BUFFALO, N.Y. — A loudspeaker blasts out a countdown of the final minutes until the gates open for the crowd of rabid chicken wing fans — some in outrageous costumes — waiting with mouths watering Saturday for the 2025 National Buffalo Wing Festival to open.
People are decked out in equal parts Buffalo Bills paraphernalia, particularly Josh Allen jerseys, or kitschy chicken wing gear as they file into Shalen Field, home of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons baseball team.
Near the front of the line are childhood friends Michael Lonergan and Richard Zawistowski, who have checked both boxes: Each is wearing a giant, orange drumstick-shaped hat, holding a wing-shaped koozie, and dressed head-to-toe in Bills gear…