Among just over 65,000 fiery fans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Quebec fans quickly saw their enthusiasm waning, but also shared beautiful moments of solidarity following the disturbing scene with Damar Hamlin.
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Mathieu Labbé from Sherbrooke was in the middle of a dream New Year’s trip with three friends. After the Vikings’ game against the Packers on Sunday in Green Bay, the group headed to Chicago and then to Cincinnati.
What would become one of the most anticipated games of the year between the Bengals and Bills quickly turned into a nightmare.
“In the beginning there was a nice animosity between the supporters of the two teams. Then it’s like life stops turning.
“I wore a Bills jersey to the game and when the incident happened, the Bengals fans quickly came up to us and patted us on the back and said they were thinking of us,” he said.
Of course, like anyone undertaking such a journey, he would have wished for a different ending, but his mind quickly turned to the fate of Damar Hamlin.
“You probably had more information on TV than the rest of us at the stadium. Wondering what was going on, we soon saw the Bills players gather and cry. We understood that it was serious.
“It was pretty stressful. Screw football, young people’s lives count at this time!” he said.
A heavy silence
Carl Robertson from Lac-Saint-Jean had his ticket pretty close to the field.
“Time suddenly stopped. There was a great silence, it was very difficult in the stadium. A group of players formed and could be heard calling for help on the sidelines.
“I was surrounded by Bengals fans and no one spoke. No one around wanted the game to continue. Everyone understood gravity. It shaped me to see the solidarity of Americans in a moment like this,” he said.
The Bills players received a respectful round of applause as they walked off the field in utter stunned silence.
“The emotion was very palpable,” said the man, who has never seen anything like it in the fifteen NFL games he’s attended.
hugs in the streets
Usually the streets get very noisy after a game outside of a stadium. In Cincinnati, it was more dismay.
“When we got back to the hotel, no one could believe what had just happened. I saw many people cry, light lighters, hug. You never want to experience that, but there was a great life lesson somewhere,” concluded Mr Robertson.