No access to Bills pains Canadian fans

Once again, Jason Tangorra, Bill Kretz and Leslie Churchill will be glued to their respective television sets watching the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night.

And once again, their hearts will be in Orchard Park, N.Y.

The three Canadians are Buffalo season-ticket holders and they’re reveling in the

Bills’ success this year. But they’re unable to attend games in Western New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed the border to non-essential travel.

That couldn’t come at a worse time for fans of an NFL team that hasn’t tasted playoff success in decades.

Buffalo (13-3) finished atop the AFC East Division this season to secure the conference’s No. 2 seed. That gave the Bills their third playoff berth since 2017. but the club’s 27-24 victory last weekend over the Indianapolis Colts was its first post-season win since 1995.

It also was Buffalo’s first home playoff contest since 1996.

On Saturday night, Buffalo hosts the Baltimore Ravens in second-round action. Like last week, New York State has approved admission for about 6,700 fans after not allowing any fans into the nearly 70,000-seat facility during the regular season. Fans must get a COVID-19 test at the stadium two to three days before the game and then have a negative result to be admitted.