Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Bills fever is running red hot in Buffalo after the team secured the AFC East championship title with their dominant victory over the Denver Broncos Saturday night.
In front of Buffalo city hall Sunday, Mayor Byron Brown unveiled an enormous AFC East championship banner that will be hard to miss as fans travel through Niagara Square.
"The team gave us an early Christmas gift," said Mayor Brown as he spoke wearing a new AFC East championship hat. "We've waited a long time for this day."
The Bills success comes during the ongoing COVID pandemic and continued restrictions on Bills fans, including being excluded from being present for home games. "The Buffalo Bills have given us something to celebrate and something to look forward to," added Mayor Brown.
Thousands of Bills fans turned out at the airport overnight for a packed rally welcoming the team home after the victory. The airport welcome has become a tradition the past few years, but this is the first that occurred at a time when fans have been banned from attending games and are required to practice masking and social distancing.
Mayor Brown said the airport celebration caught him a bit off guard, stating; "I expected the excitement, I did not expect that mass gathering." Brown went on to say he hopes Bills fans will "play it safe, play it smart."
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Outside Bills Stadium in Orchard Park Sunday, fans were lining up outside the Bills Store only to discover it was closed Sunday and would reopen Monday morning. Instead of buying merchandise, fans posed for photos in front of the illuminated AFC East championship signs outside the stadium.
A longtime Bills fan, Gary, was posing in front of the sign Sunday morning and reflected to WBEN; "I was a kid the last time the Bills had the AFC East. It’s really exciting."
While Tara was hoping to buy some AFC East championship merchandise at the store Sunday, she was pinching herself with the reality of the Bills position in the NFL. "I woke up this morning and it’s another dream. We really are AFC East champions."
Back in Buffalo, that giant banner reads 'AFC East Champions', and Mayor Brown says they'll keep the banner for years to come and will be ready with new banners as the need arises.
"The Super Bowl banner is going to be so big you might not even be able to see the front of Buffalo city hall."