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‘A Love Letter’: Bills docuseries launches Wednesday on Tubi

 ORCHARD PARK -- Buffalo Bills fandom is unlike any other in the world of sports. Buffalo-raised film producers Kevin Polowy and Addison Henderson sought out several years ago on a journey to show everything that Bills fandom is all about.

Wednesday, their efforts will be on display for all to see. Just One Before I Die, a five-episode documentary series premieres Wednesday on Tubi. The series was produced by UNINTERRUPTED, a media company founded by Maverick Carter and LeBron James. It is free of charge to stream on Tubi.

The documentary series features Bills players of the past and present, including Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, and Dion Dawkins, among others. It also features Bills super fans, from everyday people with their own unique stories to well-known celebrities like actor Chad Michael Murray.

The series initially began as a 90-minute documentary, but during filming, there was so much material that the producers decided to make it into a five-part docuseries. Kevin Polowy said the extensive series was "really, really challenging on all of us", but he felt like it was the right call to do the story justice.

WHERE THE STORY STARTED

The idea first began with Kevin's cousin, Clayton, during a conversation after a Bills postseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Clayton Polowy wondered after the infamous "13-seconds" loss to the Chiefs in the postseason, "Is it ever going to be us?" He was faced with his own mortality, as was Kevin Polowy, as they had each lost their fathers around the same time. Kevin's father had a t-shirt that read, "Just One Before I Die", and never got to experience the joy of a championship.

As Clayton and Kevin Polowy discussed their fandom for the team and the deep roots it had in their family tree, Clayton presented the idea of a documentary about Bills fandom. Kevin was unsure in the moment, knowing from past projects that documentaries are challenging to create.

"The idea of doing anything in the documentary world scared me at first, so I said, 'Let me sleep on it.' But then, it was all I could think about that night," Kevin Polowy said.

Kevin Polowy thought if he was going to do a Bills documentary, he was going to do it right. He knew instantly the person he wanted at his side throughout the project, his longtime friend and collaborator, Addison Henderson.

"There was only one person that I thought of, and that was Addison, who was not only a longtime creative partner of mine, but also one of my best friends," Kevin Polowy said.

Henderson said having the opportunity to do something with Bills fans "was very intriguing." He said from the jump that it needed to be focused on the characters of Bills Mafia – the people that most would not know, but represent what the fanbase is all about. In total, roughly 15 characters were featured in the docuseries.

"These are the people that encapsulate what it means to be Bills Mafia. The love, the heart. That's what really intrigued me about being part of this project," Henderson said. He described it as "the Game of Thrones of Bills fandom" in terms of how much character development was done throughout the series.

The docuseries follows several Bills fans, home and away, and tells their stories as fans of the team. Dating back to the start of the 17-year playoff drought, Kevin Polowy ingratiated himself with a group of traveling Bills fans that attend road games every year. He has seen the Bills play in more than 20 stadiums over the years. Some of the stories of fans he met along the way are told throughout the docuseries.

When asked what Bills fans should expect to see in the docuseries, Kevin Polowy answered simply, "Themselves." He estimates the project had roughly 100 days worth of shooting, from tailgates to crowd shots during games, as well as interviews.

"It's going to be really fun for a lot of Bills fans to look for themselves in this," Kevin Polowy said.

RAISED IN THE MAFIA

Clayton Polowy, a Dunkirk native, has been a Bills fan his entire life, dating back to a childhood spent growing up watching games at his grandparents' house on Bucknor Street in Dunkirk. He recalls watching games after church as his father predicted another Bills loss, and how often his father was right.

As he grew up, Clayton Polowy witnessed the four straight Super Bowl losses in the early 90s. He drove home from college to watch the fourth Super Bowl from home, hoping it would make a difference, but quickly realized that was not the answer.

Then came the 17-year playoff drought, which finally came to an end on Jan. 1, 2018. Shortly after that, the Bills drafted Josh Allen and the franchise went from a doormat for nearly two decades to a perennial contender in the league.

What stands out to Clayton Polowy are the vivid memories of all the biggest moments in Bills history that he and fellow fans share. He remembers exactly where he was and who he was with when the Bills suffered traumatic losses or pulled out miraculous victories.

Likewise, Henderson remembers listening on the radio to Van Miller calling the magical postseason comeback against the Houston Oilers, led by quarterback Frank Reich on Jan. 3, 1993. He remembers exactly where he was that day.

Henderson said growing up in Buffalo, it was nearly impossible to be into sports and not be a Bills fan. He said being a fan of another team "doesn't even seem right."

Kevin Polowy said it is fandom like that which makes Bills Mafia a perfect subject for an extended docuseries. He feels the fanbase is not only the most passionate group of fans, but also the most tortured, and still, the most charitable. From jumping through tables to donating to causes of players on the team and on other teams, like Andy Dalton when his touchdown pass helped seal Buffalo's trip to the postseason to end the drought, Buffalo Bills fans are a group like no other fanbase, and the docuseries aims to get that point across to its viewers.

"I feel really proud about this sort of documenting. While it is specific to Bills Mafia, it's also about the heart of what fandom ultimately is, why people are sports fans," Kevin Polowy said. "This gets at the heart of how and why sports fandom can be a really beautiful thing. ... It can really unite people and remind us that, at the end of the day, we're all human. We're all the same."

Clayton Polowy said he hopes the takeaway for viewers is how deep Bills fandom runs, which he described as almost like a religion. He said, "It sounds crazy – this is not life or death – but the experiences and the tears, the trauma and the depression ... that's what this documentary is doing. It's capturing all those highs and lows."

"I just hope that people enjoy the series. A lot of work went into it," Henderson said. Even after watching it countless times, Henderson said he still gets choked up watching certain moments.

Henderson added, "It's our heart and soul here. It's a love letter to the city that we love."