In the aftermath of the Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills being postponed due to a serious injury to Bills S Damar Hamlin, fans everywhere rallied around both Hamlin and the team.
Fans, teammates rally around Damar Hamlin at hospital following medical emergency
Fans stayed through the night in a show of support for the safety
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Donations began flooding into Hamlin’s foundation and his “Chasing M’s” toy drive. The original goal was $2,500, and as of this writing there has been $3,719,730 raised for the drive. Money came pouring in from everywhere, but fans were the ones to share the drive and spread the word.
Two miles away from Paycor Stadium, at the University of Cincinnati hospital, fans began to gather outside in support of Hamlin. According to reports, about 50-75 Bengals and Bills fans gathered outside the hospital and prayed for Hamlin.
This morning, due to rain, the fan presence will more than likely be more muted than it was last night. However, a makeshift vigil was formed for Hamlin, and pieces of the vigil were left behind.
Multiple fans from both the Bengals and Bills spoke about how Hamlin’s injury was bigger than football, and offered support in any way possible.
In addition to fans appearing at the hospital for support, Bills star WR Stefon Diggs also came to the hospital to check on his teammate. ESPN’s Coley Harvey said a police officer almost didn’t let Diggs in, and had to be informed of who Diggs was by Harvey before Diggs was let in.
Most Buffalo players went on the plane back home, but when given the option by the NFL to stay in Cincinnati, some players took that option.
According to Harvey, Diggs was desperately trying to tell the officer who he was, just so he could see Hamlin. Harvey said Diggs told him, “This is all so messed up … we just had to be here for our teammate.”
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