What To Expect At A Bills Backer Bar Outside Western New York

Like a lot of Bills Mafia, I'm rarely out of town when a Bills game is on. I'm pretty much in my spot a half hour before kickoff for every game. But where do you watch a game if you're not even close to home?

What is a "Bills Backer Bar?"

If you've never heard of a "Bills Backer Bar," you might be surprised to hear that they're hidden in plain sight all over the world. They're official places for Bills fans to safely gather and watch the game outside of the Western New York area. They'll often have specials on food and drinks for Bills fans, and of course, you can count on them having the game on.

We went to our first Bills Backer Bar

This past weekend, when the Bills were playing the Raiders, I had my first experience at an actual Backer Bar. One time we watched the game when we were in Cabo, but they were just nice enough to have the game on for us. They weren't actually considered a Backer Bar, but this weekend was different.

We went to a place called Alpha Charlie's Tap & Tavern in Centennial, Colorado. They say Bills fans are everywhere, and it's true. The owner kind of emceed the afternoon and really made us feel as comfortable as possible while we were there. It turns out, he spent some time in Tonawanda, and that's how he became a fan.

What was it like at your first Backer Bar?

I have to be honest when I say I wasn't sure about watching a Bills game in Broncos country. We're pretty territorial in Western New York. When you're in WNY, you're watching the Bills game. That's pretty much how we roll. It kind of felt like we were invading their space. But they were incredibly accommodating.

They even made sure to have Labatt beer available, wings (and they were actually pretty good), Sahlen's hot dogs, and a stinger sub (with or without blue cheese). They played the Shout song every time the Bills scored, and they even had a Bingo game with cards to play along for free. They had red and blue pom poms to shake if you wanted, and more. It was a really good time. They were awesome with us.

Was it like watching the game at home?

Is it like watching the game at home? It was a little. It's not exactly the same, but it's as close as you can get outside of the 7-1-6. These people were great, though (and so was the food), and really made us feel at home while we were there. I would definitely suggest you look up a backer bar wherever you are going to be traveling and give them a shot. It's a really cool experience to find other Bills fans from different parts of the country. We were 1500 miles from home and got to talk to fans from the other side of the country.