Your guide to attending Bills Training Camp

The Bills are returning to the campus of St. John Fisher University for Training Camp this Sunday, July 24.

Being from Rochester, I’m absolutely thrilled to have camp back close to home. I’ve been to St. John Fisher several times throughout the years to watch the Bills at camp and I’ve loved the experience. I will be there again this year (despite the challenging ticket-buying process).

If you’re from Buffalo or out of state and looking to make the drive to Rochester this year for the first time, here are a few things you can expect at St. John Fisher:

There is a shuttle that takes you to the campus and drops you off at the front gate. You will have to park at one of the local high schools that run the shuttle bus. The earlier you get there, the better, as there will be a lot of people in line and waiting for the shuttle. Expect a small fee to ride the shuttle, which will take you there and back. There will be signs for what bus to take as some of them go to different high schools, so make sure you’re on the right bus!

When you arrive you to camp, you will have to walk through a big tent. Inside the tent there are a bunch of different games – like throwing a football, plinko, corn hole, spinning a wheel to win a prize, etc. There are a bunch of fun activities for even the littlest of Bills fans. You can get your picture taken in front of a green screen, win great prizes, and then of course they have a gift shop there with all the coolest and latest Bills gear and collectibles (prepare for the items to be expensive).

Once you get through the tent they have more activities and games outside that are loads of fun for everyone and they give out prizes for those as well. There’s great food such as burgers, fried dough, ice cream, and of course Rochester’s famous Zweigle’s Hot Dogs.

From there you’ll make your way to the bleachers where you can sit and enjoy watching your favorite Bills up close and in person. There are a couple different fields they use to practice on so the team may be split up on occasions between offense, defense, special teams, wide receivers, DBs, etc. So, if there’s a specific player you want to watch up close, make sure you have some sharp eyes to see where they are.

Keep in mind that security is usually strict so if you are standing in the way or too close to the fence for too long, they will tell you to move back.

After the practice comes the most exciting part…the autographs. If you’re like me and love to stay after practice for autographs, then there are a couple things you should know. People will start crowding the fence as practice begins to come to a close so make sure you get up there when you see people making the move. Some players will come over and sign and others will not, no matter how many times you yell their name. Be prepared and be nice, as there isn’t a ton of room along the fences for a good spot. If you have a great spot and are up front and personal with a player, offer to help out someone behind you that can’t get through. Take their hat, football or card and get it signed for them. The more people that do this, the more people that will leave happy, and Bills Mafia is family after all.

There is another small white tent that a small group players are scheduled to go to to sign autographs. However, this tent is only for kids 12 years of age and younger. So if you’re a parent, lucky you. You won’t be fighting the crowds of people for an autograph, but you may want to look ahead of time to see who’s signing.

With some new faces this year, new stars and fresh blood, it’s going to be very exciting to see these players up close. Cherish those moments you get to see these players, because this, ladies and gentlemen, may very well be the team that makes history.

I also highly recommend that any newcomers go to either Dog Town, Nick Tahou’s or Steve T’s to order the garbage plate. I’m sure many of you have heard of it but if you haven’t you can get a choice of meat such as burger patties, hot dogs or chicken tenders on top, with mac salad and homefries mixed in as well. Get this doused in hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, relish or whatever else you may want, and bon appetit. But that’s for after training camp.

If you have any questions about Training Camp at St. John Fisher College feel free to reach out to me on twitter @am_star5 and I’ll be happy to help!