A warm welcome into Bills Mafia
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SOUTH BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- At Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo, football fandom starts at birth. Some talented staff members have turned their passion for the Buffalo Bills into a heartwarming tradition.
Labor and Delivery Unit Clerk Julie Nowak and nurse Sue Siminski at Mercy Hospital teamed up during last year's NFL season to start the "Born to be a Bills fan" gift sets for all babies born on Bills gamedays.
"I've been working here for a long time," said Nowak. "It's a really nice place to work and I love what I do so I wanted to contribute."
This year, the duo is continuing that tradition with Bills-inspired hand-knit hats for the newborns alongside onesies and baby blankets. For Siminski, the idea was inspired by when she gave birth.
"I had a child born on Christmas 30 years ago and he was covered with a little Christmas blanket," said Siminski. "I still have that to this day."
Nowak has been crocheting since she was 8 years old. She said one hat takes her approximately 20 minutes to piece together, and she'll crochet about a dozen at a time.
Nowak said it's an awesome feeling to get these newborns prepared to enter into Bills Mafia from their first days of life.
"It comes with the territory of being born in Buffalo," said Nowak. "It feels good to contribute to that."
Siminski, who creates the onesies, recruited some family members to help make all of this possible. Her mother, Marge Niemczyk, carefully selects fabrics and makes blankets that the newborns are wrapped in after their first baths.
"It's a fun thing," said Niemczyk. "Being retired, I feel it's my contribution to volunteering for something."
The women don't only hand out hats, blankets, and clothing when it's Bills season. They continue all year long with different fabric designs for each holiday.
Of course, like most members of Bills Mafia, all of the staff members are saying they believe this is the year Buffalo will get its first ever Super Bowl victory.
"I hope so," said Niemczyk. "In my lifetime please. Hopefully this is our year to go."
Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.