Despite their team defeating the Bills in an all-time great playoff game on Sunday, Chiefs fans found a way to make a positive difference in the Buffalo community.
As of Wednesday morning, Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo shared that $178,000 had been donated from Chiefs fans, coming from nearly 10,000 donors.
“These donations help the ongoing need and ensure our team has the tools, training and programs to care for the kids in WNY,” the hospital wrote, attaching a thank you card to the message.
Beginning after the overtime thriller, Chiefs fans starting donating to the hospital in $13 increments, in honor of the 13 seconds it took for the Kansas City offense to drive down the field to tie the divisional-round playoff game at the end of regulation. (The Chiefs would score the game-winning touchdown on the first possession of overtime.)
The gesture this week is far from the only time that NFL fans have supported the hospital. In November 2020, after the Bills' 44–34 win over the Seahawks, coach Sean McDermott told reporters of the death of quarterback Josh Allen's grandmother. Shortly thereafter, Bills fans started donating money in $17 increments to the children's hospital, an homage to the quarterback's jersey number. And this fall, the hospital unveiled a wing in her honor.
Bills fans have rallied together to support various charities of other players around the league in recent years as well, raising $442,000 for the Andy & JJ Dalton Foundation in 2017, after a Bengals win over the Ravens helped the Bills clinch a playoff berth. Bills fans also donated to Lamar Jackson's charity after a playoff win last year.
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