Dem
51
GOP
49
The only news story this week that came close to the Speaker's race, in terms of the amount of oxygen it consumed, is the tale of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Presumably, many/most readers are aware of what happened. But for those who are not, Hamlin made a routine tackle during the first quarter of Sunday's Bills-Bengals game. However, the hit—for reasons that are yet to be established, though there are a couple of probable explanations—caused his heart to stop beating. He collapsed on the field, and was clinically dead for some period of time. He had to be resuscitated twice, and eventually he was whisked away in an ambulance.
The first bit of good news is that while Hamlin is still in critical condition, he's regained consciousness, and it appears he will recover. His first words, after he emerged from an induced coma, were to wonder if his team won the game. We don't know if it was a hospital staffer or a family member who broke the news to him that the game was stopped after his injury, and was ultimately canceled.
The second bit of good news is that Hamlin, on reaching the NFL, created a charitable foundation called the "Chasing M's Foundation." "M's" stands for "Millions," which was not meant literally, but as a metaphor for success. And the first act of that foundation was a GoFundMe fundraiser meant to raise $2,500 to buy Christmas toys for children in Hamlin's community. That's a pretty modest amount, but the fundraiser struggled to get off the ground. There are, after all, a lot of players in the NFL and Hamlin is not a star like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers or Aaron Donald.
It's not struggling to get off the ground anymore, though. And the "M's" in "Chasing M's" isn't metaphorical anymore, either. The Bills' fanbase is famous for its generosity, and others across the NFL and across the country also wanted a way to show support for Hamlin. And so, the donations have been rolling in. As of this writing, the total take is a staggering $7,759,950. There can't be many GoFundMe pages that have a status line that reads: "$7,759,950 raised of $2,500 goal."
What does this have to do with politics? Not much. But it's a good story. Plus, we're going to answer a question or two about this situation in tomorrow's Q&A. So, we're going to use that fact to sneak this item in through the back door. (Z)