Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Bills Radio Network is comprised of 26 stations mainly across Western New York, with some stations in Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania also picking up the live play-by-play action with John Murphy, Eric Wood and Sal Capaccio on the call.
However, there is one radio station that recently became an affiliate of the Bills, and they are located nearly 1,500 miles out West.
KGAB 650 AM picked up the Bills just before the 2021 season, and have become the official source of Bills football in Southeastern Wyoming. This includes the state capital of Cheyenne, as well as Laramie - home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys.
"They realized that, 'Hey, we have these affiliates in Buffalo. This is something we can pull off, and we should,'" said Cody Tucker from 7220 Sports, a sister station of KGAB in Cheyenne. "It seemed like a no-brainer. I don't think they would play a Bills game over a [Denver] Broncos game, per se, but I think that's why it's on KGAB actually, because they don't cover the Broncos on that channel. They have it on other channels, so it kind of became its own Bills thing. I know fans are very appreciative that they're able to listen to the Bills in Wyoming. It's really incredible."
It was in Laramie where Bills quarterback Josh Allen started his ascension to stardom, as he spent three seasons with the Cowboys program from 2015 to 2017. During his time at Wyoming, the native of Firebaugh, California appeared in 27 games, completing 56.2% of his passing attempts for 5,066 yards, 44 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
At the 2018 NFL Draft, the Bills selected Allen with the seventh overall pick in the first round, whereas the Broncos passed on the 6-foot-5 and 237-pound quarterback at pick No. 5, where they selected pass rusher Bradley Chubb.
"I think I can speak for a lot of people that we were very cranky when the Broncos passed on Josh Allen, which they had him and they absolutely let them go," Tucker said.
While Broncos fans were upset they missed out on the chance to have Allen in the fold, it was Buffalo that was the No. 2 choice for fans in Wyoming.
"Nobody was mad to see him go to the Bills," Tucker said. "I've been to Buffalo numerous times myself, and I think we're kind of kindred spirits here. Hard working, tough people, cold weather, beer drinking, we love our sports, we love our teams and we follow them to the end. I think that just made perfect sense. It's not uncommon here to see No. 17 jerseys everywhere."
Tucker also says it's customary for Wyoming fans to follow the other prominent former Cowboys players that go on to play in the NFL. As of right now, 10 former Wyoming players are currently in the NFL, but none are more popular at this time than Allen.
"We're not fair weather people, by a longshot, but we follow our own," Tucker explained. "The Broncos have been so bad... you hear a lot of people say 'I'm a Broncos and a Bills fan' all of a sudden. I was just at the store here in Cheyenne and saw probably three people wearing Josh Allen Bills jerseys in the store, and I must admit, I have one myself."
Since making the jump to the NFL, Allen has developed into a perennial star with the Bills, passing for more than 14,000 yards in 61 games played, tossing 103 touchdowns to 46 interceptions, and also being named to a Pro Bowl and finishing second in MVP voting in 2020.
Although it's been five years since Allen took his last snap with the Cowboys in Laramie, Tucker says the people of Wyoming still hold Allen in a special place in their heart.
"He brought the national spotlight to Laramie, brought it to Wyoming," he said. "We have one four-year university, everybody in the state cares about that university. Whether it's being a hardcore diehard or just checking a score, everybody cares what happens with the Wyoming Cowboys. I mean, there's no other state where that's the case, you have one four-your institution, so it was a big deal.
"I think we knew how special he was. I'll never forget in Iowa [in 2017], we sat in the front row behind Wyoming's bench, and my wife - God bless her, doesn't know a ton about football - but she said, 'Is it normal to hear a throw? Because I just heard Josh make that throw.' No, no honey, it's not normal to hear a throw. That's how special this guy is. So he's very important."
While the play and the hype surrounding Allen leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft brought relevance to Wyoming, the love for Allen extends much further than just the football field.
"The other thing that made it so big for us is Josh embraced Wyoming," Tucker said. "Wyoming, of course, was the school to give him a scholarship offer, and he embraced this. He embraced our place, he embraced our people, and Wyoming fans are gonna embrace him until the end of time."
And that love for the Cowboys have never left Allen, which fans in Wyoming will always respect, as well.
"You'll see they take a picture of Josh walking into the locker room in Orchard Park before games... you see him walk in wearing a Wyoming State flag on his hat, you see him wearing Wyoming Cowboys stuff when he's golfing. When he was doing [The Match] this summer with the other quarterbacks he had Wyoming golf balls, stuff like that. That is so important, something that little is so important to the people of this state that he embraced us, and he hasn't forgotten where he came from," Tucker said.
Despite the fact that the Broncos are back on the rise out West, especially with the addition of Russell Wilson in the offseason, Tucker believes that as long as Allen remains with the Bills, KGAB will "definitely" continue to be a radio affiliate of the team.
"The thing you say in Wyoming, 'It's a small town with long roads. We're all connected here.' We're the smallest state population-wise in the country, so everybody rallies around our own, and Josh Allen is one of our own, for sure," Tucker said.
While Allen is the main factor in the connection between Wyoming and the Bills, there have been other ties that have linked the Bills and the Cowboys in the past. Among the former University of Wyoming alumni to have donned the Blue and Red, at some point, includes John Wendling, Conrad Dobler, Joe Cummings, Guy Frazier, Corey Mace, Vic Washington and, most recently, Eddie Yarbrough.
Also on the Bills' practice squad this season includes wide receiver Tanner Gentry, who also spent time in Laramie playing with the Cowboys from 2013-16.
There is also one lesser-known connection between the Bills and the University of Wyoming that involves Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy. Levy spent one semester in Laramie during his playing days before enrolling at Division III Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
No matter who has managed to make their way to Buffalo after spending their college days with the Cowboys, Tucker believes that Allen will always come at the top of the list time-and-time again for years to come.
"When you're talking about the most important position in sports, plus the No. 7 pick overall, plus his story of sending out so many emails, trying to get any coach to give him a look and Wyoming was the one that finally did it, it's just a really special story," he said. "It's an underdog story, which I believe is what Buffalo and the State of Wyoming are all about."
As for season expectations of Bills fans in Wyoming, Tucker gets the overwhelming sense that a Super Bowl appearance is being seen as the goal for this team in 2022."
"We were bummed that Josh didn't make it last year and the 13 second debacle and all that stuff, but on the flip side, Logan Wilson, the starting middle linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals - played at Wyoming, he's from Casper, Wyoming - so we were all really proud of him. Tyler Hall a cornerback who plays for the Rams right now, everybody was pumped for him. So I think when your team doesn't make it, that's when you really start pulling for the Wyoming guys that are in the big game, no matter what. But everybody, I think, would be very happy to see the Bills in the Super Bowl," Tucker said. "People have expectations of it, I'm sure. Why not? They're loaded. They're absolutely loaded."