Costumed Bills fan wins tickets to every major sports championship

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — One lucky Bills Mafia superfan is on her way to attend the Super Bowl, along with every other major sport championship this season.

Buffalo native Sarah Peterson attended this weekend’s Fanatics Fest in New York City dressed as a Bills Mafia fan jumping onto a folding table. She caught the eye of Fanatics’ CEO Michael Rubin.

“I think we’re still processing it,” Peterson said.

Peterson, who was born and raised in Riverside, is now a teacher in Peekskill. Along with her family, she attended Fanatics Fest, a convention that brought fans from all sports under one roof.

“Everybody knew who we were right away. It didn’t matter what sport they were there for. They were like, ‘That’s Bills Mafia,’” Peterson said.

Rubin was in attendance looking for the “best dressed fan” of the event. Peterson was the winner with her Bills fan costume, featuring Zubaz pants, beer pong, condiments in honor of the legend “Pinto Ron” and of course, a plastic table to jump on.

For her costume, Rubin gave her the prize pack of tickets to the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, MLS Cup, WWE WrestleMania and a UFC fight.

“One of my friends said, ‘You need to be wearing the table with fake legs,’ and I said, ‘I can do that.’ The legs are made up of a steel pole and a corrugated tube,” Peterson said. “I was laying on the floor with my legs up and my husband was measuring my thigh, my shin, so that it looked perfect. He worked really hard on that.”

“We couldn’t go one minute without someone saying, ‘Can we take a picture or have a video?'” said Hudson, Peterson’s son.

A video on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows Rubin looking for Peterson at the event telling her the outfit was a “50 out of 10.”

“It was crazy, we’re still kind of speechless. Michael Rubin was so nice. We actually FaceTimed Damar Hamlin with Michael Rubin,” Peterson said.

For Peterson, the fun didn’t stop there. Bills legend Jim Kelly stopped by to say hello, signing her costume.

“It was a dream come true. Jim Kelly took a picture of me, and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ He came around the table and I was just like, ‘I have watched you since I was a little girl. You made my childhood,'” Peterson said.

Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.