Bigger than football, NFL has come together for Damar Hamlin

I have thought about a few topics about the LA Rams, but I don’t feel comfortable writing about anything besides 24-year-old Bills DB Damar Hamlin. Monday Night Football had all the making of a Game of the Year candidate between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, but instead, it will be remembered for one of the scariest events in NFL history.

About midway through the first quarter Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins caught a 13-yard reception and was tackled by Bills DB Damar Hamlin. Hamlin got up, took around two steps, and then fell back to the ground. All of us watching when that happened realized something wasn’t right and immediately worried about Hamlin’s health.

The events that followed Hamlin’s injury were some events I have never seen in all my time watching football. Seeing players such as Bills WR Stefon Diggs and Bills QB Josh Allen crying and praying while all the other players were down on one knee surrounding Hamlin was so emotional to my eyes, and I was there just watching in shock.

Hamlin had to get CPR for over 9 minutes to restart his heart. He was eventually taken off the field in an ambulance and to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. All anyone could think about was Hamlin’s health, and we all said there was no way they could play a game after the situation. After a lengthy delay, the game was suspended and postponed, and today the NFL announced that the game is postponed indefinitely until further notice. However, the game of football and this specific game were secondary to Hamlin’s health.

What can we do to help

Late last night, we were all patiently waiting for any update on Damar Hamlin and his health. Finally, we got this update from ESPN’s Adam Schefter(seen below).

This was sad and scary news that we found out about Hamlin, and the first thing I and many others did was pray for Hamlin. I could not imagine what he and his family are going through and even though we can’t do much, the one thing we can all do is pray for him and his family. Also, a way we can show our support is to donate to his GoFundMe.

In 2020 Damar Hamlin started a GoFundMe called “The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive” to help raise money for toys to give to kids. His goal was set at 2,500$, and after this tragic event, he raised over 5 million dollars. So many people, including myself, want to help in any way possible, and this is a great way to do so.

The NFL is coming together.

Around the league, the NFL has shown support to the Buffalo Bills and Damar Hamlin. So many players have tweeted their prayers and support for Hamlin, and you can’t help but think about how much these players care about one another. The teams themselves have come out and shown their support, and today, all the teams’ Twitter profile pictures say “Pray for Damar”(seen below)

This league has come together because we aren’t talking about a football player; we are talking about a human being and his well-being. We always think nothing wrong will happen, these players are just playing a kids’ game, and we never expect the worst. Damar Hamlin came into the night ready for the biggest game of his career, and now we are wondering how he will come back from this and hope the worst won’t come.

We all root for specific teams and players, but at the end of the day, these players are entertaining us and putting their lives on the line every week. These players have emotions and feelings; this is an event we never expected, and now all the other stuff means absolutely nothing. It’s not about playoff seeding or how they will make up this game or the games this weekend. All that matters is Damar Hamlin and his health, and we will continue our prayers for him and his family.