Dem
51
GOP
49
No, this isn't about the university in the state governed (poorly) by Tate Reeves (R-MS). We're using "miss" in the sense of "not make." The ole miss, in this case, took place in one of the most-watched non-Super-Bowl football games ever, as over 50 million people watched Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass miss a 44-yard field goal over the weekend, ending his team's playoff run at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. Making things even more bitter is that, many years ago, the Bills came as close as they've ever come to winning a Super Bowl, only to see it slip away when kicker Scott Norwood missed a very similar field goal in a very similar way. We absolutely guarantee you that at least half of those 50 million were thinking of Norwood as Bass' kick sailed wide right.
We have often made the point that American politics and American sports have an awful lot in common these days. Many people have a loyalty to their team/party these days that is fanatical, or nearly so. For many people, expressing that loyalty has become performative, and a huge part of their identity. And those who harm the team/party, either by being an outside opponent or an insider who doesn't perform up to snuff, are sometimes subjected to terrible vitriol. There was a time when that vitriol took the form of things like throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, but these days, in both politics and sports, it's most commonly expressed on social media.
Consequently, it is not the slightest bit surprising that after the missed kick, Tyler Bass was subjected to mountains of abuse on Ex-Twitter in particular, but also on his other social media accounts. We're talking personal attacks, references to his parentage, attempts at doxxing, calls for violence against his person, and even death threats, in some cases. Pro tip: If you threaten a person's life because they did not perform up to your standards in an athletic contest, you are a loser. In any case, it was bad enough that Bass shut all of his social media down.
But now we get to the place where 21st century sports diverges from 21st century politics. It's not too often that people move past the vitriol in politics anymore, but it does happen in sports, sometimes. And while there are clearly a few bad seeds among the Bills fanbase, it is also the case that, on the whole, the backers of the Bills are known as one of the classiest fanbases in sports.
And so it is that, after Bass got run through the wringer, a group of Bills fans worked to make things right. The Bills kicker is a big-time cat lover, and has worked with a local cat rescue called Ten Lives Club:
In case you can't read the caption, it says: "No wonder Tyler Bass is so fast on his feet, he's part cat."
Anyhow, observing that Bass' uniform number is 2, a campaign was launched to persuade supportive Bills (and Chiefs) fans to donate $22 to Ten Lives Club. Thus far, they have raised nearly $300,000 to help save cats' lives. "I was crying on the phone today, I just can't believe it, I'm just so happy for the cats," said Bass, when he learned the news.
So, a tip of the helmet to fans of the Bills, Chiefs and anyone else who decided to take a missed field goal and try to make lemonade. Would 'twere that we saw people say "enough is enough" more often in the realm of politics.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)