01-24-2018, 06:09 PM
Dollars flow to the Mike Zimmer Foundation and GoFundMe effort — "most of them apologizing."Vikings fans weren’t just demoralized by the team’s NFC Championship loss Sunday in Philadelphia. They were dissed.
Eagles fans threw beer at Minnesota fans. They taunted them. They even carried a banner with a naughty word taunting Millie Wall, the 99-year-old lifelong Vikings fan who is going to the Super Bowl courtesy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now a few Philadelphia fans are trying to make amends for the misbehavior by donating to two local charitable causes.
“A flood of donations are coming in from @Eagles fans today to the MZF,” a tweet from the Mike Zimmer Foundation read. “Most of them apologizing for how their fans treated Vikings when they were in their city.”
By Wednesday morning, more than $6,500 had come in to the foundation established to honor the Vikings’ head coach’s late wife, Vikki Zimmer, who died in 2009. The foundation provides opportunities for Minnesota youth.
“The NFL is filled with passionate fans that just want their team to win,” said Zimmer’s daughter and foundation spokeswoman Corri Zimmer White. “We may not have gotten the warmest welcome in Philly or the outcome that we wanted, but it’s cool to see when football fans from different teams come together to do some good.”
In separate effort, Farmington resident Jessica Leibrock implored Vikings fans to take the high road and contribute to a GoFundMe campaign called “Vikings Brotherly Love.” She challenged fans to raise $38,000, a thousand dollars for each point the Eagles scored in their 38-7 win at Lincoln Financial Field. The win put the Eagles in the Super Bowl and thousands of their fans will be headed to Minneapolis for the game Feb. 4.
Admittedly, she and her husband started the page as a way to cope with the devastating season-ending loss and the “awful behavior” she saw on the news and in social media videos.
“Let’s respond with kindness, especially to people who don’t deserve it,” Leibrock said. “Let’s show them what this community and what this state is made of. We’ll show them an act of sportsmanship.”
As of Wednesday, the effort had raised $11,909, some of that coming from fans rooting for the Eagles. The money will go directly to the Eagles Charitable Foundation, which has served more than a million low-income children in the Philadelphia area.
“This is a great gesture by a classy Vikings fan base after a heartbreaking loss. Great cause and I’m happy to lend support,” wrote donor Philly Skins Fan who gave $38. “Philly is a great town with great people despite the knuckleheads who made it rough on visitors from Minnesota this Sunday. Hopefully cooler heads prevail when Eagle Nation comes to Minneapolis.”
Another Eagles fan, Amy Nelson, said “I apologize for the poor behavior displayed by some. They do not represent the 67,000 Eagles fans who came to see the two teams play. What you are doing is a great display of good sportsmanship.”
“I love this new trend in the NFL and hope it stays alive,” Zimmer White said.
http://www.startribune.com/eagles-fans-p...470924453/
Eagles fans threw beer at Minnesota fans. They taunted them. They even carried a banner with a naughty word taunting Millie Wall, the 99-year-old lifelong Vikings fan who is going to the Super Bowl courtesy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now a few Philadelphia fans are trying to make amends for the misbehavior by donating to two local charitable causes.
“A flood of donations are coming in from @Eagles fans today to the MZF,” a tweet from the Mike Zimmer Foundation read. “Most of them apologizing for how their fans treated Vikings when they were in their city.”
By Wednesday morning, more than $6,500 had come in to the foundation established to honor the Vikings’ head coach’s late wife, Vikki Zimmer, who died in 2009. The foundation provides opportunities for Minnesota youth.
“The NFL is filled with passionate fans that just want their team to win,” said Zimmer’s daughter and foundation spokeswoman Corri Zimmer White. “We may not have gotten the warmest welcome in Philly or the outcome that we wanted, but it’s cool to see when football fans from different teams come together to do some good.”
In separate effort, Farmington resident Jessica Leibrock implored Vikings fans to take the high road and contribute to a GoFundMe campaign called “Vikings Brotherly Love.” She challenged fans to raise $38,000, a thousand dollars for each point the Eagles scored in their 38-7 win at Lincoln Financial Field. The win put the Eagles in the Super Bowl and thousands of their fans will be headed to Minneapolis for the game Feb. 4.
Admittedly, she and her husband started the page as a way to cope with the devastating season-ending loss and the “awful behavior” she saw on the news and in social media videos.
“Let’s respond with kindness, especially to people who don’t deserve it,” Leibrock said. “Let’s show them what this community and what this state is made of. We’ll show them an act of sportsmanship.”
As of Wednesday, the effort had raised $11,909, some of that coming from fans rooting for the Eagles. The money will go directly to the Eagles Charitable Foundation, which has served more than a million low-income children in the Philadelphia area.
“This is a great gesture by a classy Vikings fan base after a heartbreaking loss. Great cause and I’m happy to lend support,” wrote donor Philly Skins Fan who gave $38. “Philly is a great town with great people despite the knuckleheads who made it rough on visitors from Minnesota this Sunday. Hopefully cooler heads prevail when Eagle Nation comes to Minneapolis.”
Another Eagles fan, Amy Nelson, said “I apologize for the poor behavior displayed by some. They do not represent the 67,000 Eagles fans who came to see the two teams play. What you are doing is a great display of good sportsmanship.”
“I love this new trend in the NFL and hope it stays alive,” Zimmer White said.
http://www.startribune.com/eagles-fans-p...470924453/
