Bills Mafia pit explained: What is "The Pit" and why are people sacrificing themselves to it?

So this is a thing now? To me, the more cultish behavior we see in sports, the better. While it has been decades since the Buffalo Bills last played in a Super Bowl, their rabid fanbase better known as Bills Mafia has found a new and exciting way to pass the time in the freezing cold before Bills games. Long gone are the days of pile-driving each other through flaming folding tables. Let's all fall into the pit.

Not since Andy Dwyer broke both of his legs in Pawnee, Indiana more than a decade ago has there been this much passion about a freaking pit. The lead singer of Mouse Rat lost a girlfriend out of the experience, but later gained a wife out of it. This was long before he was a Guardian of the Galaxy, but the pit was every bit Indiana as John Mellencamp or Hinkle Fieldhouse. Not a loser for this Hoosier...

What is "The Pit" in Orchard Park?

So what does this have to do with the Bills? Well, Buffalo is getting a newfangled stadium built next to Highmark Stadium. It is known as New Highmark Stadium for the time being, but I think we still need an open construction pit in Western New York, you know, to keep a good thing going. It is all about finding a way to pass the time with friends. Whether it is in the emergency room is entirely up to you.

Sources say people are falling into this pit on the reg because it has kept this winning streak alive. True or not, the mythology of the pit has become such a public concern that the Erie County Sheriff's Office is guarding the pit to make sure people don't get hurt trying to jump in on game days.

We are not asking folks to sacrifice their first-borns, but if it helps beats Kansas City, by all means...

What is the Buffalo Bills pit and why are fans sacrificing themselves to it?

Look. You can always get a new kid, a new family member or whatever, but Super Bowl championships do not grow on trees. Not much grows in Western New York this time of year, but if you can keep a winning streak alive and send Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift home crying in the process, I wouldn't blame you. If a fan is not allowed to sacrifice himself, we will blame the authorities.

But before we count our chickens before they hatch again, I will warn you what happened to Dwyer's beloved Indianapolis Colts shortly after he fell into the pit. He may have gotten married to one April Ludgate in his best Reggie Wayne jersey for everyone in their living room to see, but the Colts have not won the AFC South since Parks and Recreation reached its conclusion. This is not a coincidence.

Andrew Luck was not a broken man when he made his cameo on the NBC sitcom. Like many of us, he had a bright future ahead of him. The only other person to retire at 29 years old who amounted to anything was Sonny Koufax. That big daddy became the cool uncle for Julian who grew up to be Jughead Jones, who traded in his Daily Show dad for one who liked to make us Scream in the 1990s.

Bills Mafia is indeed a mafia, mostly because they spend too much time around a construction zone.