WEBVTT 00:00:08.580 --> 00:00:12.119 All right, welcome to Good News York episode 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:18.579 35 and not just any episode I think I am is probably 00:00:18.579 --> 00:00:21.859 the most excited I've been so far everybody knows 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:27.160 here I am a gigantic Bills fan and I am so pleased 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:32.240 to welcome the Don of the Bills Mafia and the 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.460 CEO of 26 Shirts, if you're a Buffalo Bills fan, 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:39.460 you know him, you love him, Mr. Del Reed. Let's 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:42.039 get him on here. My man. Listen, I know the clapping 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:44.479 is underwhelming. It's just one of me right now. 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:47.439 My co -host is not here. How are you, buddy? 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:50.479 Great, man. I appreciate the invite. I hate Don. 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.060 I hate you, Tom and Don. You know what? I should 00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:54.799 have asked you that. I don't know what else to 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.240 call you. I feel like in the Mafia, what do we 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:00.979 call it? Like the CEO of the Mafia? What do you 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:03.740 think? What is the right title? I usually go 00:01:03.740 --> 00:01:06.519 with co -founder. Co -founder. Bree and Leslie, 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:08.700 you know, it honors them as well if you go on 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.120 that route. Absolutely. Shout out to Bree and 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.379 Leslie, of course. Creators of the Bills Mafia. 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:17.340 You know, Del, thank you for coming on the show. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.439 I told my kids before I left today, I said, guys... 00:01:20.459 --> 00:01:24.239 I leave a Bills fan today, and when I come back, 00:01:24.340 --> 00:01:26.700 I'm gonna be up into the next tier of Bills fandom 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:30.459 because I'm talking to the co -founder of Bills 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:33.700 Mafia. Now, I know you've told this story a million 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.219 times. I know it. But I feel like, for the sake 00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:39.319 of consistency and for those that are listening 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.200 and watching that don't know, take us back to 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:47.219 November 2010. Del Reed... Buffalo State graduate 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:50.760 thinks he's going to be a computer IT guy and 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.599 all of a sudden something changes in your life. 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:57.560 What happens? Yeah, so again, thanks for having 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:59.540 me on this. Of course. Gonna be a fun conversation 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:02.680 for sure. Yeah, so for the four people who haven't 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.719 heard the story, Stevie Johnson goes out for 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:09.000 a pass against the Steelers in overtime. Steelers 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:10.900 I think were the defending AFC champs at that 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:14.000 point. Bills had started the season 0 and 8. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:18.139 Yep. and push the, you know, these league heavyweights 00:02:18.139 --> 00:02:23.419 to the to the brink in overtime. And Ryan Fitzpatrick 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:27.139 drops back, throws an absolute rote, perfect 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:30.699 pass to Stevie land in his hands and he drops 00:02:30.699 --> 00:02:33.479 it like he can pause it like he has the ball 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:36.099 in his hand. I was I was there. My seats were 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:39.060 in that end zone. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, oh, man. 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.740 Yeah. So we're let down. But it's so. He goes 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.819 on Twitter that night and kind of like questions 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:51.280 his faith and You know questions God and Bill's 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.319 fans being the types we are you know in the week 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:55.020 prior he just scored three touchdowns against 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:58.460 the Cincinnati Bengals in a awesome comeback 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:02.539 And so we were in love with this guy he felt 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:06.400 like we had somebody special Because you know 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:10.159 during the drought there was a lot of Joe footballs, 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.840 you know. A lot of Jimmy's and Joe's. A lot of 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.300 Jimmy's and Joe's. A lot of Jags, right? Just 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:19.180 another guy, right? So Phoebe was far from a 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:24.280 Jag. So he interacted with fans like more so. 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:27.180 I mean, Twitter was like very different back 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:30.439 then. It was much more organic, more real. Now 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:34.120 every player has their own content manager and 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:36.560 their brand advisor and all these things. But 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:38.580 Stevie, to this day, he's just on there mixing 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:43.199 it up with fans. He was one of the originals 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.680 that, like you said, there wasn't a lot of interaction 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:48.300 on Twitter. It was very rare that you would get 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:52.020 direct interaction. So it was wild that he was 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:56.199 so open to talking to people on there. Yeah. 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:00.259 Fast forward a year or two when the Bills released 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:04.039 their uniforms, their updated uniforms. It was 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.979 during the lockout with the NHL or NFLPA. And 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:11.719 Stevie had snuck in to the stadium as a fan because 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.500 he wanted to see the new uniforms. That's how 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:16.439 engaged this guy was. It really felt like he 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:18.639 was one of us. You know, he really embraced Bills 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:22.420 fans. And so anyway, so the next day. And Schefter 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:25.480 retweeted Stevie's, you know, questioning God 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:29.379 tweet and For Adam, you know, he breaks all the 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:31.879 NFL news. So for him to share something, you 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:35.699 know, a day later was more oversensitive, a bunch 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:38.160 of those fans. So we're like, why are you dredging 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.000 this all up like a whole day? I think everybody 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.019 was like down because they lost the game and 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:44.939 at the same time, rallying around Stevie because 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:48.660 we're just like showing him love. And then all 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:50.360 of a sudden, Adam comes in out of left field, 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:54.540 like actually, you know, retweet right then. 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:58.579 Yeah, yeah, it was so we we we started teasing 00:04:58.579 --> 00:05:02.060 him hashtag shepter breaking news became a thing 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:06.279 and He ended up those of us that were making 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.300 fun of open cheese. I guess some people were 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:10.339 vulgar I never saw those but like he said in 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:12.519 interviews since Some people were really being 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:14.480 nasty, which I mean if you've been on Twitter 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.639 well, it's believable You and I are around the 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:20.980 same age. I think you and I both know that there's 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:24.680 a There's drought era fans, and then there's, 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:27.660 you know, post and pre -drought era fans. We 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:30.000 were a little bit grumpier back then, you know? 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:33.879 So that was probably part of it. Yeah. So, but 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.319 anyways, so you end up blocking a bunch of us, 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:39.420 and then, you know, you fast forward to, I think 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:41.680 it was the week of the draft in 2011, and I was 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:43.339 just doing like a follow Friday tweet, if you 00:05:43.339 --> 00:05:45.459 remember those, and you recommend people you 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:47.860 followed to people that follow you, and... I 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:49.399 just named a bunch of us had gotten blocked. 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:51.399 And I called us the Bill's Mafia. And it was 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:53.139 a joke. And I was picking up a pizza. It was 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:56.860 Friday night, I think. Picking up a pizza. And 00:05:56.860 --> 00:05:58.100 I was just waiting for the pizza to be done. 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:00.120 I'm just tweeting on my phone and then get in 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:04.160 the car. I, you know, go home and eat dinner 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:05.540 with the family, everything. And what did you 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:08.839 know? We kind of caught on. And then we just 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:12.040 continued to, like, slowly steamroll or slowly 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:15.620 snowball over the next several months. So by 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:19.149 the time training camp rolled around, You know, 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:20.930 players were using it, other fans were using 00:06:20.930 --> 00:06:23.269 it, and then Bree and Leslie, who I mentioned 00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:26.870 a moment ago, the three of us, we kind of like 00:06:26.870 --> 00:06:29.129 saw something here, like, should we do something 00:06:29.129 --> 00:06:32.550 with this? You know, and I always say I'm really 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:37.350 blessed that they were the other two in this. 00:06:40.310 --> 00:06:42.180 These co -founders of mine, just because. we 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:44.240 all agreed that we did not want to make this 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:46.300 about ourselves. Because how often does something 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:48.839 go viral, and then the person who was part of 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:50.860 it, like, goes out and tries to do something 00:06:50.860 --> 00:06:53.160 and make it about that. And for me, I'm always 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.500 like, I'm out. Yeah. Newman Newman was funny. 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:57.139 You know, as a funny video you made, I don't 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.100 care about what you're doing next. Right. So. 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:04.600 So we all we just saw that there was an opportunity 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:06.519 here to do something unique and different. This 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:08.839 is kind of like the advent of social media. And 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:11.540 we really I guess we took to heart the social 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:14.279 part of it. So we started organizing tailgates 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:18.060 and started a website. And it was like had like 00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:21.939 a blog aspect to it. And the one thing that I 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:24.500 was responsible for was I called it Mafia Monday. 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:27.959 And I would interview a different Bills fan every 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.839 week, just random Bills fans like just make you 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:32.779 know, because we're all we all know what happens 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:35.939 in the field, but so much to Bills culture. Yeah. 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:40.319 fan culture in general. that doesn't happen where 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.259 the game is involved. And so I just wanted to 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:46.060 bring all these cool stories to light and started 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:47.839 doing that. And just our goal was always to make 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:51.300 it about the fans, not about ourselves. And it's 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:53.060 kind of funny enough fast forwarding now to here 00:07:53.060 --> 00:07:57.199 it is. 14 years later, and I'm starting and been 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.839 doing an awesome video podcast with Brockman 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:04.680 Media called Family Tides. It's like back to. 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:07.680 I've been just interviewing fans. Yeah, you went 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:11.120 full circle. Yeah, so it's kind of cool how that 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:17.920 all shook out. That is funny. We're all unblocked 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.240 now and literally cool with Adam Schefter. Got 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:23.040 to meet him last week. That was crazy. Very full 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.240 circle moment. Week in my hat, we wrote Schefter 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:28.420 breaking news on the underside of the brim. It 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:30.639 was kind of funny. You could use a good sport 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.779 about it. That's amazing. That's actually, I 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:36.529 was going to talk about that next. It was a LeBatBlue 00:08:36.529 --> 00:08:41.009 event. It was a live event where you and the 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:44.029 other co -founders of Bill's Mafia 26 shirts. 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:47.049 You guys finally came full circle. Stevie Johnson 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:50.289 was there. You met Adam Schefter. It looked like 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:54.730 it was an unbelievable time. Was Schefter... 00:08:54.730 --> 00:08:56.629 I mean, I'm sure he's cool about it now. Was 00:08:56.629 --> 00:09:00.049 he cool about it then? I feel like I remember 00:09:00.049 --> 00:09:02.529 he was kind of pissed off, like, when it first 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:04.539 happened, and he was like, you know... kind of 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:06.340 raging a little bit like these guys are on my 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:10.299 ass, you know, how was he before you met him 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:15.019 as compared to at the event? He's always been. 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:17.700 I mean, I don't know how he was immediately after 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:20.440 the thing I blocked, right? That's true. Ranting 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:23.039 or whatever. That's a good point. Within a few 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:28.799 years, like my buddy Sean on Twitter, he petitioned 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:33.360 Adam to unblock me and he did. And then probably 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:36.500 Five years ago. I think I tweeted it Adam and 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:38.759 I said hey just so you know like you kind of 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:41.980 changed my life I'm like crap grateful to you 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:44.840 for that and He says no you did it all yourself 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:48.700 really nice kind words, you know, and then It's 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:51.700 kind of wild and now going back like for it. 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.519 We're at home, you know last Thursday So we go 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:57.000 today that we did the event with Adam and Stevie 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.799 and I go home and I'm just Sitting on the couch 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.940 like for a bed And my phone lights up and he 00:10:02.940 --> 00:10:08.580 followed me. No way. Yeah, it's like kind of 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:10.559 funny. Like, I don't know if 2010 Dell ever expecting 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.480 it. It's well, it's just so wild. The world we 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:15.559 live in now where, you know, you used to hear 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:17.919 like overnight success or things can change in 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.539 a minute. And literally with the scent, with 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.080 the scent of a tweet, it can happen in that. 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:25.480 And that's what happened to you. Tell me a little 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:27.100 bit more about the event. You know, there were 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:29.360 a lot of pictures. I didn't see any videos. I 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:31.500 don't know if any videos are coming out. It looked 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:33.419 like you were on the stage with Adam Schefter, 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:36.340 Stevie Johnson. Was the event more of like you 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:38.779 told the story and then took questions? How did 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:43.559 it go? Yeah, it was a lot of that. Well, the 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.340 ESPN did that piece back in January that Adam 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:49.679 was a part of and everything. Which was great. 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.240 Oh my gosh. They were here for eight hours that 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:54.120 day. It was great. I thought they were just going 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:55.620 to come in, do an interview, and leave. And so 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:57.799 I'm texting with the producer. I'm like, so how 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.519 long should we expect you? And he's like, oh, 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:05.279 about eight hours. I'm like, all right. Mi casa 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:09.220 su casa. So we hosted them in 26 shirts. And 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:11.000 I think Sal Capaccio came out, and he was a part 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:12.580 of it, because Bree couldn't make it out. And 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:15.820 so Leslie was part of it. And since Bree couldn't 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.679 make it out, he lives in Virginia. We had Sal 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:22.559 step in, because that was the first, back when 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:25.279 he was living in Florida, he had his own live. 00:11:26.110 --> 00:11:29.070 a streaming show, and he was the first one to 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.470 bring the three of us on and interview us. So 00:11:31.470 --> 00:11:32.629 I'm like, all right, Sal should be a part of 00:11:32.629 --> 00:11:36.210 it. So that was cool. But anyway, so they showed 00:11:36.210 --> 00:11:39.250 that video and then, yeah, they did like a Q 00:11:39.250 --> 00:11:41.450 &A and like Maddy Glab moderated the whole thing. 00:11:41.509 --> 00:11:43.970 So she had like set questions to ask us. So and 00:11:43.970 --> 00:11:46.149 then they took questions from the audience. I 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:47.850 was there for maybe like the first third of it, 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:50.649 just talking about that bit. And then then I, 00:11:50.649 --> 00:11:52.250 you know, I stepped out into the audience and 00:11:52.250 --> 00:11:55.480 then they had it was it was Maddy with. Stevie 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:58.000 and Adam just asking questions more about like 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.940 the team itself and you know and all that stuff 00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:02.779 So it was awesome. It was great. It was very 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:05.580 vindicating because in the early years the team 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:08.600 did not like They did not like the term Bill's 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:10.759 Mafia and they would Steve was saying how they 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:13.759 would actually tell players not to use it only 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:17.759 Yeah, that's what Stevie said and then I remember 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:19.980 there was one time. It was like maybe It was 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:25.360 January 2013 It was at the Pro Bowl And Jarrett's 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:27.259 Bird, they're letting players tweet from the 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:31.200 Pro Bowl. So Jarrett's Bird tweeted something 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:36.419 about Bill's Mafia. And the Bills did a manual 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:37.899 retweet, if you remember those from back in the 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:40.700 day, like R -T space and the name and then the 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:43.679 words. Oh my gosh. I forgot about that. Yeah, 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:47.759 it was like R -T, Jarrett's Bird. That one was 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.940 for you Bills fans. They took out Bill's Mafia 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.000 and they put Bill's fans in it. So they literally 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.299 scrubbed it. And I remember the outrage and everything 00:12:55.299 --> 00:13:00.360 on on Twitter. So for them to have been so. Not 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:03.000 in not cool with the term, I mean, it's it's 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:04.779 a different them, right, different ownership, 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:06.919 you know, from the top down, it's all different 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:10.220 people there now, but still vindicating and that 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:13.940 like for Bill's mafia have to have been such 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.879 a grassroots, like almost like the real mafia, 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.879 like this thing of ours, right? It's described 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.389 like this thing of ours for that to. have been 00:13:22.389 --> 00:13:24.450 fully embraced to the point now where the builds 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:27.009 are doing an event celebrating the origin of 00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:29.750 it, bringing in Adam Schefter and Stevie Johnson. 00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:32.250 And it's just mind blowing like to have been 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.409 up there on the stage talking about it. It really 00:13:34.409 --> 00:13:37.570 is. But someday I always joke someday I'm going 00:13:37.570 --> 00:13:39.769 to wake up and there's all a bit of dream. But 00:13:39.769 --> 00:13:43.379 on the plus side, I'll be 35. 100. Well, dude, 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:45.820 it couldn't happen to a better dude. You're so 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:47.820 you're so down to earth. You're such a great 00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:50.500 guy. You do so much for the Buffalo community, 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:52.399 obviously for the fan base. I mean, you gave 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:55.480 us a name and it really is like, honestly, the 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:58.379 Bill's Mafia is kind of like the Buffalo's version 00:13:58.379 --> 00:14:00.440 of Woodstock. Like it was just this big mistake 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.600 that ended up becoming this this thing, this 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.700 this life changing thing. And I give you a lot 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:10.799 of credit, you know, you. So after this, Now, 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:13.519 I don't know if it's during or after. You start 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.679 26 shirts, which 26shirts .com. You've got to 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:21.100 check this out. Just amazing. Talk to me a little 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:23.139 bit about how that started. And I'm interested. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:25.000 I read something about the name, how you got 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.120 the name. I love that. Yeah. So a couple of years 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.820 into Build Mafia. So now we're in 2013. People, 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:34.039 we had a Twitter account that actually way back. 00:14:34.250 --> 00:14:36.289 Stevie told us that to register, he said, you 00:14:36.289 --> 00:14:37.809 should create a special account just for Bill's 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:40.830 Mafia. So at the Bill's Mafia, it's been renamed 00:14:40.830 --> 00:14:44.590 to Buffalo fan base for different reasons. But 00:14:44.590 --> 00:14:48.070 people are always asking like, hey, can you share 00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:51.870 this fundraiser? Can you retweet this and things 00:14:51.870 --> 00:14:56.250 along those lines? And so just one day somebody 00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:58.429 was sharing a story with us and it really just 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:05.100 struck a chord with me. I felt I just felt moved 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:07.639 to do more than just like share his online raffle, 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:12.860 you know, and a little girl named Amber, she 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:14.480 had a condition called retinoblastoma, which 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.919 is like eye cancer. And just was really moved 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:19.299 by the story. And I said, all right, you know 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:21.840 what? Next time we do something, I'll share your 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.379 fundraiser. But next time we do something, you 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:26.220 know, different with Bill's Mafia, like I'll 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:28.620 I'll give you the money, you know. And that was 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:30.059 coming right off. And if you remember the legend 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:32.580 of Kiko Alonso. Oh, yes, very much. So that was 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:34.730 another. So that was I think that was just that 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:36.730 was another thing where I I made a joke and just 00:15:36.730 --> 00:15:41.070 kind of went like, you know, you know, it doesn't 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:42.850 happen that often these days now. But it's all 00:15:42.850 --> 00:15:46.789 good. So so we had sold some Kiko shirts and 00:15:46.789 --> 00:15:48.730 that was it was fun to just to kind of watch 00:15:48.730 --> 00:15:53.730 it grow the sales and everything and get end 00:15:53.730 --> 00:15:55.269 up giving that money to a little girl, I think, 00:15:55.490 --> 00:16:01.129 in the only end. But I had so I had this this 00:16:01.129 --> 00:16:03.620 idea like Even in the middle of the drought, 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.340 Bills fans are hungry for merch. They were hungry. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:10.200 Because we love our team. It doesn't matter how 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.019 they're performing. It doesn't matter. We're 00:16:13.019 --> 00:16:14.440 still going to show up. We're still going to 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.200 show up. Right, right. You're still going to 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:17.820 when you travel, when you go to Florida, Disney 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:19.100 World Company, you're still wearing all your 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:23.019 Bills stuff, even if they went on 17. So I had 00:16:23.019 --> 00:16:25.740 this idea for a one -year project. I could probably 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:28.379 do. a different shirt every two weeks and help 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:30.639 a different family. At that point now, the amount 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.220 of people are like, hey, can you share this? 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:34.840 Can you post this? Becoming pretty intimately 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:37.600 familiar with the number of families in need 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:41.480 in the community. And I said, all right, let's 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:43.019 do it for a year. Let's do a different shirt 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:45.399 every two weeks. I love t -shirts. So I'm just 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:47.519 taking something I love. And I love the idea 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:52.360 of being able to help people. So I just decided 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:57.639 to... Go forward that project. I remember putting 00:16:57.639 --> 00:16:59.940 sharing it with some friends. It was in a Bible 00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:02.940 study on a Monday night We let some buddies and 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:04.779 just sharing this little girl story and just 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:07.519 saying how I want to do I Want to do more? I 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.740 want you whatever this platform is that you know, 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:11.559 God has dropped in my lap I want to do something 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:16.799 productive with it and Spitting on had this idea 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:19.240 to sell t -shirts to help you know families and 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.839 I said I think I'd do a different one every week 00:17:21.320 --> 00:17:24.559 And my buddy Jake, er, my buddy, I forget which 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:26.299 one said it, like, can't do that, like, that's, 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.380 you're asked, you work full time, you know, that's 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:30.160 a lot of, that's a lot of work, that's a grind. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.019 I said, yeah, you're right, I could probably 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:34.160 do it every two weeks, though. Like, I know my 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.400 schedule, I know, I could, I could probably do 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:39.779 this every two weeks. My buddy Jake, he's sitting 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:41.400 on the couch right next to me, I remember this, 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:44.619 he goes, dude, that's like 26 shirts. I'm like, 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:46.720 yeah, I know, I think I could pull it off. So 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:49.099 I wake up the next morning, and it's literally 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:52.299 as if like, Like the term 26 Church is just like 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:54.019 following me around everywhere I look, you know. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:59.480 So it's a weird name. So there's no domains or 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:04.880 handles or anything taken like that. So I registered 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:07.240 all that and I posted about like on the Bill's 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:09.339 Mafia blog that I wanted to do this project. 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:11.559 And then next thing I know, I'm doing interviews 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.519 with the news. I got artists reaching out to 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.740 me. And so a week after that Monday, I just mentioned. 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:19.509 So one week later, I had a website up. I was 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:20.950 working with a local t -shirt company to produce 00:18:20.950 --> 00:18:25.170 the shirts and I always joke now I'm 11 and a 00:18:25.170 --> 00:18:27.410 half years into my one -year project. No, I get 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:29.369 to do it. I get to do it. I get to do it full 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:31.670 time. You know, that's part of the story as well, 00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:36.309 too. So just blessed to be able to do this. Don't 00:18:36.309 --> 00:18:38.029 hate anything for granted. I don't hate anything 00:18:38.029 --> 00:18:40.670 for granted. It's absolutely amazing, man. I 00:18:40.670 --> 00:18:42.970 freaking love you. That's, you know, and that's 00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:45.250 the thing, too, is this it all fits together 00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:48.549 because, you know, The Buffalo Bills fan base 00:18:48.549 --> 00:18:51.470 has been known. We give to charities all the 00:18:51.470 --> 00:18:55.890 time. And the fact that, you know, the co -founder 00:18:55.890 --> 00:18:59.769 of Bills Mafia, now his main gig is also involved 00:18:59.769 --> 00:19:02.490 in charity, because a lot of what 26 Shirts does 00:19:02.490 --> 00:19:05.049 is for charity, am I right? Yeah, that's why 00:19:05.049 --> 00:19:09.529 we exist. Yeah, that's our why. So, I always 00:19:09.529 --> 00:19:14.390 joke if people wanted to buy... you know, limited 00:19:14.390 --> 00:19:16.650 edition hammers. I would sell limited edition 00:19:16.650 --> 00:19:18.569 hammers. I just want to do something that, well, 00:19:18.569 --> 00:19:19.769 I probably wouldn't be the guy to do it, but 00:19:19.769 --> 00:19:21.269 somebody would, like somebody would come forward 00:19:21.269 --> 00:19:23.789 and say, hey, I can do these hammers. No, but 00:19:23.789 --> 00:19:26.849 like that's just, it's an opportunity to use 00:19:26.849 --> 00:19:30.809 our powers for good. And, you know, fandom in 00:19:30.809 --> 00:19:32.670 the world, but especially Western New York is 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:34.990 like a, it's like a renewable resource. You know, 00:19:35.049 --> 00:19:38.970 you never run out of fandom. Sometimes it wanes 00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:40.890 a little bit here and there, and sometimes there's 00:19:40.890 --> 00:19:44.880 a lot more of output, you know. than other times, 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:47.859 but that excitement, that love is always there. 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:50.579 You can tap into that, use that for good works. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:53.599 And that's what makes us, Bill's Mafia, so great, 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:55.539 man. And, you know, you're right. You just got 00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:58.400 me thinking. There is kind of a supply and demand 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.180 kind of thing with the fandom. You know, it goes 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:04.980 up and down. Oh, I could give you a dissertation. 00:20:05.420 --> 00:20:10.849 Oh, brother, me too. Me too, my man. You know 00:20:10.849 --> 00:20:13.750 I I noticed this I'll admit this kind of hit 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:16.829 me in the heart But I noticed I'm so happy for 00:20:16.829 --> 00:20:19.049 you because 26 shirts is obviously doing so well 00:20:19.049 --> 00:20:21.509 You know have branched out into other cities 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:23.710 and I clicked on the tab and like one of the 00:20:23.710 --> 00:20:25.670 first things I saw was a chiefs thing and I'm 00:20:25.670 --> 00:20:29.609 like You know what? Get it as a business you 00:20:29.609 --> 00:20:32.250 got to grow, but I can imagine that must have 00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:35.329 killed you to have to you're probably like Reluctantly 00:20:35.329 --> 00:20:39.230 like all right. I'll make this chief shit Is 00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:41.190 that what happened it just kind of you got to 00:20:41.190 --> 00:20:42.910 a point where it went I think we're ready to 00:20:42.910 --> 00:20:45.410 expand into new cities Yeah, well first things 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:47.430 first. I hate the Kansas City Chiefs. Let's just 00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:51.390 be super cool that no yeah, right, so New England 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:56.539 Patriots Kansas City Chiefs Yeah, but that said, 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:58.480 there's people that need help everywhere, you 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:02.119 know? And when it comes to, you know, helping 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:03.900 people, like, check your fandom at the door, 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:06.500 you know? Absolutely. Because people are people. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:07.980 That's one thing I'm really proud of. Sometimes 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:11.500 I think people gripe about it a little bit or, 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.140 you know, fans will gripe about it. Like, how 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:15.599 come those fans are always helping other cities? 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:17.339 They're always helping, like, doing a fundraiser 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:21.099 for, like... How dare they help people? Yeah, 00:21:21.099 --> 00:21:23.960 right. And we do a lot of good here in Western 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.980 New York, you know, but Bill Shantz in general, 00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:30.880 I mean, and people are people, you know, and 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:36.180 listen, if if, you know, we let me start by saying 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:39.160 for the Buffalo 26 years, we make we make fun 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:42.099 of other teams kind of often on the shirt. I'm 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:45.339 not doing it with these other people like men 00:21:45.339 --> 00:21:48.619 and others. No, no, no, no. There's no whatever, 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:53.400 you know. But, you know, if they're going to 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:55.299 rock gear too, so they might as well rock gear 00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:57.700 and give it back. So that's the thought process 00:21:57.700 --> 00:21:59.559 there. No, and that's great. You know, and that's 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.660 how I've always felt. You know, I'm certainly 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:03.140 not going to get into politics, but it's the 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:04.980 same way. It's like people over party, right? 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:07.119 And it's the same thing in sports. You know, 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:09.500 it's people over your team. You know, people 00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:12.200 need help all over. And that just speaks to the 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:14.880 person that you are, man. I thought I'd do something. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.380 Yeah, some of my best friends that I've made 00:22:17.380 --> 00:22:21.130 through social media are... Patriots fans or 00:22:21.130 --> 00:22:25.289 Dolphins fans or? Even chiefs fans and like I 00:22:25.289 --> 00:22:26.829 never would have met them if it wasn't for my 00:22:26.829 --> 00:22:31.289 hatred of their teeth Hate can bring us together, 00:22:31.309 --> 00:22:35.690 too I thought I'd do something fun, so I can't 00:22:35.690 --> 00:22:39.299 take full credit because I used AI okay You're 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:42.119 probably against that. I have great ideas, but 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:45.119 I can't draw. So I came up with four shirt ideas. 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:46.900 I'm not asking you to use them. I just wanted 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:49.940 to show you something fun here. See what you 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:53.099 think. Live reaction. All right, the first shirt. 00:22:53.859 --> 00:22:57.799 Danny, let's do Mad Max. Now actually, Max Hairston 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:02.410 liked this. I pumped this one out. It's a little 00:23:02.410 --> 00:23:04.450 Mad Max, he's flying through the air, a little 00:23:04.450 --> 00:23:08.890 fire. You have High Wark Stadium in the background 00:23:08.890 --> 00:23:13.289 because it's AI. Blue helmet. Yeah, blue helmet, 00:23:13.289 --> 00:23:17.549 I know. They're not perfect yet. My second design, 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:23.369 let's go with the Bill Dozer. I am pushing hard 00:23:23.369 --> 00:23:28.269 for this. My friend, Brian Park, so I wrote Where 00:23:28.269 --> 00:23:31.779 Else With. He came up with it. He said forget 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:35.740 the tush push. We need the bill dozer. So I love 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.359 that. That's great. That's fantastic. You know, 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:40.319 again, that snow plow. I like the snow plow. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:42.880 The snow plow. Shout out to Dion Dawkins, of 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.599 course. Yeah, but I like the bill dozer. I like 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:48.700 the bill dozer. And I'm glad you do too. My third 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:52.500 is I would have all the built in Buffalo. Let's 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:54.420 throw that one up, Danny. I thought this is kind 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:58.000 of cool. You know, we're built in Buffalo, right? 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:01.380 And then that I like that and then you're gonna 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:03.400 hate this one because you know You don't like 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:06.019 to be called the Don but there's Adam Shepter 00:24:06.019 --> 00:24:08.880 You can't really see but he's got cement shoes 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:13.160 on and that's in Lake Erie and that's you Which 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:17.079 by the way, I did want to tell you I think you've 00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:19.180 officially arrived, you know, like when I was 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:22.500 playing music I was always like if my song ever 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:25.789 makes it into karaoke like I've made it You know, 00:24:25.910 --> 00:24:29.190 and I feel like I said in the AI picture, they 00:24:29.190 --> 00:24:31.289 sent me one back. And then I said, can you make 00:24:31.289 --> 00:24:33.750 the guy look more like Dell Reed? And I swear 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:38.069 to God, dude, I do not need Skynet knowing who 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:41.230 I am or believe me. And I hope I didn't contribute 00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:45.210 to that. It's funny moving on. I know I want 00:24:45.210 --> 00:24:47.069 to be respectful of your time. I could talk bills 00:24:47.069 --> 00:24:50.109 all day. Let's let's get into it a little bit. 00:24:50.289 --> 00:24:53.109 What do you think about the draft? I like it. 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:57.500 I like it. You know, Brandon made a good point 00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:00.359 on WGR. Oh, yeah. I don't know if I would have 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:02.259 expressed it quite the way he did, and I think, 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:04.420 you know, Jeremy and Joe have valid points on 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:06.099 their end as well, too. You mean Jerry. Jerry 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:09.539 and Joe. Jerry and Joe, yeah. That was funny. 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:14.779 But they needed help on defense, you know, and 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:19.039 either to fill holes that are there or to prepare 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.839 to fill holes for guys that have one year left 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:24.299 on their contract. I don't, you know, I don't 00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:26.319 love the idea of just putting everything on Josh's 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:30.559 back all the time. But, you know, Brandon made 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:31.819 some good points. They scored a lot of points 00:25:31.819 --> 00:25:35.819 last year. And they were really bad on third 00:25:35.819 --> 00:25:38.960 and long passing downs. They weren't getting 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:42.519 to the passer, you know? And they need better 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:47.119 coverage. They need better pass rush. So I'm 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.849 happy with how it went. Yeah, me too, man. I 00:25:49.849 --> 00:25:51.970 mean, we all knew it was going to be a defensive 00:25:51.970 --> 00:25:56.109 heavy draft, including Jeremy and Joe. You know, 00:25:56.109 --> 00:25:58.529 I just thought when it got to the Dion Walker 00:25:58.529 --> 00:26:01.470 pick, I'm not saying they should not have taken 00:26:01.470 --> 00:26:03.150 him. I thought right there would have been a 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:08.069 good spot to grab, you know, Trey Harris or Kyle 00:26:08.069 --> 00:26:10.210 Williams, which it killed me to see him go to 00:26:10.210 --> 00:26:14.150 the Patriots, by the way. You know, I just think... 00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:17.349 I was... Go ahead. Sorry. No, no, no. Go ahead. 00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:21.220 Was that I was making a joke every time Division 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:22.980 rival would draft somebody this year. I was just 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.460 saying that person sucks. Yeah immediately well 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:29.579 now It felt bad typing Kyle Williams sucks. I 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:32.180 know it's so weird to say that It's so weird 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:35.180 to say that but yeah, it's uh, I do the same 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:37.079 thing It's like someone gets drafted to a rival 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:39.380 team and I'm like, well, I gotta hate them now 00:26:40.220 --> 00:26:43.059 But yeah, I thought, you know, to kind of back 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:45.059 up what Jeremy and Joe were saying, I agree. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:48.859 We needed a defense, a huge defense of draft. 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:50.950 Because if you think about it... people that 00:26:50.950 --> 00:26:53.109 don't watch the Bills like we do, they'll say 00:26:53.109 --> 00:26:55.250 things like, oh, well, you know, Josh, he plays 00:26:55.250 --> 00:26:57.089 amazing in the playoffs, but he just can't finish. 00:26:57.089 --> 00:26:59.869 And it's like, no, he can finish. He finishes 00:26:59.869 --> 00:27:02.769 every time. It's just the coaching decisions 00:27:02.769 --> 00:27:05.950 or the defense lets him down. So what did they 00:27:05.950 --> 00:27:07.769 do? They went out and not only did they fill 00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:10.269 holes on defense, but they bolstered it. We saw 00:27:10.269 --> 00:27:12.950 what the Eagles did to Patrick Mahomes in the 00:27:12.950 --> 00:27:14.869 Super Bowl. And that's what they went out and 00:27:14.869 --> 00:27:18.849 did. And I am beyond happy with that. Yeah, that's 00:27:18.849 --> 00:27:23.559 they they. They double down on the need. And 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:24.859 it was the one thing that was super interesting 00:27:24.859 --> 00:27:28.599 is I'm glad that whether they realize it or not, 00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:31.099 that Jeremy Joe kind of provoked Brandon being 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:33.579 in the in leading into the air view. I don't 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:37.160 think it was intentional, but we got some really 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:39.920 good insight into his thought process. Yes. Going 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.779 into that draft. Like, were we going to like 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:44.259 understand all of the nuances or all of the. 00:27:45.409 --> 00:27:48.869 With his whole mindset was unless he gets frustrated 00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:51.750 with me. He just like spits out all this reasoning 00:27:51.750 --> 00:27:55.029 sure I thought that was great as fans. It's cool 00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:58.869 to know Kind of where your GM's head was at in 00:27:58.869 --> 00:28:00.430 a situation like that instead of like kind of 00:28:00.430 --> 00:28:02.390 wondering like why did they do that? You know 00:28:02.390 --> 00:28:04.269 so like he was very clear in terms of the decision 00:28:04.269 --> 00:28:06.470 -making that was great that was actually one 00:28:06.470 --> 00:28:08.609 of the things I was afraid of is I thought there 00:28:08.609 --> 00:28:12.190 would be so much blowback from Bean calling into 00:28:12.190 --> 00:28:14.690 Jeremy and Joe's show that it would almost like 00:28:14.690 --> 00:28:17.430 shame him into like, I can't do that. And then 00:28:17.430 --> 00:28:19.250 he'd apologize, which I'm not saying they don't 00:28:19.250 --> 00:28:21.529 deserve an apology. But what I am saying is I 00:28:21.529 --> 00:28:23.849 want the GM to come on and be that transparent. 00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:26.569 Like I want to bring that back. You know, I want 00:28:26.569 --> 00:28:28.410 to I want to know what they're thinking. And 00:28:28.410 --> 00:28:30.130 I don't know if you watch the latest embedded, 00:28:30.230 --> 00:28:33.349 but Bean explains a little bit further on their 00:28:33.349 --> 00:28:36.180 process. I won't go into it, but basically how 00:28:36.180 --> 00:28:38.799 they wanted to stick to a certain position and 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:40.839 not switch positions unless the value was right. 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:44.359 So it was cool to hear. Look, I think the bottom 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:48.680 line is they have a good receiving core. I think 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:51.759 it's better than last year. I love the Elijah 00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:56.220 Moore signing. I mean, his ceiling could be wide 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:58.880 receiver one or two, and his floor could be special 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:00.480 teams. I don't know what we're going to get. 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:05.730 But what I do love is is that we have a better 00:29:05.730 --> 00:29:09.109 unit but more importantly you know I think the 00:29:09.109 --> 00:29:11.410 focus is that we don't really have like it's 00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:14.089 third down you know Diggs was our guy that's 00:29:14.089 --> 00:29:16.190 you know it's like basketball who you giving 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:17.950 the ball to at the last second and I don't I 00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:19.750 don't know if we have that guy yet and maybe 00:29:19.750 --> 00:29:21.269 we do and we're going to find out who it's going 00:29:21.269 --> 00:29:25.259 to be but you know it's just People you know 00:29:25.259 --> 00:29:27.119 when being was like well, we scored 38 points 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:29.099 a game or whatever it was and that is true And 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:31.319 I agree with him, but I would just like to know 00:29:31.319 --> 00:29:33.799 if I had the time How many of those points were 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:35.660 Alan you know running it into the end zone because 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:37.740 he didn't have someone downfield there, you know, 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:42.839 so You know, but I I loved the draft Do you have 00:29:42.839 --> 00:29:46.660 any thoughts as of yesterday? Any thoughts on 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:51.299 Gabe Davis coming back or not? No, I don't I 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:53.500 don't see it Thank you. I know he's got a good 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:56.700 relationship with, like, in the culture, in the 00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:01.279 Glock room and everything, but no disrespect 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:02.839 to the guy, but I'm fine if he lands somewhere 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.859 else. 100%. That's where I'm at. You know, I 00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:09.160 would get if he came back for chemistry reasons, 00:30:09.259 --> 00:30:12.160 maybe to help. I mean... He is kind of a little 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:15.180 bit bigger and veteran version of Keon Coleman, 00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:18.440 or at least his role, a power slot type. So, 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:20.819 you know, I could see maybe with his development. 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:23.339 But otherwise, I think the way it ended was the 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:27.279 way it probably should have ended. And good on 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:29.579 him. He got his bag. You know, for sure, for 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:33.920 sure. And he earned it. You know, I listened 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:37.500 to Joe Marino and his podcast almost every day. 00:30:38.180 --> 00:30:41.160 And. He's always had some strong opinions on 00:30:41.160 --> 00:30:44.720 Gabe Davis, which I kind of like. And I usually 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:47.759 trust Joe with what he's going to share. Oh, 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.160 yeah. His opinions often become my opinions. 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:52.980 Yeah. That's how I feel about Jeremy White and 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:55.500 Joe Marino. They're both very brilliant. Oh, 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:59.380 yeah, for sure. I mean, I just love Jeremy real 00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:02.039 quick. I've been listening to him since he was 00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:06.660 on the 7 o 'clock show with Brad Ryder in 2003 00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:10.460 or 2004 or whatever it was. I'm always I've always 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:12.799 enjoyed listening to that. And he he does a really 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:16.059 good job of explaining his reasoning and his 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:18.440 thought process and everything. Yeah. That's 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:21.259 the one thing I love about Jeremy is he's such 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:24.920 a great football mind, but he's also he's the 00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:27.099 kind of the opposite of most of us. He's not 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:30.059 knee jerk. He's well thought out. And he always, 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:33.259 he comes at a lot of these discussions with interesting 00:31:33.259 --> 00:31:35.779 angles. I'm just a big, I'm part of his text 00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:39.160 group. I suggest it if you, it's like three bucks 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:42.680 a month. I really suggest, it gives you a little 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:45.480 extra. So shout out to Jeremy and Joe and all 00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:48.480 those guys. I absolutely love all of them. Sal, 00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:52.059 Nate Geary, you name it. I wanted to talk to 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:53.799 you, move it along. Again, I'm trying to be respectful 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:57.250 of your time here, but. You know, people ask 00:31:57.250 --> 00:31:59.470 me about the table smashing, right? You know, 00:31:59.710 --> 00:32:02.609 that's kind of a thing. You know, Bill's Mafia, 00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:04.950 and then usually the second sentence is table 00:32:04.950 --> 00:32:07.450 smashing. Now, you're one of the co -creators, 00:32:07.589 --> 00:32:10.269 the co -founders, I should say, of Bill's Mafia. 00:32:10.690 --> 00:32:14.029 Now, as a fan who grew up in the Super Bowl era, 00:32:14.450 --> 00:32:16.410 you know, the four straight Super Bowls, and, 00:32:16.410 --> 00:32:18.869 you know, I had season tickets during the drought... 00:32:18.890 --> 00:32:21.990 I have an interesting theory on how the table 00:32:21.990 --> 00:32:24.109 smashing came about and I would love to hear 00:32:24.109 --> 00:32:26.730 I trust your opinion on this so people ask me 00:32:26.730 --> 00:32:29.569 about it and I would say Listen, I'm like I'm 00:32:29.569 --> 00:32:33.789 now I'm 42. I don't I never participated in tables 00:32:33.789 --> 00:32:37.390 We didn't do the table smashing, you know, I 00:32:37.390 --> 00:32:39.490 noticed the table smashing We used to tailgate 00:32:39.490 --> 00:32:41.809 in lot five, which I think is now a lot six or 00:32:41.809 --> 00:32:45.190 seven now in the stadium lot and I remember the 00:32:45.190 --> 00:32:46.809 the porta potties were always there and while 00:32:46.809 --> 00:32:48.890 I was waiting in line there's that grass lot 00:32:48.890 --> 00:32:51.950 right next there and nine times out of 10 I would 00:32:51.950 --> 00:32:54.670 see like a fire and I would hear screaming and 00:32:54.670 --> 00:32:56.309 I'm like what the fuck is going on over there 00:32:56.309 --> 00:32:58.670 and I remember looking over and seeing someone 00:32:58.670 --> 00:33:00.730 jumping through a table and I'm like what the 00:33:00.730 --> 00:33:02.950 fuck are these guys doing and then fast forward 00:33:02.950 --> 00:33:04.470 I don't know a month later and it's starting 00:33:04.470 --> 00:33:07.269 on now it's become a thing so my theory is and 00:33:07.269 --> 00:33:10.150 I tell people this I'm like look Guys like me 00:33:10.150 --> 00:33:12.190 come from an era of, we want to get back to the 00:33:12.190 --> 00:33:14.509 Super Bowl era, like we want to go back to those 00:33:14.509 --> 00:33:17.049 days, the glory days. We're there for the game. 00:33:17.509 --> 00:33:19.970 And I feel like that generation that started 00:33:19.970 --> 00:33:23.069 the table smashing, I feel like they were all 00:33:23.069 --> 00:33:25.809 high school kids or whatever. They don't know 00:33:25.809 --> 00:33:27.849 what it's like. They know that the Bills always 00:33:27.849 --> 00:33:30.490 suck. We're just going to go to the game and 00:33:30.490 --> 00:33:32.930 part like I went to a tailgate and a football 00:33:32.930 --> 00:33:34.609 game broke out, basically. You know what I mean? 00:33:34.710 --> 00:33:37.490 Like they're there for the party. And I think 00:33:37.490 --> 00:33:39.569 that's how it started, because a lot of people 00:33:39.569 --> 00:33:41.089 that aren't Bills fans would tell me like you 00:33:41.089 --> 00:33:43.009 guys jump through tables. I'm like, no, that's 00:33:43.009 --> 00:33:46.470 not there's just a sector of the fan base. Yeah, 00:33:46.490 --> 00:33:49.990 I think you're probably right. In terms of how 00:33:49.990 --> 00:33:53.490 that came about, you know. Yeah, I'm not I'm 00:33:53.490 --> 00:33:55.589 not a huge fan of it like neither I always say 00:33:55.589 --> 00:33:57.750 people can people can get up for a game However, 00:33:57.769 --> 00:33:59.710 they want that's fine. Like I don't I'm like 00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:02.970 a judge just not not for me not for this body. 00:34:03.650 --> 00:34:06.390 Oh 49 years old it's not going through a table. 00:34:07.089 --> 00:34:11.630 So But I always say just be safe just be smart 00:34:11.630 --> 00:34:15.670 so But yeah, I've always I've always thought 00:34:15.670 --> 00:34:17.289 that especially when you can get tickets on stumble 00:34:17.289 --> 00:34:20.690 for like eight bucks. Yeah a game People are 00:34:20.690 --> 00:34:22.590 going there and they're partying beforehand. 00:34:22.769 --> 00:34:24.309 If they make it into the stadium, great. And 00:34:24.309 --> 00:34:27.969 if not, well, it's fine. You know, I feel like 00:34:27.969 --> 00:34:29.909 it's the same fans. I was there. Remember when 00:34:29.909 --> 00:34:33.769 the the fans slid down the railing at the game 00:34:33.769 --> 00:34:36.409 and like fell onto the section below? I feel 00:34:36.409 --> 00:34:38.610 like he was part of that crew of like. And that 00:34:38.610 --> 00:34:40.250 was a game we were beating the Jets. We were 00:34:40.250 --> 00:34:42.750 like way up. And at that point, we were not used 00:34:42.750 --> 00:34:44.750 to like we're like, what do we do when we're 00:34:44.750 --> 00:34:47.449 winning? We've never experienced this. Let's 00:34:47.449 --> 00:34:51.719 slide down a goddamn railing. Nuts, but I think 00:34:51.719 --> 00:34:53.380 that was the moment I realized I'm getting older 00:34:53.380 --> 00:34:55.500 because I used to laugh at that stuff You know 00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:57.199 jumping through tables, and I looked at it more 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:58.780 from a father's perspective. I'm like they're 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:02.719 gonna get hooked. You know yeah, I Do want to 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:07.340 deliver? One oh good no no no go ahead. I apologize. 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:13.539 There's one away game in Tennessee Probably seven 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:16.070 eight years ago and a fan like jump through I 00:35:16.070 --> 00:35:18.050 think with the cardboard boxes almost like the 00:35:18.050 --> 00:35:20.309 tables went and like the guy was just laying 00:35:20.309 --> 00:35:22.090 there motionless. I'm like, what do we do? What 00:35:22.090 --> 00:35:24.389 are we doing? You know? Yeah, dude. There were 00:35:24.389 --> 00:35:26.329 a couple of videos I saw where they're on fire 00:35:26.329 --> 00:35:27.750 or they're, you know, they're breaking their 00:35:27.750 --> 00:35:29.750 neck. It looks like they're breaking their neck. 00:35:29.949 --> 00:35:35.210 It's just not not great. I got a question for 00:35:35.210 --> 00:35:37.769 you. The new stadium is being built. We're all 00:35:37.769 --> 00:35:42.190 excited about that. Someone proposed a question 00:35:42.190 --> 00:35:44.030 on social media of like if you could take one 00:35:44.030 --> 00:35:46.780 thing from the current stadium. As a souvenir, 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.360 because there's rumors they might sell that stuff 00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:50.440 off. Do you have something in mind that you would 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:54.980 want? I want my bench. That's what I said. That's 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:57.119 what I said. I want my section. Or at least the 00:35:57.119 --> 00:35:58.500 four seats. I don't need to have the whole bench. 00:35:58.619 --> 00:35:59.880 I'll share it with everybody else in our room. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:02.840 But I would love that. The four seats that we 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:05.380 have in section 224. I would love that. Shout 00:36:05.380 --> 00:36:09.500 out 224. My seasons were in section 119. And 00:36:09.500 --> 00:36:11.119 I said the same thing. I have it written right 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:14.570 here. Mine would be the bench. And you know why? 00:36:14.829 --> 00:36:17.510 Because you know that they have dents in them. 00:36:17.650 --> 00:36:19.690 Because you know on third down when we're banging 00:36:19.690 --> 00:36:22.949 away. And to me, that is the coolest shit ever. 00:36:24.289 --> 00:36:26.510 Did you hear about the Hallmark movie? Did you 00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:28.969 sign up to be an extra on that by any chance? 00:36:31.590 --> 00:36:33.650 Yeah, I have a casting agency reached out to 00:36:33.650 --> 00:36:35.929 me, so there may be something involved. But we'll 00:36:35.929 --> 00:36:39.570 see. That's how I met it. I know that's not how 00:36:39.570 --> 00:36:42.170 you met him. We'll see. We'll see. I'm not a 00:36:42.170 --> 00:36:46.820 big Hallmark. Movie guy a big Bill's guy. So 00:36:46.820 --> 00:36:49.159 I'll tell you what though my wife's grandmother 00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:54.880 when I told her about it. She is oh Dude Hallmark 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:58.420 movies to grandmothers are like You know tip 00:36:58.420 --> 00:37:00.480 -tock to us. You know what I mean? Like it's 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:03.380 uh, it's exciting for them Yeah, oh, yeah, she 00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:06.460 is like any news any news on the movie now grand 00:37:06.460 --> 00:37:12.320 Yeah, that's awesome I'll get you out of here 00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:16.960 on this. I wanted to do some rapid -fire questions 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:18.440 for you. Are you cool with that? Sure. Nothing 00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:20.420 hard. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Let's do it. 00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:23.719 So I've got about 10 rapid -fire questions for 00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:26.920 Del Reed, co -founder of Bill's Mafia, CEO of 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:32.059 26 Shirts, 26Shirts .com. All right. First question. 00:37:32.699 --> 00:37:35.920 Worst moment or experience as a fan in person 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:42.710 or watching? The... Lost to the Browns 2009 they 00:37:42.710 --> 00:37:45.670 lost six to three here God and we did two passes 00:37:45.670 --> 00:37:48.949 and they in the Browns won that game Is that 00:37:48.949 --> 00:37:51.849 who was our quarter captain Cobb? No, Derek Andrew. 00:37:51.969 --> 00:37:54.530 Who was there? Derek Anderson was the quarterback 00:37:54.530 --> 00:37:57.389 for the Browns right the bit so that would have 00:37:57.389 --> 00:38:01.869 been 2009 so that probably would have been Edwards 00:38:01.869 --> 00:38:04.190 yeah, I'm listening. I'm blaming Chad Edwards. 00:38:04.389 --> 00:38:09.010 Yeah, it's either him or Holcomb Tool I don't 00:38:09.010 --> 00:38:11.570 know. Uh, yeah, that was come with hokum was 00:38:11.570 --> 00:38:15.070 oh five. Oh, so it was picture on so Probably 00:38:15.070 --> 00:38:17.409 Edwards. Yeah, I think you're right. I was there. 00:38:17.409 --> 00:38:19.889 I reprised most that game. Yeah, it was definitely 00:38:19.889 --> 00:38:22.670 pre -fits II Yeah, you're right. Didn't they 00:38:22.670 --> 00:38:24.750 beat us like he threw for like a hundred yards 00:38:24.750 --> 00:38:27.110 two for five Is that what he said something like 00:38:27.110 --> 00:38:29.570 that? No, it's a two. It was like two for like 00:38:29.570 --> 00:38:31.010 17 or something like that. Like you complete 00:38:31.010 --> 00:38:33.929 to pass I remember how many yards it was. That's 00:38:33.929 --> 00:38:37.460 right What a great pick. That was not what I 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:38.920 was expecting you to say. I'm so happy you said 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:41.619 that. Alright, how about favorite moment or experience 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:45.340 as a fan in person or watching? The playoff game 00:38:45.340 --> 00:38:46.739 against the Patriots when they scored every time 00:38:46.739 --> 00:38:49.699 they had the ball. I was there. I remember at 00:38:49.699 --> 00:38:51.840 the game, my friend was with me, I'm like, they 00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:54.400 have to score every time they have the ball. 00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:57.340 I didn't think they were actually going to do 00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:00.000 it. They heard me. Yeah, that was great. I was 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:03.460 there. That was my... I had season tickets during 00:39:03.460 --> 00:39:06.599 the drought. but I'd never been to a playoff 00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:09.619 game at home. Yeah, so few of us. So few of us 00:39:09.619 --> 00:39:11.559 have, right? Right. Up to that point. And so 00:39:11.559 --> 00:39:13.679 my wife was like, we're going. And her and I 00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:16.500 went. I remember it was like zero degrees. Yeah, 00:39:16.539 --> 00:39:19.159 it was cold. It was incredible. Favorite uniform? 00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:20.320 I think I know what you're going to say, but 00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:22.900 I'm curious. I like the Stormtrooper outfits. 00:39:24.099 --> 00:39:28.059 They're white, head to toe. Really? Partly because, 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:30.800 first of all, they're clean. They're so clean 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:34.380 looking. I think part of it is that over the 00:39:34.380 --> 00:39:37.000 years I had this love for that look. I think 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:41.539 what it is is that was the same year, 2011, that 00:39:41.539 --> 00:39:43.380 they introduced those that Bill's mafia kind 00:39:43.380 --> 00:39:46.179 of took off. And so this whole Bill's mafia thing 00:39:46.179 --> 00:39:48.599 is growing and they're wearing those. They wore 00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:52.400 those ways like a ton. So I think that's part 00:39:52.400 --> 00:39:53.840 of it, too. Like that's kind of like it's like 00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:57.360 very formative. But also they look super clean. 00:39:57.780 --> 00:40:00.039 What a great answer, dude. Yeah, it's kind of 00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:01.980 like nostalgia for you kind of represents the 00:40:01.980 --> 00:40:04.400 birth of what what you started Yeah, you talking 00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:06.699 about with the the standing Buffalo or still 00:40:06.699 --> 00:40:09.039 the the newer Buffalo no throwback I like to 00:40:09.039 --> 00:40:10.800 throwbacks too, but like I'm talking about the 00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:13.300 new helmet new helmet You know with the white 00:40:13.300 --> 00:40:16.280 helmet and like yeah the head to toe boy, so 00:40:16.280 --> 00:40:21.000 so clean it is so clean I'm I'm I'm a hack. I'm 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:23.579 going chalk on this. I love the 90s the 90 the 00:40:23.579 --> 00:40:26.519 red helmets, but All right, here we go. This 00:40:26.519 --> 00:40:31.820 is not the Donahoe jerseys No. Visiting stadiums 00:40:31.820 --> 00:40:36.400 that you would not go to. Or one stadium. I mean, 00:40:36.400 --> 00:40:38.639 I feel like the Eagles is one of the easier answers, 00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:48.239 right? Maybe the Patriots, but I would go there 00:40:48.239 --> 00:40:51.980 while the Bills are still really good and the 00:40:51.980 --> 00:40:56.420 Patriots aren't. Yeah, I don't know. I want to 00:40:56.420 --> 00:40:59.420 go to all of them. I've only been to maybe like 00:40:59.420 --> 00:41:03.380 six so far. You could get away with it. You're 00:41:03.380 --> 00:41:05.880 respected within the football community. If I 00:41:05.880 --> 00:41:07.940 go, they're just going to I don't know what's 00:41:07.940 --> 00:41:10.300 going to happen. I'd get a hat because I hate 00:41:10.300 --> 00:41:12.159 you all or something. Yeah, there you go. I hate 00:41:12.159 --> 00:41:13.980 your team. I hate your team. I got to stay in 00:41:13.980 --> 00:41:15.260 line with what I was saying earlier. I hate your 00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:19.099 team. I hate the team, not the person. All right. 00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:22.280 Most underrated Bills player all time, current 00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:26.780 or former? Boy, wow. That's a good one. Most 00:41:26.780 --> 00:41:31.159 underrated player. It took me a while when I 00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:33.940 was thinking of mine, but cares about mine. Oh, 00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:38.300 yeah. I'll tie him. I don't know. Well, Taron 00:41:38.300 --> 00:41:40.059 Johnson's been an all pro, so I don't think he 00:41:40.059 --> 00:41:43.480 counts. No, he's amazing. I don't understand. 00:41:43.659 --> 00:41:45.619 People don't understand how important he is to 00:41:45.619 --> 00:41:50.699 that defense. Yeah, dude. That's most underrated 00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:57.360 player. It's tough. I went through it. I mean, 00:41:57.539 --> 00:42:02.739 I'll help you out. Let me hear yours. Mine is... 00:42:02.739 --> 00:42:06.920 Who did I pick? Let me make sure I have it here. 00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:14.380 Eric Moldz would probably be mine. I mean, his 00:42:14.380 --> 00:42:17.260 stats speak for themselves, but I think he kind 00:42:17.260 --> 00:42:19.179 of gets buried in there because it was a time 00:42:19.179 --> 00:42:23.360 when the bills weren't so good. Yeah, I think 00:42:23.360 --> 00:42:26.500 Eric Eric molds is up there for me. Eric molds 00:42:26.500 --> 00:42:29.920 would be my pick Honorable mention, you know 00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:39.519 Lee Evans Maybe not a Lee Evans McGee It is like 00:42:39.519 --> 00:42:44.420 who now I'm stumped on my own question There's 00:42:44.420 --> 00:42:50.219 a lot of uh, I mean so many I mean I guess Puzzle 00:42:50.219 --> 00:42:52.300 us 99 defense that they had like if they beat 00:42:52.300 --> 00:42:54.019 the Titans in that game They go to the Super 00:42:54.019 --> 00:42:56.139 Bowl dude like whatever team was when that game 00:42:56.139 --> 00:43:00.420 was going through without it and without um Who 00:43:00.420 --> 00:43:02.099 was the tackle there? I always forget Pat or 00:43:02.099 --> 00:43:03.820 Ted Williams, which everyone was because they 00:43:03.820 --> 00:43:06.800 a couple years later. They'd be other being The 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:10.059 defensive tackle Williams. Oh in that that night. 00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:14.340 I see them. Okay. Okay. I like it Great choice 00:43:14.340 --> 00:43:20.659 Two teams Gone tomorrow. They're out of the league. 00:43:20.739 --> 00:43:22.579 I picked two because it got to keep it even. 00:43:22.980 --> 00:43:24.900 We can get rid of two teams out of the NFL. Who 00:43:24.900 --> 00:43:33.079 is it? Oh, I mean, you know, it is kind of mean. 00:43:35.519 --> 00:43:38.579 My brain said Miami right away. But of course, 00:43:38.900 --> 00:43:42.739 it's not true. You know, I want to be in Detroit. 00:43:42.840 --> 00:43:44.460 It's kind of good now. So it's not like they're 00:43:44.460 --> 00:43:53.230 just like hanging on like. Let's see. I go straight 00:43:53.230 --> 00:43:56.789 expansion teams. I'm like Carolina, Tennessee, 00:43:57.250 --> 00:44:00.690 goodbye. Or Tennessee, Jacksonville. They're 00:44:00.690 --> 00:44:03.269 a falsehood, so I'll take Tennessee. They bring 00:44:03.269 --> 00:44:08.269 out Warren Moon as a legacy player. For all we 00:44:08.269 --> 00:44:11.789 know, he never steps foot in the state of Tennessee. 00:44:12.650 --> 00:44:15.489 I could not agree more, because if you remember 00:44:15.489 --> 00:44:18.429 - And they look like a UFC team. Yeah, we do 00:44:18.429 --> 00:44:21.469 they do and and if you remember technically the 00:44:21.469 --> 00:44:24.170 Ravens are the old Browns So that would be like 00:44:24.170 --> 00:44:27.969 bringing out like a Browns player. I was a raven 00:44:27.969 --> 00:44:30.750 Love that you said that because that's like my 00:44:30.750 --> 00:44:32.889 Favorite troll to do when we played a ray with 00:44:32.889 --> 00:44:35.869 the me to let them hogs on the old Browns. I 00:44:35.869 --> 00:44:38.929 Love that you said that so I love it because 00:44:38.929 --> 00:44:40.889 that's why I used to go I used to go whatever 00:44:40.889 --> 00:44:43.409 you love that. I love it. You're the old Browns, 00:44:43.510 --> 00:44:45.670 you know, yeah, they get so angry. It's like 00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:48.000 No, all the all the history stayed in Cleveland 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:50.340 like that. Well, the GM didn't and the players 00:44:50.340 --> 00:44:53.440 didn't and like you know, like Ozzy Newsom like 00:44:53.440 --> 00:44:56.820 what he so multiverse He just switched over from 00:44:56.820 --> 00:44:59.500 being the Cleveland GM to them Baltimore GM No, 00:45:00.159 --> 00:45:01.719 it probably had they have probably had the same 00:45:01.719 --> 00:45:03.679 employer identification number, you know, right? 00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:08.420 I don't know probably the same Incorporated maybe 00:45:08.420 --> 00:45:11.070 I don't know you could and you control both both 00:45:11.070 --> 00:45:13.789 fan bases. I don't like the troll Cleveland because 00:45:13.789 --> 00:45:16.190 if you remember when they lost the team, a lot 00:45:16.190 --> 00:45:18.809 of those guys came over across the lake and would 00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:20.590 support the Bills. So I always have a soft spot 00:45:20.590 --> 00:45:22.409 for them. The Bills would have the Cleveland 00:45:22.409 --> 00:45:25.329 day. I remember that. But I do. But I do. If 00:45:25.329 --> 00:45:26.889 you want to troll Cleveland fans, you can be 00:45:26.889 --> 00:45:28.969 like, you know, Lamar Jackson could have been 00:45:28.969 --> 00:45:31.530 yours. You know, but I don't I don't want to 00:45:31.530 --> 00:45:34.710 do that. How was that Super Bowl win in 2000? 00:45:36.750 --> 00:45:41.239 All right. One move you would take back. Organizational 00:45:41.239 --> 00:45:44.039 move you wish they never did. Again, this is 00:45:44.039 --> 00:45:46.500 not about me, but while you're thinking, just 00:45:46.500 --> 00:45:48.760 to get the brain thing. I said the Marchand trade. 00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:52.699 That was my knee -jerk reaction. That was my 00:45:52.699 --> 00:45:55.400 knee -jerk reaction. Huge hall of favor probably, 00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:58.980 and he was on your team for three or four seasons 00:45:58.980 --> 00:46:02.059 and just squandered. And they gave him away for 00:46:02.059 --> 00:46:06.659 a fourth rounder. Alright, we're almost done. 00:46:06.889 --> 00:46:09.409 Favorite tailgate spot at the stadium? Where 00:46:09.409 --> 00:46:13.590 are you hanging out? What lot? It's a good question 00:46:13.590 --> 00:46:17.210 because my wife and I, we kind of bounce around. 00:46:18.610 --> 00:46:23.670 We stop at the Mafia house and then we'll head 00:46:23.670 --> 00:46:28.789 over to Lori's lot and obviously Kenny with his 00:46:28.789 --> 00:46:35.519 lot. Yeah, I don't know then we'll end up over 00:46:35.519 --> 00:46:38.199 at like the hotel off of like Southwestern wherever 00:46:38.199 --> 00:46:39.880 is because her cousin's up tailgate over there 00:46:39.880 --> 00:46:41.760 world It's like an abandoned hotel now or something 00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:43.860 like that or something. I don't know but like 00:46:43.860 --> 00:46:48.960 um Yeah, dude That's it. All the places are great. 00:46:48.960 --> 00:46:50.639 I got me. I've never I'm too scared to go in 00:46:50.639 --> 00:46:54.760 the grass lot though. Yeah Remember when remember 00:46:54.760 --> 00:46:57.679 when where the new stadium is is where the used 00:46:57.679 --> 00:47:00.159 to be the bus lot that I used to tell people 00:47:00.159 --> 00:47:01.840 like everyone's like oh the hammer lots crazy 00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:05.739 I'm like listen Was like back in the day? It 00:47:05.739 --> 00:47:08.019 was like a war zone over in the bus line because 00:47:08.019 --> 00:47:10.300 it would be people who have been drinking since 00:47:10.300 --> 00:47:13.440 like 4 a .m. When the bus left there's mounted 00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:17.139 cops there was fights It was just it was but 00:47:17.139 --> 00:47:20.079 I saw a rock band just start playing it was that 00:47:20.079 --> 00:47:22.360 was a place was a Was it you was it your man? 00:47:22.599 --> 00:47:25.340 What's that was it your band actually? I think 00:47:25.340 --> 00:47:27.760 I did sit in it wasn't my band, but I did I sang 00:47:27.760 --> 00:47:30.780 smells like teen spirit with them All right best 00:47:30.780 --> 00:47:36.119 wings in Buffalo Oh, man. So I know. Here's the 00:47:36.119 --> 00:47:38.579 thing. It's hard to find bad wings in Buffalo. 00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:43.300 True. I've only had 9 -11 once, or maybe six 00:47:43.300 --> 00:47:44.699 months ago, seven, whatever it was. I forget. 00:47:46.380 --> 00:47:47.980 Those are really good. That's what I heard is 00:47:47.980 --> 00:47:49.980 the new. That's what I'm seeing now. For a while, 00:47:50.659 --> 00:47:53.559 I was saying it was Bar Bill and Gabriel's Gate. 00:47:53.599 --> 00:47:56.579 And now on social media, especially the last 00:47:56.579 --> 00:48:00.519 week, I've seen 9 -11 Taverns crushing it. Yeah. 00:48:02.049 --> 00:48:06.469 So my one time going there was great. Sneaky 00:48:06.469 --> 00:48:10.570 Choice is... I like Sneaky Choice. In Kenmore, 00:48:10.769 --> 00:48:14.010 there's Mastachios. It's called Mastachios. And 00:48:14.010 --> 00:48:15.670 their wings, they're not, no, it's just a pizza 00:48:15.670 --> 00:48:18.570 place, but their wings are really good. So a 00:48:18.570 --> 00:48:20.010 lot of times when friends are in from out of 00:48:20.010 --> 00:48:21.849 town, they want to get wings or order in in my 00:48:21.849 --> 00:48:24.570 house or whatever, I'll bring those in. And like 00:48:24.570 --> 00:48:28.530 every time, you know, my guest or whomever has 00:48:28.530 --> 00:48:30.309 been like, these are really good. I'm like, yeah, 00:48:30.309 --> 00:48:32.510 I know. That's why I ordered them. but um so 00:48:32.510 --> 00:48:35.170 and also a big shout out to wingnuts because 00:48:35.170 --> 00:48:37.929 those aren't even like truly buffalo wings or 00:48:37.929 --> 00:48:39.989 like their own thing they're like chicken forearms 00:48:39.989 --> 00:48:43.429 anyway they're huge yeah right um yeah so there's 00:48:43.429 --> 00:48:45.170 a lot of great choices in buff or entirely like 00:48:45.170 --> 00:48:46.949 i don't want to die on any hill to be honest 00:48:46.949 --> 00:48:48.329 i don't want to die on any hill when you come 00:48:48.329 --> 00:48:50.570 with that stuff but we'll find the crappy ones 00:48:50.570 --> 00:48:53.550 we'll shame them that's right you know you know 00:48:53.550 --> 00:48:55.429 i guess the better question should have been 00:48:55.429 --> 00:48:58.400 i should have said best like like you know, low 00:48:58.400 --> 00:49:01.139 key underrated spots. So I like, would you say 00:49:01.139 --> 00:49:04.239 mustachios? Mustachios on Elmwood and Kenmore. 00:49:04.440 --> 00:49:07.599 I mean, who better to endorse it than you? People 00:49:07.599 --> 00:49:09.820 see people focus on the sauce, which is obviously 00:49:09.820 --> 00:49:12.360 important for me. It's like you got to pay attention 00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:15.460 to the the wing itself. Is it, you know, is it 00:49:15.460 --> 00:49:17.940 meaty? Is it coated? Is it, you know, crispy 00:49:17.940 --> 00:49:20.239 like that? There's a lot that goes into wings, 00:49:20.400 --> 00:49:23.139 which I will tell you. I live in Ithaca. The 00:49:23.139 --> 00:49:26.980 Ithaca Ale House is. Other than wings I've had 00:49:26.980 --> 00:49:29.079 in Buffalo are the absolute greatest wings I've 00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:31.599 ever had in my life. If you're ever in the Ithaca 00:49:31.599 --> 00:49:34.480 area, Ithaca Alehouse, check that out. They're 00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:37.260 not paying me. They're not paying me. I'm just 00:49:37.260 --> 00:49:39.539 speaking one Bill's fan to the other. All right, 00:49:39.579 --> 00:49:42.320 and last question. This is the most important. 00:49:42.360 --> 00:49:44.880 This has been trending on social media, but I 00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:47.840 kind of made it our own question. A hundred gorillas 00:49:47.840 --> 00:49:52.820 versus one Josh Allen. Who's winning? I love 00:49:52.820 --> 00:49:54.579 Josh, but that's that's a lot of gorilla man. 00:49:54.579 --> 00:49:56.719 I have a lot of growers. I think I think he would 00:49:56.719 --> 00:50:00.000 agree. Have you have you had a chance to meet 00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:02.000 any of the current player? Have you met being 00:50:02.000 --> 00:50:05.679 McDermott Allen on any of the main players? Yeah, 00:50:05.699 --> 00:50:09.019 I've met. I met Brandon Bean, a super nice guy. 00:50:09.320 --> 00:50:14.980 Very normal dude, you know. Yeah, I met Leon 00:50:14.980 --> 00:50:18.760 Dunwoody on and read Ferguson and I love, you 00:50:18.760 --> 00:50:20.500 know. Yeah, he's a great guy. Everyone loves 00:50:20.500 --> 00:50:23.019 Reid. Who doesn't like Reid Ferguson? He's the 00:50:23.019 --> 00:50:25.880 best. Yeah. So those are the two that I've done 00:50:25.880 --> 00:50:29.840 the most work with. And, you know, I've, you 00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:31.500 know, we can go down the list with the players. 00:50:31.719 --> 00:50:35.320 Like I've met, you know, Dawson and Josh and 00:50:35.320 --> 00:50:38.519 stuff like that. Briefly, real briefly with Josh. 00:50:38.519 --> 00:50:40.760 He's a busy guy, right? But yeah, I've had a 00:50:40.760 --> 00:50:44.619 lot of cool opportunities to mix it up with, 00:50:44.619 --> 00:50:46.480 you know, a lot of these players and over the 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:48.820 years now, 10, 15 years, you know, like Just 00:50:48.820 --> 00:50:53.440 so many cool stories, you know, like Jerry Hughes, 00:50:53.579 --> 00:50:57.719 great dude. Love that guy. Awesome. I mean, like 00:50:57.719 --> 00:51:02.179 I said, I'm 49. So Thurman, Jim, Andre, the opportunity 00:51:02.179 --> 00:51:04.760 to me to, you know, work with each of those guys 00:51:04.760 --> 00:51:08.980 has been super surreal. Yeah, man. I never take 00:51:08.980 --> 00:51:11.280 it for granted. I met Jim Kelly back in the day. 00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:14.510 And the first thing I said was I was like. Jim, 00:51:14.710 --> 00:51:16.909 I don't get starstruck very much. I just don't 00:51:16.909 --> 00:51:18.610 know what to say. What do you say to one of your 00:51:18.610 --> 00:51:21.170 heroes? And without a beat, man, he looked at 00:51:21.170 --> 00:51:22.510 me and he goes, what do you mean you don't know 00:51:22.510 --> 00:51:24.150 what to say to your heroes? You just say, hey, 00:51:24.530 --> 00:51:26.670 how are you doing? How's your day going? Because 00:51:26.670 --> 00:51:28.550 my heroes are my family, and that's what I ask 00:51:28.550 --> 00:51:30.949 them every morning. And I was like, whoa, what 00:51:30.949 --> 00:51:34.849 a Jim Kelly answer, you know? Yeah. But as fans, 00:51:35.030 --> 00:51:37.250 we all dream of, like, imagine if Josh Allen 00:51:37.250 --> 00:51:39.389 or Brandon Bean knew who we were. And you're 00:51:39.389 --> 00:51:41.619 in the unique position. where they do know who 00:51:41.619 --> 00:51:44.500 you are. And dude, it's well -deserved. You've 00:51:44.500 --> 00:51:47.099 done so much. Oh my gosh. I gotta say, real quick, 00:51:47.300 --> 00:51:49.800 Stevie. Stevie Johnson. I love that dude. Yeah, 00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:52.380 dude. I love that dude. If there's one player 00:51:52.380 --> 00:51:55.300 that's one of us, it's him. Oh, I love that dude. 00:51:55.719 --> 00:51:57.420 Yeah, so he's the poor guy. Sorry to interrupt 00:51:57.420 --> 00:51:59.840 you. No, no, this is your interview. I'm interrupting 00:51:59.840 --> 00:52:03.920 you. No, but it's all the recognition, whether 00:52:03.920 --> 00:52:05.880 you like it or not, is well -deserved because 00:52:05.880 --> 00:52:09.400 not only did you give us something as fans, You 00:52:09.400 --> 00:52:11.219 know, especially at the time you gave it to us, 00:52:11.340 --> 00:52:12.800 right? We're coming out of the, we didn't know 00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:15.219 yet, but we're, we're, we're on our, you know, 00:52:15.219 --> 00:52:17.239 the last leg of the drought. You gave us something 00:52:17.239 --> 00:52:20.000 to talk about, to be excited about, to, to feel 00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:22.260 good about. And as a fan, I thank you for that. 00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:24.079 But more importantly, what you do for the Buffalo 00:52:24.079 --> 00:52:26.840 community and for other communities and charity, 00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:29.440 it's, it's absolutely amazing, man. Uh, Dell 00:52:29.440 --> 00:52:33.840 Reed, Bill's mafia, 26 shirts, 26 shirts .com. 00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:38.039 Uh, before we go, any events or extra plugs you 00:52:38.039 --> 00:52:40.969 want to get in? First of all, super kind words. 00:52:41.190 --> 00:52:44.530 Thank you. I mean it, man. Very, I mean, like 00:52:44.530 --> 00:52:46.510 it's just a bunch of weird, crazy accidents in 00:52:46.510 --> 00:52:49.989 my life that have led to this point. But very 00:52:49.989 --> 00:52:51.389 nice of you to say that stuff. And I got a great 00:52:51.389 --> 00:52:54.389 team here at 20 Subchurch that with the fundraising 00:52:54.389 --> 00:52:58.289 we do and everything. Great question. Literally, 00:52:58.570 --> 00:53:02.889 just as we were going live, we announced Mafia 00:53:02.889 --> 00:53:07.380 Khan 2025. So we started that last week. Did 00:53:07.380 --> 00:53:10.340 you just fucking break a story on my show? About 00:53:10.340 --> 00:53:14.019 an hour ago. Yeah, it's fine. I'll take it. All 00:53:14.019 --> 00:53:18.260 right. So last year we did our first Mafia con 00:53:18.260 --> 00:53:22.000 at the Western New York Heroes Event Center in 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:24.179 the city this year. It's going to be at Seneca 00:53:24.179 --> 00:53:27.340 one, which is the tallest building in Buffalo. 00:53:27.340 --> 00:53:30.219 So it's a big rectangle. Yeah. And that'll be 00:53:30.219 --> 00:53:32.719 on July 19th. And we're partnering with TSE. 00:53:33.199 --> 00:53:36.119 We're going to have, you know, Bills players 00:53:36.119 --> 00:53:39.900 there and, you know, doing autographs and signings 00:53:39.900 --> 00:53:42.940 with TSE and everything, or vendors, exhibitors, 00:53:43.360 --> 00:53:46.000 live podcasts. It's going to be, it's going to 00:53:46.000 --> 00:53:48.239 be a blast. So very much looking forward to it. 00:53:48.280 --> 00:53:50.820 Last year was amazing. Super stressful going 00:53:50.820 --> 00:53:52.960 into it. I'm not an event planner by nature. 00:53:53.480 --> 00:53:56.559 Like I said, I have a great team, but I was so 00:53:56.559 --> 00:53:58.380 nervous and I remember it wasn't until like the 00:53:58.380 --> 00:54:00.179 day before we were finishing set up and I was 00:54:00.179 --> 00:54:02.710 like, holy cow, I think. I think this is going 00:54:02.710 --> 00:54:04.309 to go great, you know? And so everybody's walking 00:54:04.309 --> 00:54:07.170 up to me today saying, congratulations. I'm like, 00:54:07.409 --> 00:54:09.769 OK, I guess that means we did a good job. So 00:54:09.769 --> 00:54:13.829 again, great team here putting it together. We're 00:54:13.829 --> 00:54:15.750 looking forward to it. It's going to be a big 00:54:15.750 --> 00:54:20.329 celebration of Buffalo football fandom and a 00:54:20.329 --> 00:54:23.449 big event. Well, I can promise you I will be 00:54:23.449 --> 00:54:27.699 there. I'll have to stay in touch. Maybe we'll 00:54:27.699 --> 00:54:29.960 actually do a live show from there. Who knows? 00:54:30.639 --> 00:54:36.260 But I will be there. I want to say, too, my friend 00:54:36.260 --> 00:54:39.880 and I, we wrote a Bill's Mafia anthem. We recorded 00:54:39.880 --> 00:54:42.019 it under the name The K -Gun. It's called Where 00:54:42.019 --> 00:54:44.380 Else, Marv's Anthem. We shot it at the home opener. 00:54:45.639 --> 00:54:48.119 And we just put it out there for fun. We're putting 00:54:48.119 --> 00:54:50.360 like three or four more songs. Our next song 00:54:50.360 --> 00:54:53.789 is going to be about beating the Chiefs. You 00:54:53.789 --> 00:54:56.050 know, it don't mean a thing to win the East unless 00:54:56.050 --> 00:54:57.969 you finally beat the Chiefs. So we've got some 00:54:57.969 --> 00:54:59.570 other, we've got some other songs coming, but 00:54:59.570 --> 00:55:01.489 I want to say, you know, I kind of threw it out 00:55:01.489 --> 00:55:03.949 there. Like here's our baby. You know, if one 00:55:03.949 --> 00:55:06.090 person listens to it before a game, then, then 00:55:06.090 --> 00:55:08.630 we win. Like I don't care what happens with it. 00:55:08.849 --> 00:55:10.590 You were one, I sent it to you and you were one 00:55:10.590 --> 00:55:13.849 of the only people that, that wrote back, you 00:55:13.849 --> 00:55:16.030 know, a higher profile within the Bills community 00:55:16.030 --> 00:55:17.469 that wrote back and were like, Hey man, that 00:55:17.469 --> 00:55:19.090 was really awesome. And I really appreciated 00:55:19.090 --> 00:55:20.869 that. And I wanted to thank you for that, man. 00:55:21.090 --> 00:55:23.409 Speaking truth. I really appreciate it. And that's 00:55:23.409 --> 00:55:25.489 what's great about Bill's Mafia. Del, I've taken 00:55:25.489 --> 00:55:27.909 up way too much of your time. Thank you for coming 00:55:27.909 --> 00:55:32.690 on Good News York. 26 shirts, Bill's Mafia. Keep 00:55:32.690 --> 00:55:35.210 doing what you do. Let's stay in touch, and we'll 00:55:35.210 --> 00:55:37.349 see you at MafiaCon. Stay tuned for that. Let's 00:55:37.349 --> 00:55:38.969 go. Yeah, it was a pleasure, man. We've been 00:55:38.969 --> 00:55:40.570 talking back and forth on social. I think this 00:55:40.570 --> 00:55:42.670 is one of the few times we've actually mixed 00:55:42.670 --> 00:55:44.630 it up, like, you know, face -to -face, even through 00:55:44.630 --> 00:55:46.789 a screen, right? Yeah, I know. I love it. You 00:55:46.789 --> 00:55:49.210 and I kind of have crossed paths a little bit 00:55:49.210 --> 00:55:50.911 on social media, but this is like our first... 00:55:50.909 --> 00:55:53.269 Real conversation, and it was awesome. And I 00:55:53.269 --> 00:55:55.869 can't thank you enough and say thank you to the 00:55:55.869 --> 00:55:59.289 rest of the team there at 26 Shirts. And we'll 00:55:59.289 --> 00:56:01.730 talk to you soon, my man. All right, take care, 00:56:01.789 --> 00:56:04.389 brother. Thank you. All right, that was a special 00:56:04.389 --> 00:56:07.670 edition of Good News York with the co -founder 00:56:07.670 --> 00:56:10.670 of Bill's Mafia, CEO of 26 Shirts, Del Reed. 00:56:11.230 --> 00:56:13.429 Absolutely love him. What did we learn? You need 00:56:13.429 --> 00:56:16.769 to go to Mustachios for underrated wings, and 00:56:16.769 --> 00:56:20.690 you got to go to MafiaCon. I am... Through the 00:56:20.690 --> 00:56:23.150 Roof excited. I'm a little fanboy right now. 00:56:24.090 --> 00:56:26.530 Have a great weekend. Good New York. We'll be 00:56:26.530 --> 00:56:31.050 back Monday. GoodNewYork .com. We love you. Go 00:56:31.050 --> 00:56:31.329 Bills.