunday to remove more than 60 centimeters of snow that fell over the weekend. Nevertheless, the game originally scheduled for Sunday was postponed to Monday due to weather.
“We shoveled snow section by section, and by the time we got to the next section, we looked over at the section we just shoveled and it was already covered,” Shields said. “That means all our work was wasted, but it’s better than leaving it here and letting it pile up.”
On Monday morning, the team again asked fans to stay out of the way. Brandon Blumert woke up at 4 a.m. and drove 90 miles from Rochester, New York, to help shovel.
“It’s so beautiful right now,” Brummert said Monday morning. “Thank goodness there’s no wind. If it were, it would be snowing and terrible right now.”
The field was cleared by game time, but most of the seats were still covered in snow when the gates opened.
Still, fans borrowed shovels from guest services and used their hands and cardboard to clear the seats.
Those who could not dig a place sat or just stood in the snow.
Fans also threw snow into the air like confetti to celebrate Buffalo’s game-opening touchdown.
It’s a long-standing tradition for Buffalo residents and Bills fans to help clear snow for the team during the winter.
Shields remembers doing it as a teenager. Bob Isaacs, 62, said this is his fourth time participating in the Stadium Shovel.
“You’re a Bills fan,” Isaacs said. “It’s all part of the deal.”
