BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Thousands of people have signed an online petition that call for Governor Andrew Cuomo to be banned from the Bills playoff games.
The petition was created nearly a week ago by Jeffrey Dorenzo, who created the petition as a joke, though with some of his true feelings behind it.
"I don't feel like he belongs in the stadium when there's so many fans who have been waiting so long to sit in the stadium for such an opportunity," Dorenzo, a South Buffalo resident, said. "I don't even believe he's a Bills fan. We got 71,000 seats in our stadium and he's telling us we can't fill those stands when people have waited 25 years for this? But he's going to go and fill the stands? I don't agree with it."
It is not known how many of the petitioners are from the Western New York region. The comments on the petition are overwhelmingly critical of the governor.
The petition is not likely to have any impact on the governor's attendance at the game this Saturday, something Dorenzo recognized.
"Ultimately it is the Pegula's team and they own it," he said. "…We can be pissed at the Pegula's for inviting him and we can be pissed if Cuomo owns up. Fans will be shouting 'F-U Cuomo' in the stands, probably. At the end of the day, Bills fans are too loyal to turn their backs over something. Do I expect anything to actually come from it? Probably not."
There is a potential backlash that Dorenzo is aware of but said he's ultimately not concerned about petty retaliation.
"He's scribbled people enough," he said. "I haven't worked since March 12 because of COVID, so I don't really care what Cuomo has to say. I'm struggling. I've had to pull money out of my retirement. I don't care what Cuomo has to say. He doesn't belong there. I think die-hard Bills fans belong in that stadium, not some governor that most of us don't even support."
