ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The way Keita Nakagawa, Hojung Kim, and Andy and Joleen Tatar get along, you would never know they only met each other over the weekend thanks to a shared love of the Bills.
"One day about two years ago, I found the Bills Mafia fan base page on Facebook.. and began posting regularly," Nakagawa said.
Nakagawa is from Toyko, Japan, and has been a Bills fan since the early 90s.
He had always dreamed of coming to see the Bills in Orchard Park and finally decided he would come for the Bills Dolphins game over this past weekend.
Back in June, he posted about his upcoming trip on that Bills Mafia page to get recommendations.
"One of the comments was from Joleen. She said 'Keita, you can come stay at my house,'" Nakagawa said.
"I loved Keita's posts. He was positive," Joleen Tatar said. "We just love people and I just thought this would be such a cool experience talking to my grandchildren about them and just to meet them and show them Buffalo and what we're all about."
Joleen Tatar began creating an itinerary of things for both Nakagawa and his girlfriend Kim to do.
Among one of the first things Nakagawa and Kim did was stop by Tops on Jefferson Avenue to pay their respects to the ten lives lost on May 14, 2022.
"Now you're coming from Japan and that was one of the main things he wanted to do, how can you not say 'come stay with me,'" Joleen Tatar said.
Nakagawa and Kim also went to Niagara Falls, Buffalo City Hall, and tried pizza and wings.
"It was some of the best foods in my life. I love blue cheese," Nakagawa said.
The couple was also thrown a welcome party ahead of Sunday's game to meet the rest of Bills Mafia.
"Before coming to the place, I didn't expect so many people to welcome me because I am not a superstar or a famous pro football star. I am just a normal person," Nakagawa said.
Even getting to finally see the Bills win in person and being invited to squirt ketchup and mustard on Pinto Ron were just some of the highlights of his trip.
"That was my best gift was meeting so many people in Buffalo," Nakagawa said.
Buffalo will always welcome Nakagawa and Kim with open arms.
"I successfully recruited (Hojung) to the wonderful Bills Mafia world," Nakagawa said.
It's all due to a shared love of the Bills and because Nakagawa is an even better human being.
"I think we need more of that in this world. If somebody posts something on the Mafia page, he will personally respond to them and say congratulations or I hope you feel better, congratulations, get well soon. And I'm talking everybody," Joleen Tatar said. "They're going to be part of our family forever."