Pittsford, N.Y. (WBEN) - During the final practice of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University on Thursday, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer paid a very special visit to the Rochester to take in festivities while being accompanied by team owner Terry Pegula.
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Sen. Schumer was able to take in practice from the sidelines throughout Thursday's practice, and was able to even interact with a few of the players as they were coming off the field. He says Thursday was a great experience, as he gets set for another football season cheering on his favorite team.
"The Bills, you know I love them. They look great," said Schumer following Thursday's practice. "I was watching that guy, [Dalton] Kincaid, he's going to be a great target for Josh Allen. To have two tight ends and a great arm is going to be great, and it'll help bolster the frontline and the blocking abilities. And to see these guys, they're genuinely nice people. They're nice, nice people. It's a team that looks out for each other, it's a team that respects each other. I spoke to three or four of the players, they're not from here, but they love Western New York."
One of the players Schumer has a special connection with on the Bills is Damar Hamlin, especially following the safety's cardiac arrest that nearly took his life on the football field during a game this past January against the Cincinnati Bengals.
"He's an inspiration not just to Western New York, not just to New York State, but to the whole country. When I saw him, he's such a dedicated man," Schumer said.
When Hamlin paid a visit to Washington, D.C. this past March, he introduced the Access to AEDs Act, which would provide an AED defibrillator in public and private schools across the country. Schumer has already introduced the bill in Washington, and is confident it's going to get it done.
"It will save lives," said Schumer on Thursday. "The good news is these defibrillators are not expensive, but if every high school had one, I think moms would send their kids out to play football and other sports with a bit of relief. I think it's a great idea.
"I think when I ask [Hamlin] to come down and testify for this, which he will do, it'll melt everybody's hearts and it'll pass like a hot knife through butter, I hope."
Also during Schumer's visit to Bills training camp on Thursday, he also spoke on the new stadium currently in the early stages of construction along Abbott Road in Orchard Park. He says getting the new stadium deal done was a key piece to ensuring the long-term future of the team in Western New York.
"No team, I don't think, in America has lifted the spirits of a place more than the Bills have lifted the spirits of Buffalo and Western New York. And other owners who I've met acknowledge that, they acknowledge that," Schumer said. "When it looked like the Bills would leave after Ralph Wilson had passed, I was just furious and frantic. I did everything I could to keep the Bills in Buffalo, including contacting Mr. Pegula, but most of all, working with Roger Goodell. And I called up just about every football team owner and said, 'We've got to keep the Bills in Buffalo.'
"Someone wanted to move them to Orlando, someone wanted to move them to Toronto. None of that would have been good. So here we are, they're here, and now they're one of the best teams in football. It's not an exaggeration to say they're a contender for the Super Bowl. I'd like to march down Delaware Avenue after the Super Bowl, in a Super Bowl parade."
When it comes to the construction of the new stadium, Schumer says he told Pegula, the Bills organization, and also New York Gov. Kathy Hochul that if there are any additional resources they need from him, he is just a phone call away.
"Every so often, they do about one thing or another, but I have a great deal of confidence. There are always bumps in the road in a massive and important project like this, but I have confidence that the stadium will be built, and it's gotta be built soon. The existing stadium's old," he said.
Schumer also recounted his past interactions with Pegula, saying he's talked to him plenty over the years, especially following the first phone call made when he was considering buying the Bills.
"We were looking for somebody who had enough money, obviously, but who would keep the Bills in Buffalo. Not someone who would say, 'I'll keep there here and then [move them],'" Schumer said. "He comes from Upstate New York, he was raised in Binghamton, or near Binghamton. He has a lot of spirit for Western New York, and I always knew that he would honor his commitment to keep the Bills in Buffalo.
"He did say to me at the time we're going to have to build a new stadium, and I said, 'I'm on board.' And here we are with the groundbreaking of the stadium, and the Bills are staying in Buffalo for generations to come. And let's not forget, they're our only New York team. We've got a couple of New Jersey teams, I don't mind them, but the Bills, I love the Bills."
More from Schumer is available in the player below: