Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the course of the 2025 football season, WBEN will reflect on the legacy and lore of Highmark Stadium in its final season, with a number of current and former players, as well as fans and others with deep connections and memories of the building that has played home of the Buffalo Bills since the 1973 season.
For many kids growing up, getting the chance to play for your hometown team is a dream come true. For Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen, the Depew native is actively living that dream.
Andreessen played his high school football for two years at Lancaster before playing collegiately at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Then he transferred to the University at Buffalo for his senior season, where Andreessen produced 90 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble with the Bulls.
After signing with the Bills out of rookie minicamp as an undrafted free agent in May 2024, Andreessen was able to battle his way onto the roster, where he now plays a vital role on special teams and as a depth piece at linebacker.
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While growing up a Bills fan and taking in a number of games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Andreessen, also known locally as "Buffalo Joe", admits he grew to have a greater appreciation for the stadium once he made it to the NFL.
"Since last year, the 'Ralph' was the only stadium I've ever been to, so that was cool seeing other [stadiums]," said Andreessen in an interview with WBEN. "Seeing how different it is, it is an older stadium, it's open, and it's kind of got that Coliseum-esque vibe to it. It's very open. A lot of newer stadiums, like our new stadium, is more of a dome or covering, stuff like that. ... The stadium's gritty, kind of like Buffalo. That's what I find cool about it."
Andreessen says there is a noticeable difference to taking in a game at Highmark Stadium as a fan compared to being a player.
"Being on the field is definitely a different whole aspect of being in the stadium. You kind of hear the noise more, the players on the field don't look so small, everyone looks big and everything like that," Andreessen noted.
Growing up going to Bills games, Andreessen says there were several notable players he grew to love in their time playing in Western New York.
"When I was young, C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, Lee Evans, those guys were cool. Stevie Johnson was awesome. When I got a little older, started liking the defensive guys a little bit more like Kiko [Alonso], [Jairus] Byrd had a crazy season where I think he led the [league in] interceptions. I remember Nate Clements, just kind of all those guys," he noted. "A lot of guys were in-and-out of Buffalo, like Marshawn [Lynch], all those guys, so kind of had to switch the fandom with favorite players over the course. Guys like Fred Jackson are awesome, Lee Evans, Stevie Johnson, [spent] their whole careers here or most of their careers. So definitely guys like that."
However, there is one particular memory Andreessen recalls as a kid that sticks out to him, and it pertains to seeing one of the more despised opponents in the franchise's history.
"I remember - this probably when I was really young - we were in the 300s, we were playing the [New England] Patriots and Tom Brady, and this had to be '05, '06. My dad's like, 'We've got to watch Tom Brady in person, because he won all those Super Bowls. Let's see what it is [about him],'" Andreessen described. "The game was during December and it was so cold, snowing. We were freezing in the 300s, and we had to leave at halftime, because I was so young and I was freezing. We had to watch the rest of the game at a bar or something and get some food. That's just one that came to mind first."
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Over his years of being a Bills fan, Andreessen admits he misses the game day atmosphere of fans tailgating and pregaming in many private lots outside the stadium
"I know from years before, just the experience outside the stadium, the tailgates. You drive down the road, Orchard Park, all these streets around here are packed and full, and you can't really drive because the traffic is crazy. Kind of that whole experience is definitely cool, kind of an aura around it on game day," Andreessen said.
So being a fan as long as he has, and now getting the chance to suit up for the Bills every game day in Orchard Park, what is it Andreessen may wish to take from the current stadium before the new facility opens this coming July?
"Whatever Ralph Wilson's box was when he was alive, one of the seats from his box, that'd be cool. That'd be a little cool history piece right there," Andreessen answered.
And getting the chance to drive past the new Highmark Stadium every single day on his way to the team facility, what is it that excites Andreessen the most about his upcoming move?
"I think the grass is exciting, switching from turf to grass on that aspect," he answered. "I enjoy playing on grass, so that's kind of my thing. The grass is going to be going to be nice to be on."
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