Buffalo Bills fans are generally known to be equally rowdy and passionate, but this story out of upstate New York isn't a good look for the fan base.
You've probably heard about the "Bills Mafia" plenty. There's not another fanbase in all of sports that loves their team more than Bills fans. They adore the Bills so much that they'll make the hard trek to Highmark Stadium to help shovel and clear snow just so the Buffalo team can still play their scheduled NFL game with fans in the stands.
Bills Mafia actually had to take a break from jumping through tables to help clear out the snow for last night's Sunday Night Football game between the Bills and the visiting San Francisco 49ers.
The game - at least visually - was a joy to watch. There's nothing like watching a football game played in the snow, and it came down at a steady pace as the night went on in Buffalo. As far as the score of the game went, the Bills handled the San Francisco 49ers easily 35 to 10. The snow, and the injury to star running back Christian McCaffrey, was too much to overcome for the west coast team.
And while all of that action was happening out on the field, something very unfortunate allegedly unfolded in the stands. As the story goes, a pediatric cancer survivor by the name of Mia DeCamilla was in the stands there in Buffalo to root on her favorite team - the San Francisco 49ers. From what has been revealed online, it was the little girl's first ever NFL game.
As Mia's mother explained on Facebook, the cancer survivor likely won't look back on the experience fondly because a drunk Buffalo Bills fan ruined the game for her:
"Sadly, we left earlier than planned. Yes, the Niners are losing, but unfortunately we had to deal with the police because a drunk Bills fan decides it was cool to pass my husband and I and pushed our 8 year old daughter - cancer Warrior Mia DeCamilla (down the stairs, in section 312!)
If you are this type of Bills Mafia fan please, unfollow our family now! Also, I hope the a**hole who thought it was cool to push a kid that stood in the cold with her cancer free sign was so worth your win!"
How awful is that?
That's one of those stories that you hope isn't true. But based on all of the reporting on social media, it appears that a drunk fan did push the little girl down the stairs - though we can't confirm if it was intentional or unintentional.
Hundreds of people have poured in to share and support Mia DeCamilla and her family. The incident has even gotten the attention of former NFL player Antonio Brown, who recently shared a verified GoFundMe that's linked directly to the DeCamilla family.
https://twitter.com/AB84/status/1863640367054139896
The Buffalo Bills fanbase has a rich history of donating large sums of money to foundations and charities, so I've got a feeling that they will make up for one fan's shortcoming through generous giving.
When Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered a gruesome leg injury in 2o23, Bills fans stepped up and flooded Chubb’s foundation with donations. In 2017, when Andy Dalton and the Bengals won a regular season game that ended up allowing for the Bills to squeak into the playoffs, Bills Mafia donated over $400,000 to Dalton’s foundation.
Back in 2022, when Tua Tagovailoa suffered his second concussion of that season, the Bills fanbase stepped up and made large donations. And in 2023, when Tua yet again went down with a head injury, the Bills Mafia rallied together and donated over $16,000 to the Tua Tagovailoa foundation.
They might be table-breakers up there in Buffalo, but they also aren’t afraid to
break open their wallets to give to others - especially when they feel the need to make things right with a young cancer survivor.