By Alex “MereKat” LeMere
This is something I’ve been thinking about writing for a while and decided this week, following the Bills’ big win over the Seahawks, would be the perfect opportunity. Not just because of the win, but in large part due to the tremendous support of #BillsMafia in their donations to the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital located in Buffalo, NY.
This avalanche of donations began after the quarterback’s astounding performance against the Seahawks when Allen revealed that his grandmother, Patricia Allen, had passed away suddenly at 80 years old on Saturday. This may have motivated the young Bills’ signal-caller, who had a 400+ yard day capped off with 4 touchdowns and the statement setting win. Following this news, #BillsMafia got to work and started to flood Oishei with donations in honor of the late Patricia Allen.
Why Oishei, you may ask? Allen has a partnership with Oishei that has seen the Bills’ QB go above and beyond for them. From starring in commercials to designing hats for charity campaigns (with that one hat company we don’t talk about), it’s publicly clear that Allen loves to help bring awareness to OCH (Oishei Children’s Hospital)…but it goes even deeper than that. Allen has done so much for them behind the scenes, especially during Covid, making sure to get as much quality time with the children as possible. Transitioning from in-person visits to utilizing tablets to virtually visit the children he cares about and continue building everlasting connections with those who need it most.
I’m not sure anything hits me in the feels harder than sick children. The work children’s hospitals like Oishei and St. Jude does for kids is nothing short of extraordinary. So what better way to honor Allen and his grandmother Patricia than to back the Brinks truck up to OCH’s donations page (You can find that link here: https://www.kaleidahealth.org/foundations/childrens/donate/ )
Thanks to @RedditBills, the idea to donate $17 increments (Allen’s jersey number) to Oishei started to pick up steam the Monday morning following the win. OCH even added a Bills’ Zubaz themed $17 donation option, which is really cool.
Around 9 A.M. Monday, OCH tweeted it had already received $19,000 in donations. A staggering number in less than 24 hours…#BillsMafia wasn’t ready to stop there. As of the last update via OCHBuffalo’s donation page at 9:44 A.M., Bills’ fans have made a total of 19,244 (!!!) donations for a total OVER THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! $381,298 to be exact. Absolutely awe-inspiring thanks to #BillsMafia and all those who want to rally behind us and Josh.
So here I was today, driving down Sheridan, thinking about all of this, and started thinking about what Josh Allen means to the city of Buffalo, and I got emotional. Like, truly emotional to the point I had to pull over because I had tears swell up in my already blind eyes.
Have the Buffalo Bills ever had such a talent at quarterback that embraced not just the fan base but the entire region? Not in my lifetime (I am just 25). People can argue Fitzmagic, but he was never on the level Allen is now where we can trust him to lead this team for years to come. Jim Kelly didn’t want any part of Buffalo until later in his career. I loved Tyrod Taylor, but like Fitz, was never an elite guy we could trust with the franchise.
I not only trust Josh Allen to lead this franchise for years to come, but to also be a figurehead for the city of Buffalo.
It all started during the evening of April 26, 2018, during the NFL Draft. Bills’ fans were clamoring at the franchise’s chance to take a quarterback in a loaded class highlighted by Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen. With Allen projected anywhere from first overall to possibly falling out of the first round, Buffalo seemed like a possible landing spot, moving up from pick No. 22 to No. 12 after a trade with the Bengals.
The Buccaneers were up with the seventh pick, and a trade was announced…with the Bills. Fans and spectators around the country knew there were jumping QB needy teams like AZ and MIA to take one themselves, but the question remained…who was it going to be? HAND UP, I was all in on Josh Rosen at that moment. To me, Allen was a huge question mark who had production issues playing in the Mountain West for Wyoming. Apparent accuracy issues and questionable tweets from high school surfaced. I won’t sugar coat it. I didn’t want him at all. I got upset at the idea of another bust at QB or settling for average.
Then it happened. Roger Goodell took to the podium and made the announcement:
“With the seventh pick in the 2018 NFL Draft…the Buffalo Bills select, Josh Allen.”
My heart dropped in disbelief. I immediately took to Twitter and started a myriad of angry tweets…and I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t happy. “We took the wrong Josh” is one sentiment many of us couch GMs believed. I couldn’t believe it. What the hell does Brandon Beane see in this guy?
The next morning, I woke up and decided to try my best to calm down and start to try and see the good in him. I decided to try and embrace the pick. I mean, like it or not, he would be our starting QB at some point, and I will always try to see the best in the Buffalo Bills.
I wish I could go back to draft night now, knowing what I know now, to experience the pick again. It feels wrong that my first memory of Josh Allen as a Buffalo Bill will always be a negative one. I wish I realized back then how happy it would make me.
Fast forward 930 days from that draft night, and I couldn’t be happier with Allen. For the first time in my fandom, I don’t feel the need to talk myself into our QB being the right guy. I’m proud to tell others I’m a Buffalo Bills fan, and Josh Allen is our guy.
Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t all roses on the path to where we are now. There were plenty of questions surrounding Allen and his ability (specifically accuracy and decision making) and even more haters jumping at the chance to tear both him and our team down. How did he respond to his mistakes and critics? With his head held high, a desire to be better and a helluva lot of work. Allen’s consistent improvement and development from when he first got to Buffalo and now is almost unheard of. His growth as a leader for the Bills has been equally as impressive. He’s a leader that makes his teammates want to give it their all and follow his lead.
Now nine games into his third season, the 24-year-old QB has earned multiple AFC Player of the Week honors (including September’s Player of the Month), garnered massive praise, apologies, and MVP considerations across the media, and has led the Buffalo Bills to a 7-2 record. He’s on pace to shatter team passing records and lead the Bills (POTENTIALLY) to their first playoff win since 1995, the year I was born. A true wildcard on the field at times but his effort and will to win is never questioned.
Not too shabby for a farm boy from Firebaugh, CA, who only received interest from one D1 school, eh?
I know I sound like a broken record, but I am so satisfied with the guy leading the Bills for the first time in my entire life. A leader, all of Western New York, can be proud of and get behind.
Today Josh Allen spoke more about #BillsMafia and how much not just our charitable efforts, but the entire fan base, means to him. Yesterday, he was quoted saying, “My family is forever engraved here, myself included. I don’t ever want to leave…I want to play for as long as I can and give back to this community and Bills Mafia.”
“I don’t ever want to leave”…WHERE IS THE CLOSEST BRICK WALL BECAUSE I’M READY TO RUN THROUGH IT RIGHT NOW. I’m not sure I could love this guy anymore without needing a Grinch-Esque heart expansion.
Josh Allen loves Buffalo, and Buffalo loves him right back. A true bond between a city and an athlete that’s growing rarer and rarer. I would follow Josh Allen into the war (and I hate conflict). I wear my Allen jersey like a badge of honor. For fucksake I want to go to the roof of Seneca One Tower and scream out my praise for him some games. I become overfilled with happiness to where I’ll nearly cry thinking about Buffalo finally raising the Lombardi trophy, and I think we have the right guy to make it happen.
A city of blue collar, drinking city with a sports problem no longer has to feel embarrassed being a fan of the Buffalo Bills. The tides are turning on the shores of Lake Erie and a reason to Billieve again for #BillsMafia finally seems to be taking place.
Although things can go wrong at any time with anyone, I never have that feeling with Allen. I NEVER want him to leave Buffalo. I want him to be on this team until he’s 40, only to retire and become a coach. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but he has done nothing to make me think that happen. Allen has left me speechless with his play and actions time after time these last couple of years, and I never want to lose that now I’ve finally experienced it.
So, Josh, this is all to say thank you. Thank you for giving #BillsMafia a reason to be hopeful and ease the pain of the last 25 years of heartbreak. Thank you for erasing the Bills’ days of being the butt of the joke and for giving us a reason to look forward to Sundays again. Thank you for inspiring this city and speaking for myself, making people want to exceed their preconceived expectations as you did. You’ve made a difficult year more bearable for many and have always put Buffalo and our fans first.
Sincerely,
A Bills’ fan who has known nothing but disappointment that now has a reason to Billieve.
The Sports Desk can be reached at editorialtrainwrecksports@gmail.com
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