It’s 9 o’clock on a typical autumn Sunday in the Twin Tiers, and a sense of optimism fills the crisp morning air as the Buffalo Bills get set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Bradford’s Barry Bacha and father, Ron, Bills season ticket holders since 2002 and before, would ordinarily be hitting the road to Orchard Park about now with family members in tow. With Buffalo off to an 8-3 start and holding onto first place in the AFC East, there’s plenty to be excited about.

But the family has been unable to attend a single game this year. In fact, no fans have been permitted at Bills Stadium since the season began due to COVID-19 restrictions.

It’s a stark contrast from the typically raucous crowds that Buffalo has enjoyed for decades, especially in recent years with the Bills on the rise.

“We were looking forward to this year and we were optimistic about how (the Bills) would be,” Barry said. “But here we are.”

Instead of the usual routine — pick up Barry’s kids, leave by about 9 a.m. and arrive in Orchard Park by 11 — the Bachas, like everybody else, are stuck at home.

It isn’t all bad. The Bills happen to be 6-0 when Ron watches from his back porch, and Barry gets to watch the games with his wife.

“She tells me I’m yelling too much,” Barry joked. “But she hates Tom Brady more than I do, so she’s definitely a keeper.”

Still, it certainly isn’t the same for them.

IN SEASONS prior, the routine was to drive up, park down the road from Bills Stadium and get into the building in time for warmups. The Bachas’ seats are in Section 122 — which happens to be by the tunnel where teams take the field. As such, there’s typically plenty of interaction between the Bachas and those playing in the game.

“When (Barry’s son) Andrew was younger, the players would throw gloves and hats to him. I couldn’t imagine how many gloves we’ve got upstairs,” Barry said.

There are plenty of other memories from over the years, too.

Ron, who initially snagged season tickets in 1986 before giving them up for a while after the Bills benched Doug Flutie for Rob Johnson in 1999, fondly recalls the 1988 season in which Buffalo beat the Jets on a field goal in overtime to win the division title.

“The crowd went down on the field and Barry went down with one of his buddies and the next thing I knew, he came back with a part of the net. It still hangs in the Bills room in his house,” Ron said. “They tore down the goalposts and passed them around. Nobody left the stadium.”

BARRY MEANWHILE, vividly recalled the 51-3 thrashing of the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1991 AFC Championship game that sent Buffalo to its first of four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

Ron was also on hand for the “Greatest Comeback” victory in the 1993 playoffs, in which the Bills overcame a 35-3 second-half deficit to stun the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in the Wild Card round — all while backup quarterback Frank Reich was under center.

Just a few years ago, Ron, Barry and Andrew sat through a game against Indianapolis during which a lake effect snowstorm dumped about nine inches of snow on Western New York throughout the game, which Buffalo won 13-7.

There would’ve been plenty of opportunities for fun memories this year, too. Along the way to their current 8-3 record, the Bills have posted impressive wins, including ones over Seattle and the division rival New England Patriots.

IN ADDITION to those victories, 2018 league MVP and reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs into Orchard Park and managed a 26-17 win over the Bills. It’s a game the Bachas think could have gone the other way if Buffalo had some help from its fanbase, which is widely known for the noise it brings during games.

“I like Mahomes, but I think that would’ve been a different game with fans there,” Ron said. “In that stadium, it gets so loud you can’t hear people talking. I really think we could have beaten Kansas City.”

Plus, the Bills very well could secure a home playoff game for the first time since 1996.

“This year, we had a great schedule and could have a home playoff game, and we’re watching from Bradford,” Barry said with a chuckle.

And though the Bachas certainly wish they could be on hand for Buffalo’s big season, the thing they miss most is the sense of community and family that going to Orchard Park provides.

“I think the big thing (we miss) is the camaraderie,” Barry said. “Dad and I go to 10 games a year together when you include the preseason. Five or six years ago we added an extra seat for my son (Andrew) when he was in high school and college, and then my daughter got a ticket as well, and we have a nephew from Buffalo, too. When the kids can’t go, the wives do if the weather isn’t too bad. Once we’re all there, it’s a family thing.”

And that sense of family extends beyond bloodlines, too.

“Our whole section is season ticket holders,” Barry pointed out. “The folks in front of us are from up around Syracuse, and the guys beside us are from Batavia. It’s like you’re a Bills family once you’re there.

“That’s what you miss most — the people you look forward to seeing every fall and winter, but you can’t do it this year because of COVID.”