After being allowed in by Frankie, the bouncer, fans can pay $20 for unlimited drinks and chicken wings, valid until an hour after the game’s end. In a way, this is their ticket in.
Beer cups with the Buffalo Bills logo is just one of the many things that reflect the spirit of the fans. We got this for [the fans], they love them, said Pete.
Barry Waldrop and Ben Irvin, center and right, have been Buffalo Bills fans for years and just recently introduced Earnest Wallace, left, to the team. He is now a self-proclaimed converted fan.
With the drink special, these cups are a constant sight throughout the game. Accodring to Pete, some people come in just to get cups as souvenirs of McFadden’s.
Being part of this Bills Backers community entails many discussions, heated and calm, as well as lots of explaining and debating on the team’s strategies and plays. The eyes, however, remain riveted to the screen at all times.
When a game approaches its last minutes and the Bills are not in the lead, beers quickly change to group shots, with some people quickly gulping down two. Then, things grow quiet rather quickly.
As the Bills find themselves in tricky or unfavorable situations, the fans feel the pressure and the tension in the bar is palpable. The voices are kept to a minimum, and all stare at the television screens without a word. As soon as the play is over, though, voices erupt once again, whether happy cheers or angry shouts.
All fans become absorbed in the game, often cheering on, yelling at or giving the finger to the multiple large television screens around the bar.
The mirror behind the bar was lined with a variety of liquors, although those remain untouched while the Bills fans celebrate their team with draft beers.
Team jerseys are a common sight in the bar, as are upset gestures directed at the television. The gestures and emotions that cause them seemed to intensify as the game progressed, and things got especially tense in the second half of the fourth quarter.
Towards the end of a game, when Buffalo is lagging behind, any small victory makes the fans celebrate and renews their hope for a miracle.
An interception, a fumble or a pass can all cause an uproar amongst the fans who line the bar, especially when those occur in the Bills’ favor.
While upset gestures are usually directed at the television, celebratory cheers are shared with friends and other fans who happen to be standing nearby. High-fives and hugs are given to fellow Bills fans, who otherwise would be complete strangers.
Jill Kerschensteiner, a devout fan who comes to McFadden’s every week, jumps up and down when the Bills score. On other occasions, she might dance around or throw stacks of white napkins in the air.
The seats situated in the middle of the bar are where the loudest fans congregate to attentively watch the Bills’ every move, and yell at the bartender when they are unhappy.
Fists shooting up in the air and smiling faces are all one needs to see to understand the Bills just made a good play. The excitement is combined with the hope that this game could end in a victory.
Although everyone else seems hopeful, the woman in red is panicking – she was the only person that week to be rooting for the Bills’ adversaries. Her presence and support of the other team earned her many angry glances, especially when the Bills lost the game.
On a day where the morale was particularly low and the Bills’ score was even worse, a few points was all it took for everyone to go wild and enjoy the moment, however short it was.
Looking in through the windows behind the bar, one can see and hear the Bills fans. This was certainly true for Kenny Tenzer when he went out for a cigarette, jersey on.
A few weeks before Christmas, McFadden’s was decorated with paint in the windows, and lights, garlands, red bows and nutcrackers inside. Defying the cold for a cigarette, Kenny Tenzer leans on the window in order not to miss a single play by his favorite team.
The actor sits on the windowsill by the door, eating bright chicken wings and occasionally breaking into a dance by himself. The doggy day care manager stands near the bar, eyes fixed on the large screen that hangs above his head. The young recruiter walks behind the bar, and the sales representative eats in the dining area. They all know each other, but not in those terms. Here, they are simply Adam, Ben, Matt and Kenny, and they are Buffalo Bills fans.
Though they see each other every week for at least 16 weeks a year, the young men don’t know much about one another except that, like the other regulars at McFadden’s Saloon, they come week after week to cheer on and support their football team – no matter how badly they might be doing or how dreadful the weather is.
“You want sports fans?” asked Jill Kerschensteiner, one of the women who make up the Bills Backers community at McFadden’s. “Well you got us. We’re here.” Continue reading “A Little Home in the Big City”
I went back to McFadden’s today for another game, hoping to find more people since the Buffalo Bills had won last week. As I was walking over, however, shivering and finding refuge under my small umbrella, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps this week, the bar wouldn’t be so crowded once again. And, unfortunately, I was right. There were even less people than last week, due to a combination of the team’s record, the weather and the holiday weekend.
As soon as I walked in, however, I was happy to notice that many of the people present were fans I had met last week, and they were all standing or sitting in the same areas. I started to take pictures, quickly noting that this game was not going very well – there were a lot more angry and frustrated cries and outbursts than last week. I got access to the area behind the bar, which provided me with a great new angle, and I got a few pictures of the very expressive, sole fan of the opposite team. She happened to be sitting next to a particularly emotional and angry Bills fan, which made for some great entertainment and photos.
The latter girl, who kept yelling at the television screen and giving it the finger, is referred to as “the girl who yells at Matt” (Matt being the bartender). Her defense, Pete told me, was “But you don’t understand. I grew up in Buffalo.”
When I reached the corner of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue, I grew extremely excited at the sight of the dark green awning under which a 6’3″, 300 pound black man was standing, chatting with a small group. Frankie, the bouncer, was the first person I talked to, and from the very beginning was nice and apparently made up his mind that he would be helping me (he later invited me to stand on seats to get a better view, and told me about the crowds the bar usually serves – sometimes there are so many people that he’s forced to send them next door).
Once Frankie let me in, I walked through the door and met Pete, the owner who welcomed me and walked me through the bar. Some fans had already assembled along the bar, wearing their jerseys and seemingly in good spirits at the prospect of a game that might treat them better than the last had. The smell of Buffalo chicken wings drifted up to my nostrils, but it was nothing compared to the intensity of the smell that came later, once the place had filled up and everyone was enjoying what they had paid for. On a game Sunday, customers can pay $15 for unlimited chicken wings and soda, or $20 for all you can eat and all the beer you can drink. “They’re the best in the world,” said one fan. “It’s all about the sauce.” Then he ran off to eat his two plates of wings without giving me the time to ask his name.
The first people I talked to were Steve and Jon, who met at Mcfadden’s through “being fans.” They said they are usually part of a group of about five people, but the Bills lost a game on Monday, their fifth loss in a row, so the morale was very low. The bar was usually packed, they said, and today was nothing.
Sitting a few feet away were Rebecca and Jocelyn. Rebecca was told about the place about two years and has been coming since, and she’s the one who invited Jocelyn, who was wearing a white shirt and pajama pants. They were nice enough to hold my coat and bag so I didn’t have to struggle with them.
Everyone agreed that this was not the best game to witness, due to Monday’s loss. But Tim stayed positive: “If we’re not gonna win, at least I’ll get drunk.” How long would that take? “At this rate, not long at all,” he laughed. He attibuted the relatively low attendance to the fact that most people were probably disheartened or away for the holidays.
Todd Rethemeier, who was standing nearby, saw my camera and said “if you wait, in just a couple of yards we’ll score and go nuts.” I waited amongst them, feeling the tension build up, crash when the team didn’t quite make it, and then explode when they did. Everyone jumped up, yelled, chanted the place’s own call and response song, hugged, danced, high-fived, and threw napkins in the air.
“If you want the sports fans, well you got us. We’re here,” said and excited Jill Kerschensteiner, who had gathered a stack of napkins to throw in the air when they scored.
In the seating area behind the bar, through which waitresses carried pitchers of beer to the tables, Alex Valentine and Rachel Schaeffer were enjoying chicken wings, mozarella sticks and beer. Alex has been coming to Mcfadden’s for three years, and this was the third time Rachel joined her, for a photography project she was doing.
Sitting at the next table, trying to listen to what I was doing, was Kenny. He was there with Kim, and he has been coming to Mcffaden’s ever since it first opened. “My brother lives nearby and when the place opened, one of his friends was here and called him to come over. Been here ever since.” He says the reason he comes to about 14 out of 16 games every year is the atmosphere – “it’s the only place that plays the Bills game.” Kim, on the other hand, seemed to be more of a fan of the chicken wings. When I asked her how they were, all she could muster, her mouth full, was a nod of approval and a thumbs up.
I came back around to the bar area, where people posed for pictures thinking I was the usual photographer’s replacement. I indulged them before meeting Hope and Tommy, who were in charge of the money, and then Dave Godvin, who comes here twice a year from Florida. He’s been a Bills fan since 1961, and is originally from Buffalo.
Over the sound of “Sweet Home Alabama” and dozens of voices joining in, I then spoke to Earnest Wallace, Barry Walbrop and Ben Irvin. Ben and Barry have been coming for years, Ben being the first, and Earnest was only at his second time. “I’m being converted by these two,” he said with a smile. Will he come back? “Oh yeah!” he said enthusiastically before taking a gulp of beer.
Ben, who is also a Buffalo native, comes here because he calls it “a little piece of home.”
Sports fans exist in every country around the world, and, depending on their sport of choice, are seen in waves throughout the year. With the football season into gear and the Super Bowl approaching, more and more football fans will be spotted in the streets of New York, wearing their favorite player or team jersey, heading to a variety of sports bars that broadcast the game of the day.
From what I’ve heard over the years, many people, mostly men, crowd the bars on Sunday afternoons to have a few drinks, some snacks, and cheer on their team with a group of friends. Out of habit, many will return to the same place week after week, thus forming bonds and relationships with the other fans who flock to the giant screens and alcoholic beverages.
It is those people that I want to capture, that community of loyal and dedicated fans that I want to expose through pictures and words. By going to bars known for their high attendance on sports events, I hope to observe the fans, talk to them, and take their pictures.
I am hoping that the former two will help me to understand the passion and the dedication of those fans, as well as establish the rivalries and rituals that are involved in the games. I also expect to find multiple generations, sometimes father and son groups, who have been coming to the same places for months, if not years.
After getting some good pictures and information from sports bars around the city, I will try to go to an actual game, though perhaps not actually enter the stadium. But arriving before a sporting event and walking around the parking lot is sure to provide me with many images of tailgate parties, people who have camped out, barbecues, and, I assume, fans dressed or painted in the colors of their team. This will fit in nicely with the other part of my project, the bars, and I think my subjects will be more than happy to talk about their traditions and teams.
Union Square in the middle of a weekday is such an interesting sight… all around the square are shops and nice restaurants filled with business people taking a quick break, but inside the park are dozens of homeless people who all seem to know each other. They sleep, they sit, they eat on the benches and on the paths, and seem comfortable with their surroundings.
I have to say that going there with my camera, I at times felt scared and had to walk away pretty quickly at times. The smells were sometimes questionable, to say the least, and I oftentimes had to pretend that I was taking pictures of something behind my subjects. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb, and was glad to have brought someone with me.
Additional Field Notes –
Photo 1 – This picture took me a few minutes to execute, because I felt as though I was really invading the subjects’ privacy. Standing in front of them with my fairly large camera, I felt that they knew what I was up to, and so I tried to act as natural as one can do so in this context. I really liked the suitcases because I feel that they capture the nomadic nature of the subjects, as well as their ability to settle anywhere at any given moment.
Photo 2 – The two boys, who were that day out for one of the Jewish holidays, were obviously from a completely different world than the two other men, yet they were all talking animatedly together. I really felt that the scene captured the essence of New York City, where people from all different backgrounds and of various occupations can mingle with relative ease.
Photo 3 – There was something about this lone smoke that made me want to take his picture, perhaps because I felt that he illustrated the so many other smokers of the area. After taking the picture, I really liked how it turned out and chose to include it.
Photo 4 – In the midst of the bustling city, inside this small park, this scene felt oddly personal to me. I don’t know who the subjects are nor what the topic of their discussion was, but they looked to me as two old friends would after not seeing each other for a while. I left the picture in color because it felt so alive to me that putting it in Black and White would have taken away from it.
Photo 5 – I first saw this lady from the street, from behind, and her installment looks all the more intriguing from that point of view. The pictures I saw when I came around were of various places in the city, though none were particularly striking. What I tried to capture in the picture was the fact that no one stopped to look at her work; everyone passed her by, stuck in a moment.
