They loved the Bills first – and then each other

CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — “Bills Mafia!”

The call came across the gravel of a food truck parking lot here in this oceanside town. The man walking his dog had noticed my 5-year-old grandson’s T-shirt.

So of course I had to meet the man. Maybe he had a story to tell. And he did.

Jason Hackett works at an Amazon fulfillment center in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania, about 270 miles from Buffalo. He also has a side job, cleaning grease vats at an Arby’s.

When Jason was 6 — he’s 32 now — he embraced the Bills and has never looked back. He doesn’t really know how that happened out in eastern Pennsylvania, where Bills fans are few and far between. But then, reason matters little in matters of the heart.

Just ask Shelby Kolesar, his girlfriend who works at PetSmart. When they met, neither of them knew the other was a Bills fan. They first learned of their mutual fandom when she first visited his house and saw a Bills helmet.

“I almost fell down the stairs,” she said.

(Most people in this area are fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, but there are also fewer fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and even the Dallas Cowboys.)

Jason and Shelby met in 2017, not long after her father died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 51. He had been a Bills fan since long before she was born. She has photos of him smiling in his Bills 50th anniversary jacket.

“He had a closet full of Flutie Flakes,” she said. “I became a Bills fan because girls often pick their dad’s team.”

At her PetSmart store, staff recently hosted a “dress like dad” day.

“I wore Bills from head to toe,” Shelby said.

“She was totally into Buffalo,” Jason said.

The stuff she was wearing was his. He even has Bill’s stuff for their dog, Pretzel. They also have four cats; one of them is named Doobie. I let them know that’s a soundalike for Duby, like the late Elbert Dubenion, the speedy wide receiver for the Bills in the ’60s.

“We’re going to have to change the spelling,” Shelby said.

Jason has a tattoo of a red buffalo on his right thigh. It looks like the standing buffalo the Bills had on their helmets in the Duby era. Jason only got it a few months ago.

“I hope someday I can get a tattoo of the Lombardi Trophy here,” he said, pointing to his side.

His closet is filled with Bills jerseys: Willis McGahee. Lee Evans. Takeo Spikes. CJ Spiller.

“That’s why I don’t buy Bills jerseys anymore,” he said. “Every time I get one, the next thing you know, it’s gone.”

Last year Jason got a Bills jersey for Christmas. Guess what: Stefon Diggs.

At Wegmans in West Hazleton, Jason recently bought three flavors of Bills Mafia Tailgate Sauce. Josh Allen is on all the labels.

“I saw this morning that Josh is the 13th highest paid, and he said he doesn’t feel underpaid, he just wants to play – and win,” Jason said. “That’s why I love him. He’s Buffalo through and through.”

That goes for Jason, too, at least for someone who’s only been to Buffalo a handful of times. He’s been to a handful of Bills home games, and last year he and Shelby went to Niagara Falls in the spring. They stopped by Highmark Stadium to get a glimpse of the new Highmark being built across the street.

“I was born in 1992,” Jason said, “so I missed the whole Super Bowl thing.”

He believes the Bills are on the cusp of a new Super era. We’ll see. Meanwhile, Jason and Shelby have their Bills—and each other.

“That’s how I fell in love with him,” Shelby said. “It was meant to be.”

They told me their story in a food truck parking lot. It’s the closest a sunny summer day in Chincoteague can get to tailgating in Orchard Park.