You can call former Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick the unofficial General of ‘The Bills Mafia.’ He played for nine teams in his National Football League career, but Buffalo is his second home.
You want proof? This is Fitzpatrick at a Bills game against the New England Patriots in 2022. Oh, and it was nine degrees Fahrenheit when this picture was taken. He refused tickets for a suite and sat with fans in the bitter cold.
If none of that gets you, Fitzpatrick was under contract with the Washington Redskins at the time. (Washington’s season was over and he retired after the playoffs).
Fitzpatrick will be back in Buffalo on Sunday when the Bills face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional game. It’s being called the MVP Bowl with Josh Allen facing Lamar Alexander, the top two candidates for the award.
Will Fitzpatrick disrobe again? It’s scheduled to be warm with a high of 22 degrees. He will be the Bills ‘Legend of the Game’. Fitzpatrick will fire up the Buffalo crowd with a pre-game speech.
“I’ve always had a deep understanding and appreciation of what it meant to be part of Bills Mafia, and I think they have embraced me for my playing style and personality and for me just being myself,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had great neighbors, and have always just felt a deep connection to Buffalo.”
from buffalo bills.com
This week he posted a picture combing his chest hair on X (Twitter). He’s making it a trend. He took his shirt off after a Bills win in 2023. Fitzpatrick now works as an analyst for Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football .
Prime broadcast its first ever playoff game between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round. That wasn’t good enough for Fitzpatrick. He lobbied the commissioner for Amazon to get the first round Bills – Denver Broncos game.
“Roger, I played in the NFL for 17 years. You know how many times I went to the playoffs, Roger? None. Zero. Send me home to Buffalo,” Fitzpatrick said. “Send me to Buffalo to watch them beat up on the Broncos, Roger, I beg of you.”
Of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 17 years in the NFL only four were played in Buffalo. He completed 60% of his passes, threw for more than 11-thousand yards with 80 touchdowns while in Buffalo. In his four seasons as a Bill, Fitzpatrick started 53 out of 55 total games.
This is a franchise with 12 players in the hall of fame. You know the names: Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed. Fitzpatrick won’t be going to Canton, but Bills fans don’t really care.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” Fitzpatrick told buffalobills.com. “I love the fan base in Buffalo, and it’s a place where I’ve always felt like I’ve been at home… and I can’t wait for the opportunity this week to get everybody fired up.”
This is part of the reason fans in Buffalo love Ryan Fitzpatrick. He went to one of the fans’ legendary tailgate parties before a game in 2023. Earlier this season he paid a four thousand dollar fine for a Bills rookie for unnecessary roughness. Everyone in western New York including his former teammates love the Harvard graduate.
“He’s just so smart, and he’s so witty,” Bills broadcaster and former teammate Eric Wood said. “He’ll specialize in some cross-the-line childish games at times, but he’s just a ton of fun to be around and he’s such a genuinely good person, that everyone in the locker room loves him. So, no one’s off limits, he was a ton of fun to play with.”
While a member of the Miami Dolphins Fitzpatrick was asked what city had the best fans. You guessed it, he said Buffalo.
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