The Baltimore Ravens could have won their divisional round playoff match-up against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday were it not for a dropped two-point conversion on the part of one Mark Andrews, a typically rock-solid tight end who, for whatever reason, was having a rough game.
And though the Ravens offense had other costly mistakes throughout—quarterback Lamar Jackson, for one, had two turnovers—Andrews's drop almost immediately became the focal point of the conversation and spurred an unsettling amount of vitriol and hate online. In a sign of how upset he was, the 29-year-old did not appear for the media after the game.
Well, it would appear that Bills mafia caught wind of negativity heading Andrews's way and decided to cheer him up by raising money for Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), a nonprofit that funds research toward therapies and treatments for Type 1 diabetes. Andrews, a Type 1 diabetic himself, has supported the charity in the past.
"As many of you know Ravens TE wasn't able to catch the the game-tying 2-point conversion and upset Ravens fans," reads the fundraiser's description. "On top of that the TE has been receiving death threats and nasty comments [after] his performance last night. We want Bills Mafia to donate to Mark's charity for Juvenile diabetes. Let's reach a goal of at least 5k."
Nicholas Howard and Ryan Patato, two college students who run their own Bills blog, started the GoFundMe on Monday morning. As of 5:07 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the fundraiser had surpassed its $5K goal and was already well on its way to $20,000.
“At first, it was just Bills mafia,” Howard told the Baltimore Sun. “But as it grew and grew, I’ve gotten a lot of Ravens fans, Texans fans, all kinds of fans donating to the fundraiser. I’ve gotten Ravens fans hitting up our DMs on Instagram saying, ‘We love what you’re doing. We appreciate it. As much as we don’t like the Bills, we appreciate it.’ It’s very heartwarming getting those messages.”
Though Andrews was not available for comment on Tuesday, his agent told the Sun that he has been made aware of the fundraiser.
The three-time Pro Bowler was having an excellent back-half of his season until the Ravens' elimination, with at least one touchdown in six of Baltimores' last eight games. So it goes without saying that, in the grand scheme of his career, this moment will be but a blip—but hopefully, a good deed from Bills mafia will help ease any pain until then.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bills Fans Raise Money for Mark Andrews-Backed Charity in Show of Support for TE.
