Pittsburgh restaurants boycott "Buffalo" wings, sauce ahead of Bills-Steelers playoff game
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – As Pittsburgh fans prepare to root on the underdog Steelers in this weekend's Wild Card matchup against the Buffalo Bills, some fans are attempting to drum up team pride by boycotting "Buffalo" items like chicken wings and hot sauce.
The ban appears to be taking place at both local restaurants and national chains.
"As a Steelers fan, in the playoffs, there is no way I'm doing anything to support anything Buffalo at my restaurant," said Pittsburgh-area restaurant owner Bubba Snider. "Period. End of story."
His restaurant, Bubba's Burghers, didn't just stop selling Buffalo sauce until after the game -- their ban also extended to "Buffalo" products like Buffalo chicken wing dip.
"You can order ANY other flavor, but we will NOT be selling Buffalo Sauce all week long!!!!" the restaurant posted on Facebook.
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, even local McDonald's restaurants are getting in on the act.
“I’m shutting down the Buffalo sauce this week — just like the Black and Gold are going to stop the Bills on Sunday,” the operator of 22 Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants told the newspaper.
Not everyone in Western Pennsylvania seems to be on board with the boycott.
A post from a Pittsburgh sports talk radio station promoting a "citywide boycott of Buffalo wings" received more than 200 comments, with mixed reviews.
"Buffalo wings, Buffalo sauce, any food, etc -- why would any Pittsburgh person boycott eating anything this week and potentially hurt the bottom line of our local restaurants/pizza joints/wing places/etc?" asked Pittsburgh radio host Colin Dunlap. "I don't get it."
A Bills fan named Alex went one further: "I've had wings in Pittsburgh and let me tell you -- do yourself a favor and extend that boycott year round," he joked on social media.
The Steelers, for what it's worth, don't seem to be playing along. The team announced a roster move Wednesday, signing a punter by the name of Brad Wing.