Therese Forton-Barnes has been named the Buffalo Bills’ 2025 Fan of the Year. The announcement recognizes her long-standing dedication to the team and her involvement in community initiatives connected to the Bills.
Forton-Barnes, who has attended nearly every home game for 62 years, credits her parents for teaching her the importance of giving back. “They taught me to give back to the community and share what you have,” she said. “And Buffalo was so loved by them and they instilled in [my siblings and I] to love Buffalo [and] to give back to Buffalo as much as you possibly can. And that’s what I have chosen to do.”
Her selection as Fan of the Year came with a surprise celebration at Stitch Buffalo, where former Bills player Thurman Thomas and his wife Patti presented her with a jersey, Water Buffalo hat, and cake. Forton-Barnes works closely with Stitch Buffalo on a project that produces hats worn by members of the Bills Mafia. She noted, “It was the perfect setting at Stitch Buffalo where I have spent so much time doing this Water Buffalo Club [716] work and helping out the [women there] and changing their lives. And they have changed my life.”
The collaboration with Stitch Buffalo supports refugee and immigrant women by promoting their artisan skills through handmade hats. Forton-Barnes highlighted how this initiative has brought new fans from different countries into the Bills community: “These women at Stitch Buffalo have gone through nothing that we can ever imagine in our lives, and specifically the three women that make the deluxe hats were pretty much torn from their countries,” she said. “They have embraced the project so much that they tell me all the time that the hats have changed their lives and it has created this whole new world of [Bills] fans from different countries that have settled here.”
In addition to her work with Stitch Buffalo, Forton-Barnes is involved with the Water Buffalo Club, which sponsors local projects such as supporting the American Bison exhibit at the Buffalo Zoo and participating in community parades throughout the year.
Reflecting on memorable moments as a fan, Forton-Barnes recalled staying through poor weather conditions during key games: “I wish I knew all the people that were around me because we were hugging and crying and the joy of winning that game and watching the guys on the field and Leonard Smith running around … giving high fives to all the fans,” she said about attending a 1993 playoff game.
Forton-Barnes emphasized how sports can unite people across backgrounds: “I’ve never given up. I’m an eternal optimist. I thought [the Bills] were going to the Super Bowl for the past 40 years. I am there [through] thick and thin… It brings the community together… But sports has a way of bringing people together no matter what is going on in the world or in your life. It just makes everybody happy.”
