Fans tailgating at Buffalo Bills games this season could face criminal charges or be ejected for "table-slamming," a practice of jumping into and breaking plastic folding tables that has been popularized in recent seasons by viral videos on social media.
The Bills and the Erie County, New York, sheriff's office have made it a point of emphasis to police table-slamming this season, although rules against the activity have already existed as part of the team's code of fan conduct at New Era Field.
"Despite some of the viral videos and social media posts you'll see, our fans in general are very good, and they are very responsible and have a good time," Bills vice president of operations and guest experience Andy Major said. "But we want to make sure that everyone understands that we're going to hold those folks accountable -- the [small] minority of fans that do some of those things out there in the community and on game day that we feel are unsafe -- we are going to take care of that with our [security] teams."
In an announcement before the Bills' home opener Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Erie County sheriff's office said deputies will be "focusing on eliminating excessive consumption of alcohol" in parking lots surrounding the stadium.
The Bills said Thursday that there were a record-low number of fan incidents last season.