Buffalo Bills. Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

United Football League turns to Bills Mafia for help

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Anthony Miller | Last updated Apr 1, 2025 8:43 AM ET

If there is a fan base that knows how to gain supporters on their side, it's Bills Mafia, and there's a professional sports league that could look for their help.

The United Football League kicked off its second season this past weekend with below-average attendance numbers, with Memphis taking the biggest hit. According to UFL reporter Mike Mitchell , the Memphis Showboats sold only 4,373 tickets for their home opener against the Michigan Panthers.

This has raised concerns about the city's lack of support and its fan base. Former Dallas Cowboys fullback and current FOX NFL broadcaster, as well as UFL vice president of football operations, Daryl Johnston, may have a solution with an assist from the Buffalo Bills' fanbase.

While speaking with Jonah Dylan of the Commercial Appeal on Sunday, former Buffalo resident Johnston wants the Showboats' fan club "The Yacht Club" to eventually become the next Bills Mafia.

"This group is probably the smallest but potentially could be the most passionate group. We were just talking about, 'How do you start to increase your numbers? How do you start to get people to kind of join in to your fan group and grow that thing organically?' I grew up in Buffalo. There was no Bills Mafia."

Johnston knows Buffalo and its fan base, having been born in New York and been a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame since 2008. He suggested reaching out to fan bases like the Bills to see how they had organically grown the team's fan base interest.

"We've just got to find a way to help them start to grow this. And maybe we have to get them in touch with the key people from these NFL fan bases that can give them some ideas."

Bills Mafia has been notorious for how passionate they are about the team, as they are known for jumping through tables while tailgating. The fanbase is used to getting plenty of attention from the media and the general public though.

Last week, "Saved By The Bell" actor Mario Lopez shouted out Bills Mafia as they were going to be apart of a scene in his upcoming movie. Bills Mafia is also getting a Hallmark movie that will be released later this year. Last year, the fan base was announced to be the subject of a documentary about the passionate fans of Buffalo.

It appears everyone wants to be a part of Bills Mafia, and now those same fans could help a football league increase attendance numbers with some sound advice.