Los Angeles, Calif. (WBEN) - Thursday marks the opening game of the 2022 NFL regular season, as the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams get set to host the visiting Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
While the Rams are coming off a season where the franchise claimed its second title in team history, the Bills enter the 2022 season as, arguably, the consensus favorite to win Super Bowl LVII this February in Glendale, Arizona.
With, perhaps, the most well-put together team in the NFL from offense to defense to special teams and even coaching, Buffalo's expectations are as high as maybe they've ever been heading into a season.
With many people "circling the wagons" heading into the 2022 season, that is bringing "Bills Mafia" out in full force with fans flocking to visiting cities this year to cheer on the Bills from afar. Los Angeles is no exception, even if it's Game 1 of the season against the defending champions.
"We are looking forward to hosting all the Bills fans, especially from Buffalo, but all around the nation coming in for this game," said Eric Holmberg, President of the Los Angeles Bills Backers. "It seems to be certainly one of, if not, the game of the season for away fans to come to, and we are very much looking forward to hosting everybody out in the likely hot sunshine of Southern California."
It has been some time since the Bills last played the Rams in Los Angeles. The last time being Oct. 9, 2016 when the visiting Bills dominated the Rams in a 30-19 win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
"That game was an absolutely wonderful game, because we absolutely destroyed the Rams in that game," Holmberg said, who was in attendance for the contest. "But this year, it's obviously much different because of just the buzz that the Bills are bringing in, and obviously the defending Super Bowl champions raising a banner on Thursday night to open up the season."
The last time Buffalo played the Rams came early in the 2020 season when the Bills managed to pull off a late win at Highmark Stadium, knocking off the visitors, 35-32.
While the Bills don't travel out to Los Angeles very often - last doing so in 2017 against the Chargers - every Bills game day is an active one for the Bills Backers in Los Angeles, no matter where they may be playing. Especially when it comes to 1 p.m. ET kickoffs in Orchard Park, Holmberg admits that may be one of his favorite things about living on the West Coast.
"Out here, football starts at 10 a.m., which is absolutely fantastic," he said. "When I'm back on the East Coast, I wake up and realize how many hours need to go by before football can start, which isn't a problem we have here, which is great."
For the Los Angeles Bills Backers, led by Holmberg, they're based out of Busby's Sports Bar and Grill, which is located on Santa Monica Boulevard on the West side of Los Angeles. However, the Bills Backers of Los Angeles and Southern California extend much further than just Busby's.
"There are quite a number of them," Holmberg said. "Just South of us is the Bills Backers of South Bay, they are at their bar, Baja Sharkeez, which is right out on Hermosa Pier, it's a wonderful spot. Then there are other bars in Orange County and San Diego, which are obviously further south than that. There are bars in Pasadena, which is Northeast of Los Angeles, and in West Hollywood. ... One of the things with Los Angeles is we're very spread out, and it's a large city. Bills fans want to get together, especially nearby, and there are a number of options for them."
Holmberg says Busby's is a fantastic place to watch a Bills game for fans in Southern California. The facility has hosted hundreds of Bills fans in the past, and now has an outdoor space too, which makes the experience all the better. When it comes to game days, Busby's has Labatt Blue products available for Bills fans, as well as the ever-popular option of chicken wings.
Bills fans all-across Los Angeles have already expressed their excitement for not only the 2022 season, but also with the flood of "Bills Mafia" coming their way over the last several days and into Wednesday.
"It's fantastic with people having their family coming out, and our social media accounts are blowing up with people coming in and excited, and asking for suggestions of places to go and what to do and whatnot," Holmberg said.
In addition, the Bills Backers of Los Angeles are set to host a couple of events both Wednesday and Thursday that's expected to draw massive crowds of Bills fans.
"Wednesday is the official Welcome Party for the Los Angeles Bills Backers, the South Bay L.A. Bills Backers, Orange County Bills Backers, and San Diego Bills Backers all at the Hermosa Pier, which is at Baja Sharkeez and Tower 12," Holmberg explained. "It starts at [2 p.m. PT] and goes all night until it closes. They are going to have live music, live bands, DJs, different events basically on the hour, and then they're gonna also have specials with Labatt [Blue] and Labatt [Blue] Light."
Then on Thursday, the Los Angeles Bills Backers will be hosting a special tailgate from 12 p.m. PT to 4 p.m. PT that has actually already sold out.
"Over 2,600 people bought tickets already, and we're going to be right on, basically, the footprint of where SoFi [Stadium] is and have a tailgate there with Bills Legends coming, which is going to be great," Holmberg said. "I know Eric Wood is going to be coming by, Aaron Williams, I believe, has signed up on it, and we have a number of other ones, including some Bills greats, which we're really excited for. And then we go in and hopefully stomp out the Rams, and rain on their parade."
It was posted on Twitter this past Thursday that a special order of Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light totaling more than $24,000 was on its way to Los Angeles for Week 1 of the season. This shipment is actually on its way for Thursday night's tailgate party that will be held by the Los Angeles Bills Backers.
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Holmberg revealed the total tab spent for Labatt Blue products for the tailgate event on Thursday actually amounted to more than $30,000.
"The $30,000 is Labatt [Blue], Labatt [Blue] Light, there's two different kinds of the seltzers and then a Mexican beer that the producer has, as well," Holmberg detailed. "That's all for the tailgate, and then there's separate Labatts that's been ordered and ready to go for the Wednesday Welcome Party. Then obviously at those bars, they also have just local Los Angeles beers as well for any visiting Bills fans that want to try something a little different than what they get at home."
While Holmberg is hoping to spoil the Rams' party Thursday night in Los Angeles, how does he feel the Bills will finish out the entire 2022 season? He says he likes the team's chances.
"I mean, the run we have late in the season is really helpful. The start might be a little bumpy, but as the season goes on, we can really get the train going, which is really to get it ready for the playoffs," Holmberg said. "That's really the way that I'm looking at it, especially without [Tre'Davious] White for the first four games. It might be a little bit rough, but we can weather that storm and come into the playoffs hot."
In addition to the events being hosted leading up to Thursday night's game, Holmberg and the Los Angeles Bills Backers wanted to also recognize a special day coming up on Thursday, Sept. 22 to honor the Bills' all-time leader in interceptions, George "Butch" Byrd.
Hear more of our conversation with Holmberg in the player below: