The air is different this year at the tailgating extravaganza that was already well underway 8 hours before kickoff of the Buffalo Bills' home opener Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
The difference isn't obvious at first glance. Just walking down Southwestern Boulevard in Orchard Park near the intersection with California Road, hundreds of cars had already begun to fill the private parking lots as people tossed footballs, or just soaked up the sun on a gorgeous September afternoon in folding chairs, or prepped their elaborate, portable kitchen setups underneath pop-up canopies.
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Buffalo Bills fans tailgate before the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Derek Gee/Buffalo News
You can still catch the familiar sting of hot sauce and the savory aromas floating off dozens and dozens of propane grills and portable griddles. It seems like you're never more than an arm's reach from another cold beer. On that score, it's the same as it ever was.
I mean there is a new feeling in the air this year, as veteran tailgaters and excited newbies get ready for one more campaign at the venerable building known lately as Highmark Stadium, before the old stadium closes and the new one – which looks startlingly complete from a distance – opens across the street.
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I'm calling it: It's confidence.
"Oh, for sure. We are going to win the Super Bowl," proclaimed Joe Ash, 39, who has been attending games with his dad, Gary, since he was 8 or 9 years old.
Gary, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, showed off a birthday present he brought with him: A television that comes in its own, folding carrying case, that he had propped up on the open tailgate of his SUV, parked at the Hog Wash car wash, their regular tailgating spot for the last several years.
"They've been so close year after year," Joe Ash said. But he added, now's the time. How fitting could it be?
"They've got the quarterback to do it. And you know, this is going to be the right sendoff this year. I see an AFC championship win in the stadium final game of the season. That's going to be amazing. That's what's going to happen. The city deserves it."
Gary Ash agreed. He said it would be especially gratifying to see the Bills go all the way this year, after more than 40 years of being a season ticket holder.
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Buffalo Bills fans Joe Ash, left, and his father, Gary Ash, a season ticket holder for the last 41 years, cook food and watch an early game while tailgating before the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News) Derek Gee/Buffalo News
The Ashes and others who were in the early stages of what would be a long day of tailgating expressed confidence about the Bills that we Western New Yorkers usually are a little shy about.
"Shh! Don't jinx it!" is the general attitude among more seasoned Bills fans.
But today, people are feeling free to shout it from the rooftops.
Ben and Courtney Sheen have been Bills fans for a long time, but Sunday was their first tailgating experience. Courtney Sheen is a Buffalo native who has lived in California for the last 30 years. She and Ben said they were in town to visit family and also to soak in the tailgating culture that they've heard so much about.
"I've been to other tailgates," said Ben, who grew up in Los Angeles as a Rams fan, but shifted allegiances when he met his wife.
"It's not like this," he said. "Everyone is friendly. You could walk up to any group and they will welcome you, they'll feed you," he said.
"L.A. is always losing teams," he said. "Buffalo has had the Bills from Day One."
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Ben Sheen and his wife Courtney from Ventura County, Calif., and their crew of Buffalo Bills fans tailgate before the season opener Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Derek Gee/Buffalo News
Across Southwestern at another privately owned lot, a small family reunion gathered around another television, propped up on the tailgate of a pickup truck, as four young men watched the Cincinnati Bengals score a first-quarter touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.
Dylan Lambert, who lives in Saratoga Springs, left his home Sunday morning and arrived in Orchard Park a little before noon. He was with his brother and friends for an annual tradition of a tailgate and a Bills game.
"It's bittersweet," he said, reflecting on the beginning of "old" Highmark's last stand this year. "The new stadium is going to be great, we got our seats, thank goodness, but we have a lot of great memories here."
Lambert said his Bills fandom goes at least back to high school, when a friend brought him to a game for the first time. The Bills defeated the Carolina Panthers, he recalled, and it was one of many thrilling memories he'll carry with him from the old stadium.
There will be changes at the new stadium, Lambert acknowledged. "Everything will be a little smaller, a bit more expensive, but it's going to be great, too," he said.
But one thing he and others enjoying a glorious, September Sunday agreed on: That the culture of Bills tailgating won't go anywhere, despite any physical changes that might occur.
"We've got thousands of people here who come to tailgate and enjoy it out here, who might not even go to the game. They are just here to have fun and have a good time. People are nice to each other. If we run out of propane, someone is going to loan us some."
Lambert said, "I've been to other NFL games. People just aren't like this anywhere else," he said. "That's the people. That's not going to change."
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Buffalo Bills fans tailgate in parking lots before the season opener Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Derek Gee/Buffalo News
Moments later, by the way, Lambert's friend, Buffalo native and current Brooklyn resident David Lippman, reached into a cooler and handed me a beer.
What else could I do but crack it open, and raise it toward my hosts, as we stood beneath their pop-up canopy in the cool breeze. Our toast? Only one made sense.
"Go Bills."
Dan Higgins is an editor and columnist.
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