Posted on 01/23/2024 11:48:10 AM PST by Red Badger
Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass participated in the Ten Lives-Show Your Soft Side campaign, to assist the non-profit cat shelter. Photo by Leo Howard Lubow/Show Your Soft Side
Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Dollars are flying into an upstate New York cat rescue shelter, as football fans continue to console Tyler Bass after he missed a crucial field goal, which led to the Buffalo Bills' exit from the NFL playoffs.
Ten Lives Club, a no-kill cat rescue shelter based in Buffalo, said it received more than $25,000 in donations on Monday and a total of $90,000 by Tuesday afternoon.
Bass missed the kick wide right with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The Bills kicker, a brand ambassador for Ten Lives Club, dropped his chin into his jersey collar and ducked his head in dejection while walking off the field after the loss.
He also deactivated his accounts on X and Instagram immediately after the game, as many Bills fans posted demeaning messages, including one who published footage of himself burning a Bass replica jersey.
Ten Lives Club issued a statement of support for the Bills kicker Monday night.
"We stand with Tyler Bass," Ten Lives Club wrote on Instagram and Facebook." Don't bully our friend. We just heard the terrible news that Tyler Bass is receiving threats after [Sunday's] game and our phones are ringing off the hook from people who want to donate $22 to Ten Lives Club in Tyler's name.
"Tyler doesn't deserve any of the hate he's receiving. He's an excellent football player and an even better person who took the time to help our organization and rescue cats last year. Leave our friend alone."
Hundreds of donations continued to flow into the nonprofit's Venmo account Monday and Tuesday, including some from Chiefs fans. Many donated $22, a reference to Bass' jersey number (2).
Bass told reporters Sunday night that his teammates have shown him "nothing but love." Bills quarterback Josh Allen also supported Bass with an embrace after the game.
"I hit a good ball, but it didn't work out," Bass told reporters. "I feel terrible. I love this team. This one hurts bad. I gotta do a better job."
Bass, 26, joined the Bills in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He made 82.8% of his field goals during the regular season, but went 2 for 5 (40%) in the postseason. The Bills signed Bass to a four-year, $20.4 million contract extension in April.
"I wish he wouldn't have been put in that situation," Allen said Sunday, when asked about Bass. "You win as a team, you lose as a team. One play doesn't define a game. It doesn't define a season.
"People are going to be out there saying that. We have to be there for him. If we executed a couple plays prior [to the kick], we are probably singing a different tune now."
Ping!..................
Scott Norwood. His whole career is remembered by the miss in the super bowl.
Buffalo must be cursed.....................
that’s twice this season...they should have taken a time out...let him get his concentration....jmho
On Sunday night, he attempted to hang himself, but could not kick the chair out from underneath him.
No kick is ever guaranteed. Even Martin ‘Automatica’ Gramatica missed every now and then..............
Bills Mafia shouldn’t throw snowballs.
yes, they should be arrested for assault and banned from any future games...................
Kickers don’t lose games, they win games. I saw enough dropped catches to give the Bills at least another 6 points.
Bass was not the only one to miss-fire on a play.
Beat me by 6 seconds.
I got a kick out of that one.
Correct, never blame a kicker for losing a game, because if the rest of the team had performed well he would not have been in that position...........................
Only Robbie Gould playoff kicks were guaranteed. Because he never missed one.
He went unsigned this season and retired. Maybe Buffalo should have signed him.
I swear the pressure on kickers is more than I can imagine. Even in the last few seconds, needing a two pointer, the QB isn’t out there essentially all by his lonely.
Evil comment. IT IS JUST A GAME!
On his first Touchdown, Travis Kelce threw the football deep into the stands and made a rude gesture to Buffalo fans. Some say he was throwing the ball towards Taylor Swift's box - who knows?
Anyway, instead of keeping it as a souvenir, the fan who caught it threw it back on the field at Kelce who was celebrating in the end-zone. Only missed him by a foot or so
I found that hilarious.
LOL!
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