Bills Mafia Steps Up To Help Super Bowl Parade Shooting Victims
What was supposed to be a day of celebration for the NFL's newest champion turned into one of unspeakable horror.
Roughly a million people gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory, when gunshots rang out across the parade. In total, one person died and 22 more were injured in the shooting, most of them being children.
The Buffalo Bills may be the Chiefs' rivals on the field, but their fanbase, commonly known as Bills Mafia, has been known for rallying around those in need. As such, Bills Mafia has donated en masse to Children's Hospital in Kansas City, where many victims of the shooting are being treated.
© Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY
A fan on the Bills subreddit shared a link to donate to the hospital, while Del Reid, co-founder of Bills Mafia, supported a campaign for people to donate $22, in reference to the 22 victims of the attack.
“It would break my heart for Buffalo to finally have a championship parade and for something like that to happen,” Reid told KSHB 41. “It breaks my heart that it happened to Chiefs fans ... for something that is supposed to be — like you mentioned a moment ago — a communal celebration, for it to end like that. It just — it sucks. I wish I had a better way to articulate it, but it just sucks for there to be a loss of life and for people — children — to be injured.”
Despite their rivalry on the field, Bills and Chiefs fans have frequently made charitable donations to support each other.
Chiefs fans donated en masse to Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo, which Bills quarterback Josh Allen has worked with in the pass, after their classic matchup in the 2021 playoffs. Bills fans have also donated to the Tyrann Mathieu foundation, run by the former Chiefs and current New Orleans Saints safety.
For Buffalo residents, the shooting in Kansas City hurts even more after a similar shooting left 10 dead in May of 2022.
"At the end of the day, we're all humans, right?” Reid said. “We're all in this thing called life together. If somebody's hurting, just because they cheer for the wrong team, you still want to help however you can.”
It's hard to find a silver lining in such a horrific situation, but if there is one, it's the millions rallying to support the Kansas City community after the tragedy.
“It's an honor to be able to do it,” Reid said. “It sucks that there's a reason that we have to do it. But anytime we can show love and support and let people know that are hurting that there's people on the other side of the country that care about them, we’ve got to take that opportunity.”
