This Buffalo Bills fan, who beat the odds and beat cancer, didn’t just break a table on his way down. He also broke all of our hearts in the best way possible.
Fan Victor Neilson celebrated being cancer-free as only one of the Bills Mafia could. First, he rang the bell, signaling the end of his chemo. Then, in front of a crowd of on-lookers, Neilson put on a Bills helmet and smashed his way through a folding table.
On Twitter, he wrote, “After 5 months of intense chemotherapy and battling cancer. I got to ring the bell this morning. Bills Mafia Style. GO BILLS. BEAT THEM CHIEFS.”
Bills Fans Smashing Tables: A Phenomenon
Bills fans love to smash tables. Besides football, it seems to be one of their greatest pastimes. The table-smashing even starts at a young age as this baby will attest to. In recent years, smashing through tables has become an annual tradition for the Bills’ fandom. They make up for their lack of Super Bowl titles with gumption and strong will.
Usually, table smashing has been reserved for the spectacle of wrestling matches. But the fans have flocked to it, especially at tailgates. After all, can you say that you partied as hard as a Bills fan if you didn’t smash a table? But not everyone is a fan. The practice has drawn its share of critics. For instance, some people have put up signs forbidding table smashing at their tailgates. Additionally, a few fans almost wound up behind bars a couple of years back.
Some fans have even taken the practice to the extreme. For instance, these thrill-seekers lit the table on fire before jumping through it. But rarely will you see the destruction of furniture be so poignant and emotional as it was in Neilson’s case. Not only is Neilson celebrating beating cancer, but he’s also cheering on his team.
This is the first time the Buffalo Bills have made it to the AFC Championship since 1994. In that match-up, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs but ultimately lost in the Super Bowl. The Bills will face the Chiefs once again, and it remains to be seen if history will repeat itself.
Should the team win it all, it will be their first Super Bowl victory in NFL history.
