The name, albeit ethnically insensitive, has been around for nearly a decade.

At least that’s when I first heard the phrase “Bills Mafia.”

To most of the team’s faithful it’s a blanket term for Buffalo fans. But apparently it’s actually a subset with two branches, one that dives on tables, smashing them, during tailgating, while, at the same time, the other douses themselves with condiments — namely ketchup and mustard.

It’s all pretty much fraternity party stuff, mostly harmless … except for the tables.

But a month ago, a funny — weird not humorous — thing happened.

The franchise applied for two trademarks of the term “Bills Mafia” from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to use it on team merchandise. The first trademark requests exclusive use of the phrase on items such as hats, shirts and other apparel. The second is for a logo that uses the term in the team’s font.

Both trademark requests were filed in October and indicate the Bills are hoping to claim ownership of the phrase.

HOWEVER, the term “Bills Mafia” was actually created by a group of committed fans, which included Del Reid. He subsequently produced apparel to promote the group, but was legally forbidden from using the word “Bills” or the team’s logo on any of the items.

The Bills, in a promotional video featured on the franchise’s Twitter account, indicated it worked with Reid in applying for the trademark.

“Honestly, the fans built this entire movement,” Reid says on the video. “… the team is now embracing it. It’s surreal. It’s like a dream come true. We’ve always said: ‘Mafia means family’ so it’s investing in each other and building each other up and supporting the team and all of that because in Western New York, the Buffalo Bills are the extra family member in every household.”

Of course, “mafia” doesn’t mean family or anything close.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, it’s defined as, “an organized international body of criminals, operating originally in Sicily and now especially in Italy and the US and having a complex and ruthless behavioral code.”

There are also two secondary meanings:

“any organized group using extortion and other criminal methods” or,

“a closed group of people in a particular field, having a controlling influence.”

Not much there about “family.”

But it’s also interesting that even before teaming up with Reid, the Bills used the term in its social media posts, with #BillsMafia serving as the franchise’s official Twitter hashtag to elicit posts from fans.

HERE’S my issue, though.

As the definition of “mafia” indicates, it is, in no way, a flattering word. It’s clearly disparaging and uncomfortable for many who hear it.

After the team announced its bid to trademark “Bills Mafia,” the Buffalo News received letters of protest from Italian-Americans who were clearly offended.

At a time when Native American nicknames are rightfully disappearing faster than video games at Christmas, what makes “Bills Mafia” any different?

There’s an old saying, “The fun stops when not everybody is having fun.”

And so it is with ethnic “humor.”

My last name lends itself to mispronunciation and, from the time I was a kid, the preferred alternative was “pole-lock.” Hence, it became an automatic invitation for Polish jokes: “Hey, Chuck, how many pole-locks does it take to change a light bulb? Three, one to hold the bulb, two to turn the ladder.”

Ha-ha-ha.

I’m not even Polish but it annoyed me they assumed I was and still felt it was OK to deliver an ethnic slur thinking I would be amused.

The use of “mafia” is much worse to an Italian-American.

Pegula Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Bills, has vast media and community relations departments and presumably ties to high-profile legal firms. Did nobody among them suggest that attaching the franchise to the phrase “Bills Mafia” via a trademark was a bad idea no matter how many shirts and hats were sold?

Was there no lesson learned from the Native American crusade for a restoration of their dignity or must Italian-Americans merely “grin” and bear it?

(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)