Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Bills currently sit atop the AFC standings at 5-1 following their impressive 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
After a bit of a turbulent opening six weeks, especially on the injury front, the team will get a chance to rest up a bit over the bye week, with Buffalo's next matchup coming on Sunday, Oct. 30 against the Green Bay Packers in the bright lights of prime-time.
In the meantime, the team's success has certainly got Western New York buzzing with hype and anticipation for what's to come for the rest of the 2022 season. While many were clamoring the Bills as Super Bowl favorites to start the season, Buffalo has certainly backed up the expectations of fans and league pundits alike.
With the excitement level for the Bills continuing to rise with every passing week, the demand for Bills-based items at many local retailers in Western New York is exploding.
"We're seeing more sales now than probably we've had of any Bills merchandise in quite some time. It's always been hot for us, but now, it's hotter than ever," said Nathan Mroz, owner and founder of the BFLO Store.
"The excitement is definitely contagious, the energy is real," added Scott Celani, Vice President of the Totally Buffalo Store. "We make a point of it to end every transaction with 'Go Bills!' Every time we do it, people smile and they say it right back to us. One cool thing is that our stores have been very busy with out-of-towners, who are really filled with excitement for the team as well. Whether they're back for a game or just to visit family, they always want to take merch home. So it's a really exciting time."
While the ascension of the Bills has been taking place over the last few years now, led by the likes of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and co., it seems like the excitement level with the Bills has reached a fever pitch this year, especially with Super Bowl expectations league-wide.
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With the gradual rise of the Bills becoming one of the top teams in the NFL, it has also helped see a gradual rise in demand and sales for Bills-related products. However, this season has seen a higher number of fans flock to stores looking to represent their favorite football team as they continue to win.
"When you win a game just like we did against the Chiefs, people don't even know what to do with themselves after a win like that," Mroz said. "A lot of times, what you'll see is they'll actually come in the store, and happy shoppers are buying shoppers. So we certainly appreciate that, but it's also neat."
And it's just not the win over Kansas City this past Sunday that has gotten people excited. Mroz and Celani have both noticed the correlation with fans making new Bills purchases after an exciting victory.
"It's just neat to see the connection between the players, the city, and certainly how it correlates to the businesses," Mroz said. When you get a big win, 'Victory Monday' is great, but kind of the whole week, you just get that the overall vibe."
"The win matters, it definitely does," Celani added. "To give an example, when it's at its absolute height - when we clobbered the Patriots in the playoffs last year, that week leading up to the K.C. game was gangbusters. Then after '13 seconds', it was not, let's put it that way."
But it's not just the team winning game that is making fans spend their money on Bills gear and other merchandise. It's been the likeability of the team that has attracted many people to upgrade their wardrobe or apparel.
"Obviously they're incredibly exciting, and Josh Allen alone is incredibly exciting along with Diggs and so many other players. It's also that the players are so beloved and relatable," Celani explained. "I mean, these guys, not only are they really good, they're really easy to root for. I think that makes a big difference."
When factoring in the most popular items flying off the shelves and clothes racks, a lot of it are hats, jerseys and other clothing items like Zubaz items and t-shirts. What else is popular among fans that has flying off the shelves?
"We have a lot of local artisans who create merchandise, not only to celebrate the team, but to celebrate the city," Celani said. "A lot of unique and beautiful sweatshirts and hand-painted stuff, and then we have other big sellers like hair accessories, pillows, blankets, baby and children's apparel is a big thing."
Mroz also agrees that kids stuff are a hot-ticket item at the BFLO Store at this time. One of the big reasons for that is schools doing "Bills Days" every Friday before a game day weekend.
"That warms our hearts, because it's exciting to see the next generation of Bills fans wearing and repping at the local schools," Mroz said.
Also with the holiday season not too far off, Mroz says Christmas apparel is already becoming another popular item for sale at the BFLO Store.
"We have Christmas sweaters that are just coming out, those kinds of things. And of course, the general gifting items, too, are always big," he said. "When you talk about Bills fan caves or man caves, a lot of cool light up Bills signs, and things like that too, a lot of novelty items, as well, that people love."
With this type of demand for Bills items at both the BFLO Store and the Totally Buffalo Store, it is something that has been as a bit of an eye-opening experience for both businesses.
"It's amazing, because it's not just our store. I mean, you go to the game or even just out in public, people are not just wearing jerseys or stuff with the Bills logo on it. Everybody's got a shirt that says 'Diggs this' or 'Knox that' or whatever it is. I've never seen anything like it," Celani said. "We've always been a very proud community who are very proud and defensive of where we're from. But now, it feels like it's really taken off to the Nth degree now that we have this team that's very special on a heck of a ride."
As for Mroz in his 10th year with the BFLO Store being open in Western New York, he even admits this season has, so far, exceeded all expectations.
"I would say all of our locations have been up over last year, but certainly with the expectation of the Super Bowl aspirations, people are loving the stuff," Mroz said. "And it goes beyond just even the Royal and Red kind of color scheme. We've got a lot of grayscale items that it's Bills, but it's not so loud Bills that it's screaming at you. But it kind of works well. It's like an outfit for every week."