Fan donations restore faith
Vikings fans kick in for Saint’s charity
There’s some goodwill left in the world, after all.
It’s easy to doubt that these days, what with the never-ending political vitriol, the increasing polarization of the country and just general ugliness that’s out there.
Then NFL fans come along to restore your faith in humanity.
Minnesota Vikings fans had donated more than $180,000 to New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead’s charity as of Thursday afternoon. Why? As a gesture of respect for Morstead, who, despite tearing cartilage in his ribs in the first quarter, not only finished the game but was one of the first Saints to return to the field for the point-after attempt in the bedlam that followed Stefon Diggs’ touchdown catch.
“Just got done building a puzzle with my son, Maxwell, trying to explain to him why people all the way up north in Minnesota keep giving money all the way down south here in New Orleans,” Morstead said Wednesday in a video posted to the web page that his charity, What You Give Will Grow, set up to accept the donations.
“The more I tried to explain, the more he seemed perplexed and confused,” Morstead continued. “And it made me realize how remarkable it is that people are doing this.”
The best part is, the Vikings fans aren’t alone.
Random acts of kindness are happening throughout the NFL.
Buffalo Bills fans donated almost $350,000 to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton’s foundation as a thank you for his last-minute touchdown pass that knocked the Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs — and put the Bills in. Many of the donations were in $17 increments, a nod to Buffalo’s agonizing playoff drought that Dalton had brought to an end.
When the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend, Bengals fans donated more than $5,000 to Blake Bortles’ charity. The Steelers, for those not well-versed in AFC North blood feuds, are the Bengals’ most loathsome rival.
And who can forget J.J. Watt’s epic fundraiser after Hurricane Harvey? Hoping initially to raise $200,000 — $100,000 of which was coming from him — Watt’s YouCaring campaign raised more than $37 million.
“It just reminds you that most people are just good, decent people who are trying to make a difference in their own way and trying to live a good life and provide for their families and things like that,” Morstead told USA TODAY on Thursday.
“It’s just nice to see people doing nice things for people they don’t even know.”
Morstead was still in pain, literally and figuratively, when he got a call from the executive director of his foundation Monday telling him they were seeing an uptick in donations. What You Give Will Grow, named for a favorite phrase of Morstead’s coach at SMU, focuses on children’s charities in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, those serving children with cancer in particular, so any and all money is welcome.
A few hours later, the executive director called Morstead back. The money was still coming in, and it was coming from people in Minnesota, of all places.
“That was odd. I’m not a nationally recognized player,” Morstead said. “So I did some online digging and found somebody posted on Reddit that they’d been inspired by a few things I did in Sunday’s game. He was just encouraging other Vikings fans to donate if they felt called to do it.”
Morstead posted a thank-you on social media and said that all the money from Vikings fans would go to the Child Life department at Children’s Minnesota. That spurred even more donations. So he promised that if they reached $100,000, he’d personally come to the Twin Cities during Super Bowl week to deliver the check.
Two days later, Morstead was looking for flights to Minnesota.
“It’s just crazy,” he said. “Unbelievable.”
Besides his actions during the game — Morstead could be seen shaking hands and congratulating several Vikings after the PAT — he credits the general euphoria from the win and the way it happened for Vikings fans’ generosity.
That, and maybe a little karmic bribery ahead of this weekend’s NFC title game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“You guys should all be proud of yourselves. That’s a group effort and it’s going to affect everybody in your community in a positive way,” Morstead said in a thank you video he posted Thursday. “I’m just totally humbled by this.” Sometimes, sports really does bring out the best in us. On and off the field.