Kansas City Chiefs fans donated some $178,000 to a Buffalo Children’s hospital – with many contributions coming in increments of $13 – after the Chiefs shocked the Buffalo Bills in the final 13 seconds of regulation during their divisional-round playoff matchup on Sunday.
Sunday’s game between the two teams at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, was one for the ages. Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass to Wide-Receiver Gabriel Davis with just thirteen seconds left in regulation and put Buffalo ahead by three points, seemingly spelling doom for the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, then marched down the field and tied the game at the end of regulation before breaking the hearts of Bill’s fans in overtime with a game-winning touchdown pass to Tight End Travis Kelce, securing a 42-36 victory.
In the days following the game, donations to Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo began to pour in from Chiefs fans, with many contributions being made in $13 increments, the Buffalo News reports. The hospital announced Wednesday morning it received donations totaling $178,000 from upwards of 9,80o Chiefs fans in 24-hours time.
Andrew Bennett, the vice president of the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation, spoke regarding Chiefs fan’s generosity, according to the Buffalo News:
It’s certainly bittersweet with the game… but the generosity of fans toward Josh is just absolutely remarkable. We’re incredibly grateful for this impactful support. It’s a great sign of sportsmanship and integrity, watching how fans have reacted to this. It’s another huge win for the kids that we’re helping out, day in and day out here in Western New York.”
Donations from Chiefs fanatics began rolling in after a Facebook post from the fan page Chiefs Kingdom Memes suggested fans donate to the children’s hospital, the outlet reports.
The man who runs the account, Kansas City native Brett Fitgerald, told the Buffalo News he first decided to donate $13 to Mahomes’s nonprofit, “15 And The Mahomies,” and shared his idea to social media.
“It started to go a little bit,” Fitzgerald said. “Then a friend of mine was talking with a buddy from Buffalo, and he said, ‘If the Bills had won, they likely would have been donating to Mahomes’ charity. We should donate to Josh Allen’s charity.’ And I was like, ‘Dude, I like that. You’re right.'”
The outlet reports:
Fitzgerald googled Allen’s nonprofit, which led him to stories about Bills fans donating more than a million dollars to Oishei Children’s Hospital last season in honor of Allen’s late grandmother.
Many of those donations were in $17 increments to reflect Allen’s jersey number.
“I remember all of that because it was widely covered,” Fitzgerald explained. “And so I immediately donated and changed the $13 donation suggestion over to Josh Allen’s charity.”
Fitzgerald then posted to Facebook on Monday night, asking Chiefs fans to follow suit.
“Out of HUGE respect for Josh Allen, I’m donating $13 to his foundation, which supports the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. Hope some of y’all join this too,” he wrote and linked the Patricia Allen Foundation.
The post went viral in an hour’s time, according to the Buffalo News.
“Class act from Chiefs fans,” said Bills fan Justin Hutton, wh0, according to the Buffalo News, was the first to donate to Oishei in honor of Allen’s grandmother. “I look forward to reciprocating the gesture when we beat them next year.”