As the playoffs roll along, NFL fans continue to celebrate victories by giving to those in need. The latest example of this trend comes from Vikings fans donating to Saints punter Thomas Morstead's foundation.
You may be thinking, "why did they pick Morstead rather another Saint like Drew Brees?" Morstead did not play a direct role in the thrilling play that has become known as the Minneapolis Miracle, but he did show grit and sportsmanship in the Divisional Round game. Morstead suffered a rib injury in the first quarter, but he continued to play. In fact, Morstead was the first New Orleans player to come back on the field for the mandatory extra point to officially end the game.
Any rational fan could completely understand why Saints players would be in no mood to come back onto the field in a game that was essentially over. New Orleans had overcome a 17-0 deficit in what seemed to be a comeback for the ages, then Stefon Diggs' unbelievable 61-yard touchdown reception to win the game happened.
The play is the only time in NFL playoff history that a game-winning TD has been scored with 0:00 on the clock. Despite the heart-wrenching situation, Morstead still went back out on the field for the NFL-mandated conversion. One Vikings fan noticed this then told fellow fans on Reddit to donate to Morstead's What You Give Will Grow foundation in light of his gutsy performance and notable display of sportsmanship.
The Reddit post was made on Monday and by Tuesday morning over $3,000 had been raised. By Wednesday morning donations had passed $12,000.
That number has grown exponentially after Morstead released this video making a promise to personally deliver the check to the Children's Minnesota -- free-standing pediatric health system in Minneapolis -- if donations got to $100,000.
Less than 12 hours later, Morstead let his Twitter followers know that they reached the goal of $100,000.
As of Thursday morning, the number has passed $140,000 and is continuing to steadily increase.
Everyone can agree that this trend combining the worlds of football and social media is something we can all support no matter what team we root for on Sundays.
