Andy Dalton saved the Bills season with a fourth-quarter drive that beat the Ravens and sent Buffalo into the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. The Bills probably aren't winning in Jacksonville, but getting in the dance is half the battle and they are in there now. Bills fans were happy, thrilled, ecstatic even, because the playoffs are rare in Buffalo.
They were so excited they decided to flood Dalton's charitable foundation with donations immediately following the Bengals victory over the Ravens. On Monday afternoon it was a fun story that raised a couple thousand dollars. By Tuesday afternoon it mushroomed into a case of Bills pushing hard for fans to donate and Dalton's foundation raising over $100,000 in donations from less than 5,000 donors.
"We have over 4,500 donors right now. We've raised over $100,000 and it continues to go up," Dalton said in a social media video. "We cannot thank you enough. Let's keep it going."
Thank you to everybody who is donating to the @ajdfoundation! We are blown away by the support! pic.twitter.com/KPyd5X0CFR
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 2, 2018
That's a pretty impressive average of $22 per donor. But most of the donations are coming in the form of $17 per pop, which is an homage to the 17 years since the Bills made the playoffs.
The progression is wild. It seriously started with just a bunch of Bills fans firing off random donations to Dalton. He was stunned enough by it -- there were apparently notes in the donations -- that he thanked Bills fans.
To all the Bills fans that are donating to my foundation, thank you. We appreciate the support. If you are interested in donating visit https://t.co/9SMNu78Znq
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 1, 2018
Then the team got involved.
Bills fans, you're amazing.
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) January 1, 2018
After @andydalton14's last minute heroics, more than 150 of you have donated $3,250+ to Andy Dalton's @ajdfoundation to thank him.
If you'd like to join in on the fun, you can donate at https://t.co/5dPjoitL0Q! pic.twitter.com/v0nzfvv8vU
By Monday afternoon Dalton had raised $22,000.
Update on what the Bills fans have done for the @ajdfoundation. We have over 1000 donors and raised $22,000. Let’s keep this going!!
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 1, 2018
Then the donations started flying in.
We are getting 10 donations a minute!
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 2, 2018
Within 24 hours of the first donation, the foundation hit $57,000. It had gone viral.
In the 24 hours since the 1st donation came in, over 2500 donors and just over $57,000 and counting! Last update for the night! I will update tomorrow. We can’t thank y’all enough!
— Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) January 2, 2018
And by Tuesday afternoon, Dalton's foundation crossed over the $100K mark. Next goal up? $150,000.
We are blown away and so grateful for the amount of generosity we have been receiving! Keep it up and help us get to $150K! #BillsMafia @buffalobills pic.twitter.com/d7tYsTZv2L
— AJD Foundation (@ajdfoundation) January 2, 2018
This is not some insane fan thing either. Bills players were shouting their love for Dalton in the locker room.
"Andy Dalton, you heard it here first, I love you man," safety Micah Hyde said. "I love you."
Defensive end Jerry Hughes, who played with Dalton at TCU, told the team's website he sent Dalton an edible arrangement (!) and some Budweiser. Just in time for Valentine's.
"Oh, he's getting Edible Arrangements. If he wants some Budweiser, he's getting that," Hughes said. "Whatever he wants, I'm going to be his Secret Santa for the rest of this week."
At this point Dalton should just move to Buffalo, because he would never have to buy his own drinks for the rest of his life.
