Josh Byrne and Josh Allen Have More In Common Than A Name
January 24, 2025By: Jon Rapoport
The proud Western New York municipality of Buffalo is in the midst of a unique interval of sporting success, built largely around the exploits of the area’s high-performing NLL and NFL franchises. On the very same weekend, we saw the two-time defending champion Bandits extend their 2024-2025 record to 5-0 and the Bills took out the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional round. The Bills Divisional playoff win set up an AFC Championship Game battle with their postseason nemesis, the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs. In the wake of losing three consecutive playoff matchups to the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, a Buffalo win would send the club to its first NFL title game since 1994 — when the Bills came up short during the last of four successive losses on the NFL’s grandest stage.
Away from the gridiron, the vast legion of Bills die-hards (known as Bills Mafia) are internationally renowned for their unbridled devotion to team and city, enduring an ever-shifting pendulum of glee and despair, set amongst the backdrop of often arduous weather conditions. A signature member of this fabled group of football devotees is Buffalo Bandits superstar forward Josh Byrne, a man who attends between two and four games a season, including last Sunday’s instant classic versus the Ravens. The defending NLL MVP is both devout and knowledgeable, recently drawing similarities between the Bandits and Bills analogous approach to defense.
“One of the plays that sticks out was when Terrel Bernard punched the ball out of Mark Andrews’ hand. It happened so quick. You see the ball go down and the way that he just made the play,” recalled Byrne. “They are insanely athletic and are making plays on the highest levels. Some of the defensive guys might not get as much recognition, but they are making some sick plays for their team. I draw a lot of parallels to our team where guys like Priolo and Weiss, or Paul Dawson are blocking shots. Ultimately, they are the backbone of our team. We wouldn’t be where we are without our defense, and of course Matt Vinc.”
Josh Byrne was on another level tonight with 7 goals and 5 assists as the Bandits take down the Wings 19-14 to remain undefeated.
On the offensive side of the Bills attack, the story begins and ends with all-world QB Josh Allen, a man Byrne shares a whole lot in common with, along with a universe of unmitigated respect and admiration.
Besides sharing an identical first name, Josh and Josh grew up in the western expanse of North America, with Byrne hailing from the Vancouver, British Columbia area, while Allen spent his formative years in the California Central Valley city of Firebaugh. In addition to birth certificates and geography, the Josh’s each took the route less traveled to sports stardom, with the Buffalo icons beginning their collegiate careers at the junior college level before establishing themselves at Hofstra and Wyoming respectively.
“Josh Allen is superhuman. He hits guys like he’s Derrick Henry, but also evades tacklers. He’s super athletic. If you’re going to chase him down, you’ve got another thing coming. Plus, his arm talent is really special. He’s just a football player who’s humble and works his butt off,” exclaims Byrne.
The 2017 NLL first-overall pick later went into greater detail regarding his perspective on the pair’s shared junior college experience.
“Allen’s success is a tribute to where he came from. He’s a JUCO kid, which I can relate to having played two years in JUCO. When people don’t believe in you, ultimately, it makes you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder. Once you do make it, I feel like you have this humbleness about you because you know where you came from and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship. I think that’s something that’s really cool about Josh,” empathizes Byrne.
An additional area of similarity amongst the pair centers around each man’s unabashed love for the people and fans of Buffalo. Allen’s appreciation began early in his Bills tenure and continues to this day.
“I love Buffalo. I already do. I’m so thankful and so blessed to be able to be here. It’s my type of town, my type of city. I’m just thankful to play with these guys, my teammates, my coaches,” expressed Allen to the Buffalo News back in 2018.
Fast-forwarding to this week’s preparation for the Chiefs, Allen once again sung the praises of his team’s fervent group of supporters, when speaking to assembled local and national media.
“We’ve got the best fans in the NFL. I think the connection with our fan base is unique in the NFL.”
Not surprisingly, Byrne beams with an equivalent level of pride when discussing the magnitude of Banditland. The 30-year-old scorer knows how lucky he is to play in front of the gold standard of NLL aficionados.
“We have the best fans and it’s not even close. If I took a poll around the league, everyone would say the same thing. Teams know that it’s going to be a tough night when you come into Banditland. We know they’re going to do their best to take the crowd out of it, and we’re going to do our best to bring the crowd in and do it as fast as possible,” boasts Byrne.
Byrne later explained his theory regarding why he, Allen and so many others have fallen in love with the good-natured folks of New York State’s second-largest metro area.
“The place is so cold for a lot of the year,” opines Byrne. “When the weather gets down that bad it’s not really about what you’re doing, it’s about who’s around you. You try to surround yourself with great people and I think you see just a lot of people that are very down to earth and hard working. During the 2022 blizzard, you saw people take others into their own homes, feeding them and giving them shelter when they were stranded. In this community, whatever we have to do to help each other out, people are smiling and willing to help.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s Bills at Chiefs tilt, the man who grew up following the CFL’s BC Lions, later falling in love with the Bills after experiencing his first tailgate and subsequent game at Highmark Stadium, offers his thoughts on a Buffalo NFL team that entered this season with slightly diminished expectations, riding that wave to the AFC title game.
“There’s something special about being the underdog. I remember talking about it with a few of my boys, including Dhane Smith and Ian MacKay, and just being like, man, this might be the year for the Bills. When the pressure gets lifted off your shoulders, you’re able to play just freely. I think that’s where people are able to play the best version of their sport. When there is no pressure you know who you are. It’s always the Kansas City Chiefs discussed through town. But, when you don’t have the pressure you can just go out, work your butt off and let the chips fall where they fall,” analyzes the NLL legend/NFL expert.
With the Bandits taking a well-earned breather this weekend, Byrne and his teammates will be rooting hard for the Bills, Allen and most importantly, the city of Buffalo. The place that has given so much of itself to every one of the aforementioned entities.
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