Although they’re more known for occasionally lighting themselves on fire, jumping onto tables and doing other zany things, Buffalo Bills fans are celebrating their first playoff berth since 1999 in a pretty uplifting way.
They’re flooding the charity run by Andy Dalton, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback whose touchdown pass beat the Baltimore Ravens and secured Buffalo’s wild-card berth, with cold, hard cash. Dalton was as amazed as J.J. Watt, whose fund for Hurricane Harvey relief reached $37 million last fall, as he watched the contributions roll in to the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation. At one point Monday night, he tweeted, “We are getting 10 donations a minute!” He finally called it a night, saying that “over 2,500 donors” had brought in “just over $57,000.”
In the 24 hours since the 1st donation came in, over 2500 donors and just over $57,000 and counting! Last update for the night! I will update tomorrow. We can’t thank y’all enough!
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 2, 2018
And, by mid-day Monday, the contributions had topped $100,000 from over 4,500 donors, with Dalton setting a goal of $150,000. “We are blown away and so grateful for the amount of generosity we have been receiving,” he tweeted.
We are blown away and so grateful for the amount of generosity we have been receiving! Keep it up and help us get to $150K! #BillsMafia @buffalobills pic.twitter.com/d7tYsTZv2L
— AJD Foundation (@ajdfoundation) January 2, 2018
“I think I’m the hottest guy in Buffalo right now,” Dalton joked to reporters Monday. “According to my Twitter, I think everybody’s loving us right now. Obviously that’s a crazy fan base, and they’re all pretty excited.”
Thank you to everybody who is donating to the @ajdfoundation! We are blown away by the support! pic.twitter.com/KPyd5X0CFR
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 2, 2018
And, in case you’re wondering, many donations were arriving in $17 increments because the Bills have gone 17 seasons without a playoff appearance.
“We’re appreciative of that. Obviously they’re helping out a good cause,” he said. “It’s been pretty fun to see the reaction we’ve gotten.”
The Daltons’ foundation says its mission is “to provide daily support, opportunities, resources and life-changing experiences to seriously ill and physically challenged children and their families in Cincinnati and Fort Worth,” and at least one Bills fan thinks the generosity should extend beyond Dalton. After all, someone had to catch the pass on the fourth-and-12, 49 scoring play late in the game.
“Don’t forget some love for Tyler Boyd,” David Zolnowski wrote on the team’s Facebook page. “After all, he caught the TD.”
The rest of the Bengals cashed in, too, because the Bills sent a shipment of wings to Cincy.
Thank you, @Bengals. pic.twitter.com/HrJjuV5zWO
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) January 1, 2018
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