ORCHARD PARK. N.Y. (WKBW) — Bills fans are celebrating an AFC East Championship for the first time in 25 years, and they want to dress for the occasion.
Mark Graziano went to The Bills Store on Sunday, hoping to buy a championship hat and sweatshirt, but those plans were intercepted.
“Pumped up, pocketful of money want to buy some stuff, and they’re closed today,” Graziano said.
The store at 1 Bills Drive is closed on Sundays. The hours are posted on the store's website. Online, The Bills Store is already sold out of 2020 playoff gear, and tells buyers to check back soon.
The NFL online shop and Fanaticshas t-shirts and sweatshirts available, and warns the items won't come before Christmas.
Where can fans look for in-person gear?
The BFLO store has 2020 playoff beanies in stock. Owner Nathan Mroz said the hats worn in the locker room will be available in stores Tuesday night. As for the division championship hats, he said there's been several hundred preorders already.
“We have about 700 of each style and they’re already going really quickly, but we encourage people to go ahead and preorder those online, and they’ll be coming in hopefully by the end of this week, right before Christmas," Mroz said.
He said he hopes the division championship shirts will come later in the week. He recommends curbside pickup, as opposed to delivery, for Christmas gifts.
Store716 and One Buffalo have other championship designs available for pre-order.
26 Shirts newest design is, "How Buffalo Took The Division."
Founder Del Reid said it's already a top five design for the company in under 24 hours. He said due to demand they'll contact the print shop Monday, instead of waiting the usual two weeks for the campaign to be over.
“So everything that got ordered over the weekend, we’re gonna get that process going ahead of time, so people can get them as soon as possible," Reid said. "It won’t be before Christmas, but we don’t want people to have to wait till January to celebrate this championship.”
While fans at The Bills Store were disapointed to see locked doors, one thing you learn after 25 years is patience.
“I’ll probably come back tomorrow morning and get it,” Graziano said.
