Adam Schefter reveals he's the spark that ignited the flame that became Bills Mafia
Bills Mafia has taken a life of its own. It embodies the fan base, the city, and the culture of the organization. The Mafia goes hard, and the fan base is as passionate and as rabid as they come. How did Bills Mafia come to be, though? Most Bills fans today likely aren't familiar with its […]
Bills Mafia has taken a life of its own. It embodies the fan base, the city, and the culture of the organization. The Mafia goes hard, and the fan base is as passionate and as rabid as they come.
How did Bills Mafia come to be, though? Most Bills fans today likely aren't familiar with its origins. Apparently, it all started with the fan base responding to Adam Schefter, and rallying together to protect their own.
On November 28, 2010, the Bills were hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then-quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick uncorked a deep pass to Stevie Johnson, who dropped a wide open, game-winning touchdown pass.
Johnson took to Twitter in its infancy, essentially saying that God had forsaken him for the dropped pass when he praises him 24/7. The media had a field day with it. It had all but cooled down until Schefter, a day later, retweeted Johnson's tweet.
Bills fans at the time didn't take kindly to Schefter reigniting the flame, using his early Twitter days hashtag of #SCHEFTERBREAKINGNEWS to bring up obvious and old breaking news, like referencing that Darth Vader is, in fact, Luke Skywalker's father, and that the Berlin Wall had been brought down. Schefter didn't like it, and began blocking all the Bills fans using his hashtag sarcastically.
Bills fans began to realize that Schefter's tweets weren't showing up in their feed, and Del Reid, then no more than your every day Bills fan, did his typical "follow Friday" tweet, telling Bills fans to follow the "#BillsMafia" members that were apparently the bad guys in Schefter's world.
And that's how "Bills Mafia" was born. It became an identity, that the fan base is a family that rallies together and stands together in opposition to those that stand against them.
Since then, Del Reid has gone on to found 26shirts, a clothing brand that not only sells Bills merchandise, but also contributes massive amounts of money to charity, something that has become a staple of this fan base. They stand together, they rise together, they donate together, and they spread love together.
The Mafia runs deep. And it all started with fans banding together and standing together to defend one of their players from a perceived wrongdoing.
Follow along all year for more Buffalo Bills coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, and make sure to follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
