Nothing says election season like politicians discovering a brand-new favorite football team.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined Gov. Kathy Hochul at a Buffalo Bills watch party in Queens on Sunday.
And suddenly, everybody was ready to shout, “Go Bills.”
The scene unfolded outside Murphy’s Sports Bar in Astoria before the trio headed inside to watch Buffalo play the Baltimore Ravens.
AOC wore a Bills shirt.
Hochul went all in with a Bills jacket, cap and a buffalo-wing necklace.
Mamdani kept his familiar black suit, but he was happy to join the team photo.
Here is the moment reporters caught outside the bar:
Mediaite reported that AOC openly acknowledged being a newer football fan while insisting the Bills were not a completely fresh choice. She pointed back to the 2024 election cycle, when she played a game of Madden against Tim Walz and selected Buffalo as her team.
Her message to reporters was simple: check the receipts.
The report also noted the obvious geography behind the teasing. The Giants and Jets play roughly nine miles from Midtown Manhattan at MetLife Stadium, while Buffalo plays hundreds of miles away in western New York.
Of course, the counterpoint is delicious: the Bills are the only NFL team that actually plays in New York State. The two teams with “New York” in their names play home games in New Jersey.
That technicality gives the politicians a defense.
The timing still gives everybody else a reason to laugh.
It was a campaign event days before voters headed to the polls, not three friends quietly discovering football in somebody’s living room.
Once inside, the elected officials posed with fans and watched Buffalo turn the afternoon into a comfortable win.
One attendee shared the scene from the watch party:
Go Bills : ) Hochul, Zohran, and AOC edition lol
https://t.co/Lpf6nEylnt pic.twitter.com/hPtVSqxCS8
— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) November 1, 2026
The Buffalo Bills reported that the team beat Baltimore 36-10 and improved to 6-1. Buffalo led from its opening possession through the final whistle, won its 12th consecutive game coming out of a bye week and gave the Queens watch party very little reason for anxiety.
The football itself produced a real milestone. Josh Allen set the franchise record for career touchdown passes, added a rushing touchdown and helped Buffalo pull away while the defense forced turnovers.
The Ravens fell to 4-4 after losing quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley to injuries, leaving emergency option Joe Fagnano to finish the game. By the time the politicians were posing and cheering in Astoria, the team had supplied the easiest possible afternoon for anyone trying on Bills fandom.
No fourth-quarter heartbreak.
No agonizing missed kick.
No need to explain the rules under pressure.
Just a 26-point win and a room full of cameras.
Buffalo’s official account delivered the final word that everybody at the Queens watch party wanted:
New York State’s official biography explains why nobody can credibly call Hochul a bandwagon Bills fan. She is a Buffalo native whose public biography has long tied her identity to western New York.
The governor wearing enough Bills gear for the whole table was the least surprising part of the scene.
Her presence gave AOC and Mamdani a natural bridge to the team. Hochul could host the political gathering, the Bills could supply a statewide symbol and the two New York City progressives could demonstrate enthusiasm beyond the five boroughs.
That is ordinary retail politics dressed in team colors, and every party does some version of it. Politicians visit diners, factories, fairs and sports bars because voters live there too.
The comedy begins when the performance becomes too visible.
AOC knew enough to admit she was newer to the sport.
That honesty was smarter than pretending she had spent decades studying Buffalo’s salary cap.
Mamdani appeared content to enjoy the win without inventing a childhood memory involving Jim Kelly.
And Hochul looked exactly like a Buffalo native watching her team roll.
So, yes, this was campaign theater.
It was also harmless, funny and perfectly timed for a Bills victory.
The real test comes later.
Anybody can wear the shirt when Buffalo wins 36-10.
We will know the bandwagon has real passengers when the Bills lose a heartbreaker in January and all three politicians are still willing to say, “Go Bills.”
The post AOC and Mamdani Jump on the Buffalo Bills Bandwagon With Kathy Hochul appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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[H/T 100PercentFedUp]
