PARKVILLE, MO (WENY) - Al's Bar and Grill is more than just a bar, it's a haven for Buffalo Bills fans who have found themselves in Kansas City. For 15 years, this spot has been the go-to place for Bills Mafia, thanks to one man's mission to bring a little piece of Buffalo to the Midwest. 

"Well, all you gotta do is kinda look around and listen to the noise," said Al. "I love this when the Bills people come to town."

For Al, owning a bar wasn't just a dream, it was destiny.

"I always wanted to have a bar," Al shared. "As I told my mother, 'Mom, every man in America wants to own a bar, but some people are born to it, and I was born to it.'"

When Al first opened his bar 15 years ago, it started small. Just a couple TVs tuned into Bills games. But as word spread that Al was playing Buffalo games, even during Chiefs broadcasts, fans started to show up.

"Of course, I got here, and I wanted to see the Bills on Sundays," Al explained. "So I got DirecTV, I paid for the package, and the word began to spread that I would have Bills games on even when the Chiefs were playing. There'd be at least one, maybe two TVs tuned into the Bills, and then it just kind of got bigger and bigger."

Today, Al's bar is an official Bills Backers location, packed every Sunday with fans wearing red and blue. It's not just the games that draw people in, it's the authentic Buffalo feel. 

"Bills fans came here, and you can't get a decent chicken wing in Kansas City until now," Al said with pride. 

But at 70 years old, Al knows the clock is ticking to see what every Bills fan has been waiting for, a Lombardi trophy. 

"I'm excited about it, and I'm running out of time," he admitted. "I'm 70 years old. We've got to do this pretty soon."

For a man who has been watching the Bills since 1960, sitting next to his father on Sunday afternoons, there's a lot of emotion surrounding the big game. 

With tears in his eyes, Al said, "What I don't like is people equate Buffalo with losers...yeah, we gotta win one."

While Al hopes to see a Lombardi trophy raised in his lifetime, he's already created something just as meaningful, a place where Sundays feel like home, even though Buffalo is one thousand miles away. 

 

Stick with WENY Sports on air and online as we bring you the latest in our pregame show "The Drive to New Orleans", brought to you by Knappy's Auto Body, Sunday at 6 P.M. on WENY-ABC.