This is part two of the Bills Mafia series.
The Bills Helmet Bar: A Tailgating Dream from Home
For the Bills Mafia, the pregame tailgate is the best part. And fans have their way of pregaming, from cooking eggs and bacon on a sizzling griddle in a private lot to watching the game from home.
But for Keswick, Ontario native Blake Parnham, the idea for the Bills Helmet Bar started during the summer of 2019.
“We built an outdoor patio in the springtime, and because the [Toronto] Raptors were going on a finals run, we decided to watch most of the games out there by hanging the tv off the deck,” Parnham said.
A Thought Becomes a Reality
After six games, Blake and his father Rick celebrated the first championship in Raptors history. But as Toronto raised the trophy, Parnham says he had an idea.
“I made a joke about the empty side to the patio and imaging how the big Bills helmet we always had would look in that space,” he said. “And we ran with it.”
The next day, Parnham and his dad dragged the helmet from the back of their property. And after a couple of tries, they got it to stand upright.
But how the helmet fell into the possession of Rick Parnham is a long story. Initially a checkout counter at a local sports store, the metal structure fell into his lap over 25 years ago.
And while it may look immaculate now, it served other purposes for the Parnham family before becoming a bar.
“It used to be a sandbox enclosure, the backboards of a hockey net, and a shelter for our firewood during the winter,” Parnham said. “The paint had faded from the elements, so we touched it up a little and have not taken it down since.”
The style of the helmet brings Bills fans back to the good old days. Introduced in 1984, the red helmets were a staple for Buffalo during their 90s Super Bowl run.
Although created in 2019, the Bills Helmet Bar did not garner much press from the Bills Mafia until the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The NFL replayed the Bills-Cowboys Thanksgiving game in May 2020, and we treated it like a Bills game by tailgating,” Parnham said. “And I posted a picture of the bar on Twitter, and it took off.”
Parnham’s post reached over 1000 likes and an Instagram post from the Buffalo Bills. The NFL also jumped on the bandwagon, sharing the photo on Facebook.
Parnham remembers waking up that Sunday and seeing the flood of comments.
“My brother was out for breakfast with his girlfriend, and he saw the NFL posted the photos on Facebook,” he said. “After that, it was a solid two days of monitoring social media because we had to answer questions on all three of our pages.”
The backyard setup has everything a fan needs to tailgate deep into the NFL season. Two firepits are scattered throughout the patio for the Parnham family to stay warm. And they have their car-becue, an old Toyota Corolla with a four-burner grill in the engine block to cook game day meals.
While the Bills Helmet Bar has had success on social media, the Parnham family has not invited the Bills Mafia for a tailgate due to COVID-19. But with restrictions loosening, there may be some tailgates coming soon.
“We want to share it with as many people as we can, as our chief goal is to meet Bills fans,” Parnham said. “And we hope we can do that next year.”
With over 10,000 followers across all three of their social media pages, the Bills Helmet Bar has become a destination for tailgating and fun.
But while tailgating and cheering on the Bills have become a religion for Bills Mafia, giving back to those who need it most is their bread and butter. And Kristen Kimmick, the founder of BillsMafiaBabes, has become a crucial role in continuing that battle cry.
Kristen Kimmick
In Western New York, becoming a Bills fan is often mandatory. For Kristen Kimmick, her Bills fandom involves her late father.
A Vietnam War veteran, Ron Kimmick grew up in Buffalo but became a Chiefs fan after being stationed at Fort Riley, about 130 miles from Arrowhead Stadium.
“My dad did not think he would come back from Vietnam, so he decided to flip and die rooting for a winning team, and he picked the Chiefs,” Kimmick said.
Ron Kimmick beat the odds and came home from Vietnam and called Kansas home for 16 years. But despite his roots being in the wheat state, the Buffalo blood called him home a few years later. Soon, Kristen was born with the Bills Mafia blood running through her veins.
“My dad raised me just miles from the stadium, and it was impossible to live in Orchard Park in the early 90s and not be a Bills fan,” Kimmick said.
Kristen’s love for the Bills goes back to Sunday afternoons in the family garage. With the Bills game was on low in the corner, Kimmick learned the game of football through her father.
“I found the love of the game from him, as it gave me more of a reason to have quality time with him,” Kimmick said.
During her upbringing, Kimmick and her father would butt heads about the Chiefs and Bills. And he would find subtle ways to dig at his daughter’s fandom.
“He had a t-shirt with the Bills logo and wrote years without the playoffs,” Kimmick said. “Every year [Buffalo] would miss the playoffs, he would pull it out and make a big deal out of it.”
As time grew on, Kimmick’s relationship with her father strengthened. However, Ron Kimmick passed away unexpectedly on October 24, 2019, three months before his Chiefs won the Super Bowl.
And when the Bills and Chiefs met in the 2020 AFC Championship, Kimmick knew she had to make the trip to Arrowhead with her dad.
“I had some ashes of his put into a necklace, and once I got in there, I knew he needed to stay there,” she said.
And when the time was right, Kimmick scattered his ashes, giving Ron Kimmick a permanent spot in Arrowhead Stadium.
“It felt like the right spot to give him eternal season tickets,” Kimmick said. “It was something we both loved, and to close the door on it like that was very special.”
Through her relationship with her father, Kimmick’s fandom for the Bills has never been stronger. However, there is a deeper meaning that Kimmick is chasing through the Bills Mafia Babes.
The Bills Mafia Babes
Sports can often bring people together to share their fandom. But social media has brought about many people who believe women cannot talk sports.
Kimmick has dealt with this numerous times on Twitter and Facebook.
“It’s frustrating as females to watch because social media can be the best place to be passionate,” Kimmick said. “It feels like you are on the outside looking in.”
A Facebook Group is Born
So, Kimmick created a locked Facebook group for female Bills fans and named it Bills Mafia Babes on February 6, 2016.
“I wanted to create a culture where women could support each other and ask questions without getting trashed,” she said. “And I wanted it to be positive, which is something we do not experience when talking about sports.”
Starting with 50 members, Bills Mafia Babes rose to over 2,000 members at the end of the 2016 season. And when the Bills started winning, the group gained even more traction, with more women stumbling across the close-knit community.
But with success comes a new understanding, such as trademark rules for making a logo. So, Kimmick reached out to the godfather of Bills Mafia for guidance.
“I wanted to make sure that we were playing by the rules,” she said. “So, I reached out to Del and said I need to create a logo that does not infringe on anything.”
A couple of weeks later, the Bills Mafia Babes had their new logo and merchandise through 26 Shirts. But the profits from the merchandise have not gone to the babes.
A Charitable Aspect
Instead, the group partners with a current or former Bills player and donates all proceeds to their charity. After each month, the babes choose another player to partner with and wipe the slate clean.
With this restructure, the Bills Mafia Babes are now a 501c3 charitable organization with multiple women running their social media pages. The group has partnered with numerous Bills players, including Dion Dawkins and Steve Tasker.
But their most successful fundraiser came on Thanksgiving when Bills CB Tre’Davious White went down with an ACL injury.
“Our VP identified [Tre’Davious] worked with the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank and put it into the group,” Kimmick said. “So, we posted it on Twitter, and it caught steam.”
And eight days later, the Bills Mafia donated over $100,000 to the food bank, many of those in $27 increments.
It has become a movement for the babes and Bills Mafia to show their appreciation for their team.
“Rather than everyone silently crying in our living rooms, we found a way to express it productively,” Kimmick said. “And everyone asks how it happens, and I don’t know.”
With over 20,000 members in the Facebook group, the Bills Mafia Babes continues to grow. But the trajectory of the group is uncertain.
“There are directions that I would like to take this, but it is when is the right time at this point,” Kimmick said. “But I want it to remain as a large community of women taking a stand that we belong here.”
Sticking Through the Heartache
Heartache is a dish best served cold and Bills Mafia has had a five-course meal of it. Four straight Super Bowls losses, including Wide Right. The Music City Miracle. A 17-year playoff drought. And now 13 seconds.
So why do Bills fans stick through the ups and downs?
“It’s a part of our family, and we do not have a choice,” Parnham said. “We have met lifelong friends through just being Bills fans, and that is what it comes down to.
Kimmick writes a similar story.
“I was dancing at my freshman dance to Ricky Martin in 2000 when the drought started, and to be 32 now, it has been a holy cow moment,” Kimmick said. “Bills fans do not walk away, and even if I am 85 and on my death bed, I hope I am going to see a Super Bowl.”
Through every heartache, the Bills Mafia has ridden the ship. The fan base and their unwavering loyalty to their team is nothing short of extraordinary.
But there is a misconception.
The table-smashing videos and boozy tailgates provide a glimpse into one percent of Bills Mafia. The other 99 have built a lifestyle of cheering on their favorite team no matter the score and helping those who need it most.
