Mike Harrington: It was a memorable closing time in Orchard Park for Bills and their fans
This was a goodbye to a stadium but not to the frivolity of Bills games. Most of you will be parking in the same spots and having the same tailgates next year but just walking in the other side of Abbott Road. But changes are coming, too, Mike Harrington writes.
I interviewed Mariano Rivera plenty of times during the New York Yankees' dynasty. Was there for his Hall of Fame weekend in 2019 when he became the first player unanimously elected to Cooperstown, too.
Never thought of myself as a closer until the thought was mentioned to me Sunday.
Your friendly hockey writer completed an odd hat trick of being in the house for the closing acts of three of the iconic sporting houses ever to stand in The 716.
- Final Bisons game in War Memorial Stadium: Nashville 7, Bisons 5 on Aug. 30, 1987, with Tonawanda native Billy Scherrer getting the win in relief.
- Final Sabres game in Memorial Auditorium: Sabres 4, Hartford Whalers 1 on April 14, 1996.
- Final Bills game in Highmark Stadium: Bills 35, Jets 8 on Jan. 4, 2026.
Fans spell out “The Ralph” during the first quarter of Sunday's regular-season finale against the Jets at Highmark Stadium.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
There was a celebratory feel in the air Sunday even through the emotion. The game didn't matter much and it went as you would expect, with the Bills rolling the hapless Jets even as Josh Allen took only one snap and several starters were inactive or playing limited minutes.
Four hours before kickoff, I noticed stadium crews testing videos on the jumbotron. It was a time-machine feel.
The first images you saw were the No. 81 of silky smooth receiver Bob Chandler. There was the menacing sideline stare of coach Lou Saban. And the sprinter's speed of Wallace Francis. Remember him? Two kickoff return touchdowns in the 1973 stadium inaugural season.
"When you think about the stadium, you can't think about the present players. You've got to think about the guys that laid the foundation for us," said veteran Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White. "It's an honor, man. Being in this game is something I'll always remember. So many memories, so many plays, so many genuine friendships, too."
Bills linebacker and Lancaster native Joe Andreesen had a similar feeling when asked what it was like walking out of the tunnel on to the field for every game.
"I thought it was the coolest thing ever in high school when we did it," said "Buffalo Joe." "Now you walk out there and there's tens of thousands of people in the stands and not just the community of Lancaster. You've got the whole community of Buffalo out there. It's been humbling every time definitely."
The Jets are so hapless, I found myself daydreaming and looking around at different spots on the field.
Fans cheer as the game between the Bills and the Jets ends Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
You could instantly recall where Frank Reich hit Andre Reed three times for touchdowns in the comeback game vs. Houston in 1993; where Darryl Talley ran back his pick-six in the 51-3 AFC championship game of 1991; where Joe Ferguson foiled the Raiders when he hit Ahmad Rashad in the end zone in that fabled 1974 Monday night opener; where LeSean McCoy ran through the snow in overtime to beat the Colts in 2017.
And you could stare at that left corner flag on the tunnel end that housed Doug Flutie's last-second magic in 1998 vs. Jacksonville and Allen's diving run after a lateral last year against San Francisco.
This was a goodbye to the stadium but not to the frivolity of Bills games. Most of you will be parking in the same spots and having the same tailgates next year but just walking in the other side of Abbott Road. But I get all the changes coming, too. There are employees and season-ticket holders who probably won't be back for a variety of reasons. To some, this marked an end.
"It was a special game. I was hoping to get a takeaway or something to take home with me," said a smiling defensive back Cam Lewis, who played four years at the University at Buffalo and has been active with the Bills since 2020.
Lewis sheepishly said he never went to a Bills game when he was at UB. The Detroit native grew up a Lions fan.
"Neither one of our teams were very good when I was in school here, I guess," he said. "But it's amazing that I've actually spent 11 years of my life around here. Buffalo is my second home and I've been blessed to be here. These people have been amazing the way they support us."
There were lots of memories in the press box, too. The first media person I ran into outside the stadium was Nashville Predators radio man Pete Weber, the longtime Buffalo voice who called the Bisons and Sabres and was in the booth hosting and doing analysis with Van Miller during the four Super Bowl defeats.
It was great to see Vic Carucci, a Buffalo News legend of the '80s, '90s and 2010s. To recall the wisdom of late sports editor Larry Felser and late beat writer extraordinaire Allen Wilson, whose pictures are on the back wall. And raise your glass to columnists Jerry Sullivan and Bucky Gleason as well as ex-beat writers Milt Northrop and Mark Gaughan, all of whom covered hundreds of games.
Buffalo Bills alumni pose for a group photo during halftime during the final regular-season home game at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
The Bills brought back some legends, with Thurman Thomas and Steve Tasker riling up the crowd pregame, and Jim Kelly and Andre Reed addressing them at halftime. Marv Levy spoke via video and, of course, asked the all-time question in franchise history: Where else would you rather be than right here right now?
We'll remember the music of these closing acts. The Bisons escorted us out of the Rockpile on to the intersection of Jefferson and Best to Frank Sinatra's "There Used to be a Ballpark." The Sabres of course played "Sabre Dance."
Sunday night in Orchard Park, the fans weren't leaving. There was one last "Mr. Brightside" and "Shout" in the final two minutes, and a postgame tribute video for the Bills played to "Iris" of the Buffalo-bred Goo Goo Dolls and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."
It's been wonderful for long stretches of these 52 years in Orchard Park. We can only hope for those kind of memories on the other side of Abbott Road.
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