TORONTO – The Buffalo Bills are proving to be some of the most helpful neighbours following a record-breaking snowfall that blanketed parts of upstate New York.
The Buffalo area was hit hard, receiving almost six feet of snow by Wednesday with another 2 to 3 feet expected by late Thursday. But when the snow began to fall Tuesday members of the Bills organization stepped in to help those stranded by the weather.
Bills kicker Dan Carpenter dug out his elderly neighbours who called The Buffalo News to report the good deed.
“The drifts in front were a peak of 5 feet high,” Roy Noble, 88, told The News. “He had to cut through the snow from his driveway just to get to our front door … and he only had a small snow shovel.”
“The first thing he said was, ‘Is everything OK?’,” said Noble.”I thought that was really nice.”
Noble and his wife Lorraine, 87, married for almost 70 years, have lived in Western New York their entire lives. He called Carpenter “a helluva nice guy.”
Not to be outdone, Bills head coach Doug Marrone joined a group of Good Samaritans to help free a motorist left stranded in the snow.
“Let a young man do this,” a 50-year-old Marrone reportedly told one of the older men helping to push the stuck car.
The extreme weather has also left the Bills trying to figure out a contingency plan for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets after Ralph Wilson stadium had a reported 220,000 tons of snow dumped on the field.
READ MORE: Want to see Buffalo Bills game Sunday? Bring a shovel
The team is offering $10 an hour, plus game tickets to anyone who wants to help clear the snow.
The Bills say they have stayed in contact with the NFL who are assessing the situation.
“We are working with the Bills today to determine the status of the stadium,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora told The Associated Press. “If a change to the schedule needs to be made, the league will make the decision working closely with the club and local authorities.”
On Tuesday, Bills players took to social media to share their experiences with the snow-day.
Running back Fred Jackson posted a video to Instagram of himself playfully tossing his children into a snow bank.
Receiver Marquise Goodwin posted an image of himself standing in the snow wearing only sweatpants with the caption: “This snow doesn’t scare me.”
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