Hello all 1,231 Bills fans!

Wow…Bills fans are signing up for NYCBBB like mad this week! Welcome to all of you new members, please take the time to read about our history:
https://nycbbb.com/features/history.shtml

Just got word from McFadden’s/Calico’s that the Molson Canadian, Labatt Blue, and Beef on Weck are all set for Sunday. I’ll be picking up 50 pounds of Sahlen Hot Dogs at Grand Central Terminal from member Joe Moran Sunday morning for us all to inhale during the game!

However, the bars also let me know that they were unable to get more cases of regular wings due to Katrina hitting their supplier in Mississippi. They have some available for us on Sunday, but will likely run out at some point. McFadden’s has plenty of boneless wings to make up for this, so we shouldn’t miss a step.

Speaking of Katrina, NYCBBB and several other Backers around the country are going to raise money for the victims of the storm during the Saints game on week 4 of the season. We’re working with the Bills to help us collect the money and send to the charity of our choice on behalf of the thousands of Bills fans across the nation. We’ll have more details for you in the coming weeks.

Bills Daily
Check out Bills Daily’s game preview:
http://www.billsdaily.com/gameday/2005/hou/preview.shtml

Tipping
Again, I want to stress that you all tip the staff at both McFadden’s and Calico Jack’s!

Kids Menu at Calico Jack’s
Our own Phil Mann went to Calicos yesterday to sample the all new Kids Menu available on Sundays. Here is the menu:
6OZ HAMBURGER W/ FRIES – $3.00
CHICKEN NUGGETS W/ HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE – $3.00
HOT DOG W/ FRIES – $3.00
AMERICAN GRILLED CHEESE W/ FRIES – $2.00
ADD LETTUCE, TOMATO, EXTRA CHEESE – $.50

Sabres @ Rangers
For those of you that RSVP’d for the Sabres/Rangers game, please remember to send your checks to Kevin Smith.

Alright folks, get to bed early on Saturday because you’ll need to be at Little Buffalo EARLY if you want a seat. You NYCBBB veterans out there know the drill! I’ll be arriving with the Sahlens around 10am or so, and I expect that I’ll see many of you out there in lines for McFadden’s and Calicos. Doors open at 11, see you there!!

— Matt “talkin’ proud pumped up beyond belief to see our Bills play!” Kabel

Hello all 1,203 NYC Bills fans!

AND AWAY WE GO!!! In 3 days our Buffalo Bills take on the Houston Texans at The Ralph in my old home town of Orchard Park! Will JP lead us to victory? Will Willis McGahee have over 100 yards? Will special teams score a touchdown? Will the defense be dominant as always?

Come on down to Little Buffalo on 42nd and 2nd this Sunday to find the answers to these questions at either McFadden’s or Calico Jacks! There will be hundreds of your fellow Bills fans, Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, Sahlen Hot Dogs, Beef on Weck, Buffalo Wings, and one hell of a party atmosphere! Calico Jacks is booked solid, so if you want a seat you’ll have to wait in line for a table at McFadden’s or a bar stool at Calicos. Trust me when I say that if you want a seat, be there well before the 11am opening time. Again, these are the specials that will be offered at both bars from 12-5pm:

$30 – All the draft beer (including Labatt Blue/Molson Canadian) you can drink and wings you can eat
$20 – All the Bud/Bud Lite draft you can drink and wings you can eat
$15 – All the POP you can drink and wings you can eat
$1 off all mixed drinks
$2 TKO Shots

Please remember that if you have a table reserved at Calicos, be there at LEAST 20 min before kickoff or you’ll lose your seat. Also, McFadden’s will be 21 and over only – no exceptions!

For those of you in McFadden’s, make sure you take advantage of the new draft beer only bar in the dining room, which you must have a wristband to order beer from.

Remember, the SHOUT! song will be played after extra points, NOT after the touchdown.

One last thing, PLEASE BE SURE TO TIP THE WAIT STAFF!

See everybody on Sunday, it’s going to be a great season!!!

— Matt ‘talkin proud and fired up to get started!’ Kabel

Hello all 1,202 NYC Buffalo Bills fans!

As of today at noon, reservations can be made for seats at Calico Jack’s for Sunday’s Buffalo Bills season opener against the Houston Texans. Many seats were reserved at the opening gun, and some still remain. If you want to reserve a seat/table, I suggest you call Calico’s ASAP for one of the remaining spots: 212-557-4300

Trust me, it’s a heck of a lot more fun & comfortable watching the game sitting at a table as opposed to standing in the crowded section of the bar, and you’ll get served faster too! Again, Calico’s will have the same selection of beers, wings, beef on weck, and Sahlen hot dogs that McFadden’s has, and we’ll have the shout song after touchdowns! Matt Soreco and I will be watching the games in Calico Jack’s as well.

So hurry up and reserve the final spots, first come first serve! 212-557-4300

We’ll have more info on Opening Weekend at McFadden’s and Calico Jack’s in our Thursday email.

— Matt ‘talkin proud and ready for some football!’ Kabel

Hello 1180 NYC Bills fans,

As we all know, the Gulf Coast suffered a huge tragedy this week as a result of Hurricane Katrina blowing through the South Eastern United States. Your NYCBBB staff is in talks with the Buffalo Bills organization and various Bills Backers Chapters around the country, all determining what we can do to help. Being in NYC, many of our members were on the flip side of tragedy almost four years ago, so now it’s our turn to help our fellow Americans. We’ll have more info for you shortly, if you have any ideas please let me know.

Lions @ Bills
The Lions come to Orchard Park tomorrow night to battle our Buffalo Bills in the final pre-season game of the season. Coach Mularkey has said that starters will get a lot of playing time, so expect to see JP and company in there for at least a quarter, if not more. McFadden’s will be televising the game on Sunday afternoon from 2-5pm. Since its Labor Day Weekend and we don’t expect a big crowd, no specials will be offered. Regardless, the game will be on so feel free to head down there, I know a couple of you will be there for it.

Calico’s RSVP
Starting this Tuesday at 12:00 noon you’ll be able to reserve seats at Calico Jacks for that Sunday’s Bills game, this Tuesday’s being for the Bills/Texans game on Sept 11. Again, you are only allowed to reserve for up to 8 people and ALL MEMBERS OF YOUR PARTY MUST ARRIVE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES BEFORE KICKOFF. If you are not in your seats at this time, they will be given away to those on a waiting list. I can’t stress this enough, so if you have reservations, be there at least 20-30 minutes before kickoff. Calico’s phone # – 212.557.4300

Jets @ Bills
It appears that we’ll be able to make the tour of Ralph Wilson Stadium for the Bills/Jets weekend in Buffalo happen after all. If you’re still interested in purchasing tickets for this game, please email Chris at the Bills ASAP: Chris.Costanzo@bills.nfl.net

Member Needs Ticket Help for Opener
“I have single seats in sections 110 (row 5) and 114 (row17), and I am looking to get another single in one of the sections in an exchange. My guess is that someone else in NYCBBB is in the same predicament, as the Ticketmaster site was offering only single tickets in good sections at the time of the special pre-sale on July 16.” If you can help, please email: MGoldste@hodgsonruss.com

Hope everybody enjoys their holiday weekend! Next time you hear from us, we’ll be readying for the opening game of the 2005 Buffalo Bills Season!!!

B-U-F-F-A-L-O!
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!
B-U-F-F-A-L-O!!!

—Matt ‘talkin proud with one week left to go!’ Kabel

Hello all 1,176 Bills fans!

We had a nice crowd of over 40 fans turn out for the Bills/Bears pre-season game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon! Too bad the Bills didn’t look as good as the day did! Don’t worry, it’s only pre-season, no better time to make mistakes!

Lions/Bills
This Sunday afternoon, the Bills/Lions game will be televised at McFadden’s. Since its Labor Day Weekend, please RSVP by replying to this email ASAP if you plan on attending.

Jets @ Bills
Our members have reserved around 50 seats for the Bills/Jets game in Buffalo on October 16th at 4:15pm. I have a bunch of other seats on hold, but due to the high demand for tickets for this game, the Bills have only given me another few days to sell them before turning them over to the public. Your NYCBBB staff is already planning a big tailgate party for before the game, and trying to work out other details. Unfortunately, the Bills have told us they won’t give us a tour of the stadium that Saturday, and haven’t gotten back to me with info about working something out. Once we get more info, we’ll email all of you attending and work out a plan for that weekend (dinner at Anchor Bar?) to ensure a great time for all! Tickets are $49 and the last remaining! Luckily, we have our own section (sec 222, right in front of the Casino Suite!) so you’ll be sitting with fellow NYC Backers. Also, it’s a great game to bring your NY Jets fans to so you can show them how great WNY really is! If you’re interested, email Chris at the Bills:
Chris.Costanzo@bills.nfl.net

Also, let me know if you’ve bought tickets and plan on attending so you can work with us to make it an incredible weekend!

Sahlens
I think we have the Sahlen Hot Dog situation under control…I’ll let you know as soon as we do!

Go Bills!!!

— Matt ‘talkin’ proud believe we have the Sahlen situation under control’ Kabel

Hello all you 1,166 Buffalo Bills fans!

Tomorrow night, our beloved Buffalo Bills take on Da Bears in Chicago for their 3rd pre-season game. Unfortunately, the game won’t be televised in NYC tomorrow night, so if you want to catch it you’ll have to watch it when it’s shown on the NFL Network at 1pm on Saturday. Coach Mularkey has said the starting offense will play the entire first half, so we’ll see plenty of the exciting play of JP Losman!

McFadden’s will be showing the game in its entirety THIS SATURDAY FROM 1-4PM. We’re going to run the 2005 beer/wing specials from 12-5pm, however only boneless wings (“spicy fingers”) will be served. Again, the specials are as follows:
$30 – Any draft beer and boneless wings you can eat
$20 – Bud/Bud Lite Draft and boneless wings you can eat
$15 – Pop and any boneless wings you can eat

Thanks to all of you that RSVP’d, I suggest you follow my lead and avoid any Bills news between Friday night and the showing of the game to make it more interesting. This is also going to be a great way to get our bodies back into the beer/football/wing mode! See you Saturday!

Sabres @ Rangers – January 24th
NYCBBB’s own Kevin Smith is organizing a group rate for the January 24th Buffalo Sabres/NY Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. If he can get 20 people to commit, tickets will only be $20-30! Please email Kevin if you are interested in attending:
kevin@nycbbb.com

Sahlen’s Hot Dogs
OK…here’s the deal. The price of Sahlen Hot Dogs being delivered to McFadden’s has risen to the point where McFadden’s/Calico’s will have to charge $5 just for one! Delivery costs have gone through the roof! So this is what we need; one of our members, Joe Moran, has worked out a deal to get the hot dogs cheaper. However, we would need to pick them up and get them to NYC ourselves. Is anybody traveling back and forth to Buffalo within the next 2 weeks that would be willing to bring back a couple packs of Sahlens? NYCBBB will buy you a bracelet for the Beer Special the next time you head into Little Buffalo for a game. Please let me know!

Message Board
Want to talk to fellow Bills fans about our favorite team? Or spread news about WNY-related events in the tri-state area? Check out NYCBBB’s message board.

GO BILLS!!!
See you Satuday!

— Matt ‘talkin proud and fired up to catch up with many of you on Saturday!’ Kabel

Hello all 1,151 Bills fans!

Anybody catch the replay of Saturday night’s Bills/Packers pre-season game? Boy was it fun to watch JP Losman play! Yes he made some rookie mistakes, but he made a heck of a lot of great plays as well, even running the ball in for a touchdown! The days of watching a statuesque QB in Buffalo holding the ball in the pocket too long is over! Watching JP you can’t help but compare him to Farve and Flutie, let’s just hope he can match their success!

If you haven’t caught the exciting play of JP yet, c’mon down to McFadden’s THIS SATURDAY at 1PM. We’ll be airing the Bills/Bears game that will be played (but not televised live) in Chicago Friday night. We’ll probably have some kind of beer or wing special to go along with it to make it a fun afternoon.

In order to figure all of this out, WE NEED YOU TO RSVP if you plan on attending. Simply reply to this email and say “HELL YEAH!” and how many people will be attending.

C’mon…Saturday, Bills football, wings…BEER…how can you turn that down??? Hasn’t it been long enough since we last had that combination???

As soon as we determine the size of the crowd, we’ll email you more details.

For those of you that contacted me about Bills @ Jets tickets, I’ll be emailing you later in the week.

Go Bills!

— Matt ‘talkin’ proud and can’t believe Ralph Wilson isn’t in the Hall of Fame!’ Kabel

Hello all you 1,113 Bills fans!

One pre-season game down, three to go. JP Losman looked solid besides 2-3 plays, and nowhere near as bad as the media reported. Look for him to improve at home this weekend. Again, the game will not be televised in NYC, so the only way to watch it will be when it re-airs on NFL Network Moday afternoon.

Be sure to check out http://www.billsdaily.com for up to date news coverage.

Next Weekend
Next Saturday, we’ll be televising the Bills/Bears game at McFadden’s. The game will be aired at 1pm, and we’ll have more details for you next week.

Bills @ Jets
Let me know if you’re looking for tickets for the January 1 Bills/Jets game at the Meadowlands. NYCBBB will be throwing a New Year’s Eve party at Tracks Bar in Penn Station, then throwing our 5th Annual Tailgate in Lot 16C. Its going to be a great weekend!

Roommate Needed
A fellow Bills/Sabres fan in Park Slope has a room for rent in his 2-bedroom apartment, located near Prospect Park and a 35 min commute to Midtown. The price for the room is $850 a month. Please contact Alex at alexan_amato@yahoo.com or (347)-244-4061

Go Bills!!!

— Matt ‘talkin’ proud and wishing opening weekend was here already’ Kabel

Hello 1,105 NYC-area Bills fans!

Just a quick email since we’re getting a lot of questions about pre-season games. None of the pre-season games, including tomorrow night’s, will be shown on live TV in McFadden’s or anywhere else in NYC. The only way to see the games live in this area is if you can find a house or bar that has one of those huge satellite dishes that existed before DirecTV. Otherwise, you have to watch them when they are re-aired on NFL Network:

Bills vs. Colts – Wednesday, Aug 17th @ 3pm
Packers vs. Bills – Monday, Aug 22nd @ 4pm
Bills vs. Bears – Saturday, Aug 27th @ 1pm
Lions vs. Bills – Sunday, Sept 4th @ 2pm

Now I know a bunch of you are saying, “C’mon Matt, why don’t you tape the games when replayed on NFL Network and show them at McFadden’s next weekend?” Well, the problem with that is by the time we do that the game will be over a week old and another pre-season game would have been played. Instead, we’re working with McFadden’s to show the final two pre-season games when aired on NFL Network. We’ll give you more details about those later. So if you want to see the Colts & Packers games, we suggest having a friend with NFL Network tivo/tape the games for you when televised.

Sahlen’s
Anybody have a contact person at Sahlen’s? The costs of Sahlen’s through a middleman is becoming less and less cost effective, and I’d like to see about working with them directly instead. Problem is the website has no contact info, and the phone number I found goes to a voice mail. Let me know if you can help!

Sign-up on BB.com
If you haven’t already, please sign up on BuffaloBills.com for the NYC Bills Backers. I’m hearing claims that we aren’t the biggest in the nation. You know what how I feel about that? Pffffff….When you register, choose ‘yes’ to “Would you like to join a specific Bills Backer Chapter” and select us. The site is a little confusing, so MAKE SURE you sign up for NEW YORK CITY BILLS BACKERS (there’s 2-3 other Bills Backers listed in the NYC area) Here’s the link:
https://www.buffalobills.com/fans/bills-backers/

Philly/DC Backers
As most of you know, we’ve expanded into Backers in Washington DC & Downtown Philly. If you have friends or family in that area that should be added to their lists, shoot me an email!

Web-Building
Anybody experienced in web building? If you are, are you willing to donate some time to helping us out with a few projects? Email me if the answer is YES to both questions!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!! GO BILLS!!!!

— Matt ‘talkin proud and fired up that pre-season is finally here!’ Kabel

Hello 1,106 Buffalo Bills fans!

Okay, this is going to be a long email, but there’s a helluva lot of info in it that will be worthwhile for you to know. And as we are all well aware, knowing is half the battle! 2005 Drink Specials, additional bars, more space, more seating, RESERVATIONS…all below!

Your NYCBBB staff has worked tirelessly this off-season to deal with the rapid growth of our group. Last year at this time we had 650 members, now we’re dealing with over 1,100! It’s quite obvious that both McFadden’s and Calico Jacks will be needed this season regardless of how our Bills perform (although we know they’re headed for the Super Bowl baby!) so we have some changes to ensure that the group spreads out nicely between the two restaurants at Little Buffalo on 42nd and Second! And yes, we have plans in the works for a 3rd bar WHEN necessary!

First, the Shout! song will be played after the extra point like it’s done at Ralph Wilson Stadium, NOT after the actual touchdown.

Second, on 1pm game days both restaurants will open at 11am.

Third, let’s get the 2005 McFadden’s & Calico Jacks’ beer/wing special out of the way. All specials are from one (1) hour before the game until the end of the game:

$30 – All the draft beer (including Labatt Blue/Molson Canadian) you can drink and wings you can eat
$20 – All the Bud/Bud Lite draft you can drink and wings you can eat
$15 – All the POP you can drink and wings you can eat
$1 off all mixed drinks
$2 TKO Shots

Now…onto our changes at the restaurants. First up:

McFadden’s
– First of all, McFadden’s will now be 21 and over, no exceptions.
– Additional staff will be on hand
– The football menu has been scrapped, but you will still be able to get Sahlen hot dogs and Beef on Weck! The standard McFadden’s menu will be in effect as well.
– There will be a new bar located in the dining room (by the windows) that will be able to distribute two (2) draft beers of our selection. You will ONLY be able to get draft beer at this location if you bought the special and have a bracelet. It will not be a cash bar.
– Some tables will be removed in the dining room to make room for this bar and to provide additional standing room. – A cooler of ice water will be left by the wings to make it easier for those looking for some hydration. I know someone will be tempted to dump it after a big win, but if that happens the water cooler will be gone for good, so let’s all be responsible. If you’re tempted to do this, just wait until we win the Super Bowl. After that, feel free to dump it on whomever!

As you can see, McFadden’s will now have less seating, but more room and will be MUCH easier to get a beer. However, we’ve upgraded Calico Jacks as well, which is where your Co-Founders Matt Soreco and I will be watching games this season to ensure it has the same ‘Bills spirit’ as McFadden’s!

Calico Jacks
– First of all, Calico Jacks will have IDENTICAL beer/wing specials to those of McFadden’s. You will be able to get Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, and wings identical to those next door. The details have been worked out to ensure this!
– The Shout! song WILL be played after every Bills score!
– You will be able to get Sahlen hot dogs and Beef on Weck in Calico’s as well!
– Additional seating is being brought in for those fans (like myself) that enjoy watching the game sitting at a table. Additional TV’s are being installed as well.
– Calicos will be for all ages, and they will have a special Kid’s Menu for our events should you want to bring your children
– Additional staff will be brought in for our events
– And last but certainly not least, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE TABLE RESERVATIONS AT CALICOS! Starting at 12:00 noon every Tuesday before a game, you’ll be able to call and request seating for up to eight (8) people for that Sunday’s game! Your seat will be reserved until 15 minutes before kickoff. If you’re not there at this time, your seats will be given to those on a waiting list. In other words, if you reserve a table be sure to arrive at LEAST 20 min before the game.

By implementing these changes, we feel you’ll have two great options for where to watch the games. McFadden’s is more or less your loud, crowded, hooting and hollering experience (much like End Zone seats at the Ralph) whereas Calicos is your loud, laid back but still fun, and a great place to watch the games atmosphere (much like the Jim Kelly suite at the Ralph)

I promise you that both will be exciting places for you to watch the games with hundreds of your fellow fans! Matt S., Phil, and myself will ensure that we’ve got that Buffalo feeling in Calicos, and Kevin, Ryan, and Anna will keep that feeling going in McFadden’s!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me! We’ll keep reminding you of the updates so that everybody is on the same page come September 11th, opening day!

We’ll have more info on Pre-Season games soon…

Until then…GO BILLS!!!!

— Matt ‘talkin proud and fired up about the upgrades’ Kabel