The Buffalo Bills Store at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY held special store hours on Sunday, March 15th, to accommodate fans interest in buying the first Terrell Owens #81 jersey. The jersey also was made available at the Bills Store in the Eastview Mall in Victor, NY.
The first T.O. jersey was sold to eleven year-old Tyler McPeek, of Hamburg, NY.
Tyler said he felt good to be the first person on line with his mom Stacey McPeek, at the Bills Store in Orchard Park. "I hope T.O. takes us to the Super Bowl this year!" said Tyler, who was excited to be one of the first to be able to wear the jersey to school this week.
"I work at Danny's around the corner from the Stadium and everyone is really excited, talking about the Bills and how the stadium will be sold out," said Stacey McPeek. "The atmosphere is just great around here."
A long line of Bills fans started shortly after 10:00 a.m. at the Bills Store for the 11:00 a.m. opening and all were seemingly thrilled with the addition of Owens to the Bills roster.
David Martin, 23, Angola, NY and Bills season ticket holder said, "I pre-ordered the jersey online as soon as it was available, but I was too anxious to wait, so I called and they said I could come down and pick it up today. I'm a proud owner (of the jersey)."
"The atmosphere he brings…he's just so in to the game," Martin added. "I can't wait for the season to start."
Some folks came from long distances just to be one of the first to get their hands on a T.O. jersey. K.C. Dubois, 31, and his wife Chris drove nearly two hours from Bradford, PA, just for the special jersey sale.
Chris said it was an early birthday present for her husband and that it gave her a good reason to do some extra shopping in Buffalo.
K.C. had a message for T.O., "You put on the show and we'll bring the popcorn!"
Daniel Gravel, 25, and Stacey Robinson of Curtis, Ontario were visiting in Niagara Falls when they decided to make a stop at the Bills Store for their T.O. jersey.
Gravel said, "I think signing T.O. was a great move." His message to T.O. was simple, "Score a lot of touchdowns!"
Bills Store employees said that the Owens jersey has been a hot commodity since the announcement of his signing and that the Bills 50th Season items are also doing well.
The Bills Store is open Monday – Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and fans may also shop online at www.thebillsstore.com.
