It was a good day for the Buffalo Bills. Bills Mafia had reasons to celebrate on both sides of the globe on Sunday.
By Sunday afternoon in upstate New York, the Bills had survived a sloppy AFC wild-card playoff game with the Miami Dolphins and won 34-31.
And Sunday evening (or Monday morning) in Melbourne, Australia, Jessica Pegula, the world’s No. 3-ranked women’s tennis player notched her first win of the Australian Open. Pegula, whose parents own the Bills, cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Jaqueline Cristian in the first round of the year’s first Grand Slam.
The Bills have rallied around safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. After being discharged from a Cincinnati hospital earlier in the week, Hamlin attended the team’s walkthrough on Saturday and watched the game from his home in Buffalo.
“My heart is with my guys as they compete today! Supporting from home as I focus on my recovery,” Hamlin tweeted before the playoff game. “Nothing I want more than to be out there with them!”
During her match, Pegula had a No. 3 patch on her tennis skirt, which was similar to the uniform patches the Bills wore to honor Hamlin. Pegula also signed a camera lens after the match, “Go Bills” followed by the number three and a heart.
“It’s amazing to see how well [Hamlin has] done, to see that he’s back, that he’s seen the team. There’s really no words, like a miracle really,” Pegula said after her match.
Of course, even Down Under, Bills Mafia wasn’t too far away to cheer for Pegula.
Bills nation in Melbourne 🏈@JLPegula • @BuffaloBills • @NFL • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/XjN4TDmZBi
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2023
