It was a good day for the Buffalo Bills. The 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 game with a 34-31 decision over the Miami Dolphins.
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 while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. After being discharged from a Cincinnati hospital earlier in the week, Hamlin attended his team's walk-through on Saturday and watched the playoff 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 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. Afterward, Pegula signed a camera lens with "Go Bills," followed by "#3" 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 following her victory.
Of course, even Down Under, the 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