Bills go pink on breast cancer
‘Billieve’ program highlights awareness
The Buffalo Bills’ blue and red and the Cleveland Browns’ orange and brown will be the predominant colors inside Ralph Wilson Stadium this afternoon when the two teams engage in the Battle of Lake Erie.
But there also will be plenty of pink—an uncommon color at most football games.
Some fans entering the stadium will be given pink ribbons. The coin for the coin toss and the ceremonial football for the pregame activities will be pink. So will the Buffalo Jills’ jerseys and pompoms. Fans also will see pink goalpost padding, pink ribbon logos painted on the field, pink towels on the sidelines and Bills coaches clad in pink-rimmed hats.
And some players will wear pink gloves, wristbands and cleats.
It’s all part of the team’s “Billieve” Breast Cancer Awareness Program that will begin at today’s game, the fourth straight year that the Bills have participated.
The idea is simple, to spread the message that all women over 40 should be screened annually for breast cancer.
“I think this program really shows that players are people, too, that this is a human issue,” said Andy Major, the Bills executive director of marketing. “The players are big, tall, strong, tough athletes, but this issue affects their families, too.”
None more than Bills defensive end Ryan Denney, who surprised his mother, Sheri, when he took the field in Miami last Sunday wearing pink and white cleats. The gesture was in tribute to his mother, a breast cancer survivor.
“She thought it was awesome,” Denney told the Associated Press. “She really wanted a photo of me in the pink shoes so she could keep it.”
Many Buffalo fans saw the start of the National Football League’s monthlong emphasis on breast cancer awareness on display last weekend when the Bills were in Miami.
But the Bills will add their own local twist to the league-wide formula.
Just before the player introductions conclude the pregame ceremonies, more than 50 local breast cancer survivors will form two lines near the tunnel entrance. Then the Bills players will run through those lines to the cheers of the crowd.
The Bills call it Stampede Row.
So tens of thousands of Bills fans will be cheering for both the team and for the women who have battled breast cancer.
Kathleen Kowal, 57, an eight-year breast cancer survivor from Cheektowaga, remembers the feeling of being in that line two years ago.
“I couldn’t believe there was so much support for breast cancer survivors,” she said. “It’s a wonderful feeling that we’re getting our message to the public. The Bills are doing an awesome job.”
The team also has its own logo for the campaign, a pink ribbon with the charging buffalo and the word “Billieve.”
Pink T-shirts, caps, knit hats and minihelmets with those logos will be available for sale at Delaware North Cos., both in their locations and online, with proceeds going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society. Those items also will be on sale in Bills store locations inside the stadium.
News Sports Reporter Allen Wilson contributed to this report. gwarner@buffnews.com
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments