Does Breanna Stewart ever do anything quietly? Not if Sunday is any guide. The New York Liberty star turned up at Highmark Stadium in a Bills hoodie, took up a spot on the sideline, and set off a small earthquake among NFL fans who had assumed a New York athlete and a New York native would support the Jets or the Giants.
The Liberty forward was featured on the stadium’s jumbotron chugging the signature Labatt Blue Light Beer, which generated a wave of excitement from the local fan base.
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“Breanna Stewart is a Bills fan?” a fan asked
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“Breanna Stewart supporting the Bills,” one fan wrote.
“Breanna Stewart representing #Billsmafia,” said another.
Then came the all-caps replies:
“BREANNA STEWART IS A BUFFALO BILLS FAN???”
The delight ran both ways.
“BREANNA STEWART IS AT THE BILLS GAME???? THE GOAT HAS BLESSED MY TEAM LETS GOOO,”one fan posted.
“I had no clue that Breanna Stewart was a Bills fan. I’m a fan of hers; that’s awesome,” another wrote.
The 2x WNBA MVP could hardly have picked a better week. The Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens 36-10, with Josh Allen throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns and running in a third, and DJ Moore returning from a shoulder injury with four catches for 82 yards and a score.
The wideout’s 11-yard touchdown catch from Allen with 12:18 left in the fourth quarter was the 259th scoring pass of the quarterback’s career, regular season and playoffs combined, moving him past Hall of Famer Jim Kelly for the most in franchise history. Dalton Kincaid added four catches for 86 yards and a 23-yard score, James Cook ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Baltimore finished with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano at quarterback after Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley were injured.
None of which was what the timeline wanted to talk about.
Breanna Stewart joins the list of big-name supporters for the Buffalo Bills
Stewart is in decent company. Jim Kelly, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose record Allen broke Sunday, has been the face of Bills fandom for three decades. Jessica Pegula, the American tennis star, has a more direct tie: her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, own the franchise.
Fans were quick to point out the wider weirdness of the day.
“Guy Fieri, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Breanna Stewart all supported the Bills today. Arguably the most random trinity of football fans in recent memory. #BillsMafia,” one fan said.
There is a simpler explanation too. Stewart grew up in Syracuse, about 150 miles east of Orchard Park, and in that part of New York the Bills tend to arrive by inheritance rather than by choice.
So is the 3x WNBA champion with the Bills Mafia for life now? On an afternoon when Buffalo put up 36 points, and her hoodie did the talking, nobody in western New York was lining up to ask questions.
Edited by Aman Kashyap
