Josh Kingsley has been a Kansas City football fan for as long as he can remember. After moving to Wisconsin nearly 12 years ago, having a place to watch his beloved team on a weekly basis remains crucial.
“I travel a decent amount for work and family, so finding a place to watch is always top of mind,” Josh said. “I know when I go into a Buffalo Wild Wings that I will find local beer and the game that I want on. That level of consistent delivery is key for me.”
It’s also what made his watching experience even better in September 2013, when he heard a group of fans cheering at the same time he was during a Sunday at Buffalo Wild Wings. Josh went over to introduce himself and found three like-minded Kansas City fans — Bob Larsen, Nick Schweitzer and Kris Crow — who had coincidentally met at the sports bar just three years earlier.
“It worked out great that we pretty quickly became friends,” Josh said. “Life is more fun with company, and we have good company.”
After watching the games together, Josh had the idea to create a Facebook group as a way to connect with other transplanted Kansas City fans. Now, with a group that’s grown to more than 150 people, Josh and his fellow Kansas City fans have made the Brookfield, Wisconsin, Buffalo Wild Wings their home sports bar.
“We’ve started reserving the back room every week to watch the games,” Josh said. “I was in Kansas City for the conference championship, but we were at Buffalo Wild Wings for the divisional game against Houston. It was a rollercoaster of a game, but the place was Buffalo Wild (pun fully intended) as the touchdowns began to pile up. I know many of us were pretty hoarse the next day from yelling.”
It’s moments like these, surrounded by dozens of other fans, that will make this Sunday even more special. Josh weighed his options on traveling to Kansas City or even Miami for the championship game, but eventually decided he’d rather enjoy it among his Brookfield crew.
“We’ve watched the entire Andy Reid-era together, we’ve watched each other’s kids grow up, and they’re just the people we wanted to be around,” Josh said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I can’t imagine not watching a game like this with them.”
