BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Bills fan, Anthony Boscarino, is going through the "hardest week of his life." His wife, Michelle, suddenly passed away from a heart attack.
“She fought for her country. She was a mother, my life, and my rock," Boscarino said. "She's 39 years old. That's too early."
The couple has three kids together.
"Like I told the guy today at the bank. He said 'I cannot imagine what you're going through.' I said 'man, I would not wish this on Tom Brady,’” Boscarino said.
He's also a member of the Shorty McBills Facebook group. With more than five thousand members, including Bills players, the page is a place for Bills Mafia to buy, sell and trade autographed Bills memorabilia.
"We all come together, but nobody more so than the Bills Mafia and the Shortys group," Superfan, Shorty McBills, said.
The group has fundraised nearly one hundred thousand dollars since 2019 for various nonprofits and organizations. This week, Shorty McBills is helping out one of their own.
"It was a no-brainer. Shorty McBills group, mound up,” McBills said. “Let's get it together. People were donating helmets they won from the Shortys group, jerseys...."
Shorty McBills started a fundraiser for the Boscarinos. When you donate to the GoFundMe page, you have a chance to win signed Bills memorabilia.
"It's amazing that the love of a sports team can bring a group of people together so strong and to feel so much for somebody else's pain,” Boscarino said.
Within five days, Bills Mafia has already raised over eight thousand dollars for the family.
“Some people are donating hundreds at a time,” Boscarino said. “I can look right into the camera and say we are forever indebted to the Bills Mafia.”
