Legendary Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy was fond of saying, "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us."
Fans of the team, along with the players, are going to try to prove Levy correct on Sunday.
As predicted, a lake-effect storm showed its teeth on Saturday, ahead of a Sunday Night Football game between the AFC East-leading Bills (9-2) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6) at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The National Weather Service reported that about 21.5 centimetres of snow had fallen in Orchard Park as of Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET, and it is not supposed to let up until Sunday afternoon. The game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET / 5:20 p.m. PT.
Despite the ongoing snowfall, the Bills had no choice but to begin snow-removal efforts on Saturday night in hopes of getting it down to manageable levels before fans and teams start making their way to the suburban stadium. The Bills, who can clinch the AFC East title with a win, put out a call for people to shovel snow earlier in the week.
As is often the case with lake-effect storms in the region, there is far less of an accumulation north of the stadium in the city of Buffalo and nearby Niagara Falls, but the issue will be getting 70,000 people to the stadium safely.
While there could be some snow during the game, the heaviest snow is supposed to shift south in the later afternoon and evening. Winds could be a bigger concern for teams.
“This is going to be concerning for people trying to travel to the football game. We do not expect the game to be postponed or anything like that. The game will go on,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference on Friday. “Now, we’ve had games that are colder than that. Just got to dress appropriately. So people need to be prepared. It’s the first real cold of the season. We haven’t had anything like this all year.”
Buffalo, of course, is used to dealing with this kind of thing.
Last season, a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was pushed back a day because of a storm.
In 2022, a home game against the Cleveland Browns was moved to Detroit because of horrific winter conditions.
Fittingly, a former Bill very familiar with winter football is slated to be the team's 'Legend of the Game.' Former CFL star quarterback Doug Flutie, who played one of the best games of his career for the Toronto Argonauts in the 1996 Grey Cup in a snow storm in Hamilton, will have the task of addressing the Buffalo crowd just before kickoff.
Here's a look at some of the scenes from around the stadium on Saturday:
