Highmark Stadium Still Digging Out, Will Bills Mafia Start another Snowball Fight?

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills will miss the worst of the lake-effect snowstorm that dumped upwards of three feet on the towns to the south of Buffalo, but they’ll still have winter conditions to deal with for their rescheduled game on Monday.

The weather is expected to include temperatures in the teens and winds from 10 to 20 mph creating wind chills just below zero.

There isn’t a lot more snow predicted for the game, but the Steelers might be dodging some snow, anyway.

While the playing surface at Highmark Stadium has been fully cleared, the stands are still covered in snow. Many fans may be forced to stand or sit on top of mounds of snow. The Bills have advised that fans attending the game wear waterproof boots and pants.

The end result will be a bunch of restless fans and a bunch of snow laying around, and the Bills fans — already notorious for their raucousness — have a history of being menaces with snowballs.

In December 2022, a game at Highmark Stadium between the Bills and Miami Dolphins had to be paused because of the Buffalo fans throwing snowballs. An announcement was made over the stadium public address system, which threatened that the Bills would be flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty if the fans didn’t cut it out. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Game is temporarily delayed due to Bills Mafia throwing snowballs onto the field, specifically at the Miami bench. pic.twitter.com/3ds4fv6lrn

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 18, 2022

And the officials announce that the Bills will be penalized if snowballs continue to be thrown onto the field. pic.twitter.com/JlOMtZPYQK

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 18, 2022

There was far less snow available for the participants to gather for that game than there will be for this one, with several feet of the white stuff still covering many of the seats in the stadium.