The NFL is continuing its partnership with Hallmark, and recently premiered the latest movie in its collaboration that started with Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. This time, the Buffalo Bills got the rub, and when the team tried to promote the movie on social media, fans learning about it for the first time just had to roast the team.
For those more informed on upcoming Hallmark movies than the NFL, the premiere of Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story premiered just after the Bills suffered an unexpected loss to the Houston Texans. The team was expected to handily win the AFC East division at the start of the season, but they’re now behind the New England Patriots and could feasibly miss the playoffs entirely if that pattern continues.
Given that, the online mood of the fandom has been tense and decidedly unromantic. So when the official account promoted Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, the comments lit up with plenty of snark:
- Probably ends in dramatic heartbreak – @jplosmansghost
- Probably the worst time for this to come out 😂 – @Coffeewhore2
- I really don’t give a shit – @BillsOnReal
- Spoiler alert they lose to the chiefs in the playoffs again… – @dante017
- One thing certain; it doesn’t end with a ring. – @RaistliniltsiaR
It’s fair to say this post would’ve gotten a better response had the Bills won on Thursday, though some of the digs in the comments run deep. The team has struggled against the Chiefs in the playoffs, having lost to them the past four times they’ve faced off. It’s also true the Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl, which is where the ring comment came from.
If there’s any upside to fans, it seems like most of the roasting is about the Buffalo Bills’ team performance this season, rather than the new Hallmark Christmas movie. The sequel in the Holiday Touchdown franchise opted to highlight the Bills, despite Chiefs fans hoping they’d get another movie.
As for the actual plot, Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story centers on two families of Bills fans, and two best friends (who may have feelings for each other) who attempt to find an anonymous gift giver who helped her uncle’s family when he was drafted decades ago. It’s a good mix of romance and football fun, and it may be worth a watch during the upcoming holiday season.
If Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story ends up being a hit, I can’t wait to see which team is selected for the third installment. A better question is if Hallmark continues this partnership with the NFL, will it make a holiday movie for all 32 teams? At the rate of one per year, I should be able to see all of them by the time I’m in my 60s. Hopefully, they do one for my team sooner than that!
Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story can be watched with a Hallmark+ subscription. It may not be the best Christmas movie of all time, but hey, I can’t think of any others that honor the Bills Mafia.