Everybody from team executives to friendly neighbors are banding together to make sure the team makes their flight.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Bills are determined to play against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, no matter how much snow gets in their way.
The game was moved by the NFL to Detroit ahead of the snowstorm currently burying parts of Erie County under several feet of snow. In retrospect, it seemed like a good move, because the Bills Stadium was buried under more than 60 inches of snow.
But a day before the game, millions of members of the Bills Mafia are still questioning if their team will make it to game day on time.
The team is scheduled to leave from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, but weather conditions could make that problematic. The airport closed for several hours Saturday morning after more than two feet of snow fell on the tarmac.
Even after it reopened just before 9:30 a.m., the airport has been struggling. Dozens of flights have been canceled because of the weather conditions and even more are delayed.
Aviation officials expressed confidence that the team’s plane would be able to take off on time, however.
“We will be ready for the bills when that aircraft arrives at 1 and they leave at 3:30,” said Lee Weitz, the Director of Aviation for NFTA.
On Friday, a day after the decision was made to switch the venue for the game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the team would leave a day before game day, as they would with any away game. But as Saturday rolled around, problems began mounting.
Spencer Brown, an offensive tackle for the Bills, posted a video on his Instagram story showing his neighbors helping clear the path for him to leave his house and get on the road to the airport.
The Athletic sports reporter Tim Graham said he spoke to Bills’ COO Ron Raccuia who told him he was picking up players to bring them to the airport.
Raccuia reportedly pushed back against criticism that they could have left earlier, saying that because the decision wasn’t made until Thursday to have the game in Detroit, it wasn’t possible to charter a plane in time.
The Browns, in contrast, have a much easier 2.5 hour bus ride to Detroit.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.