ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Special Olympics New York hosted its 9th Buffalo Bowl, a flag football tournament promoting inclusion, at Highmark Stadium.
Organizers said the Buffalo Bowl was expected to raise $250,000 in support of Special Olympics athletes, offering them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on the same field as the Buffalo Bills.
"Today, I'm playing flag football," Reed Heinrich said. "I'm here for Special Olympics to raise money."
"He's got his gloves on...he's just one of the guys," his mom Jeanne Heinrich said. "He's just like everybody else."
The community-centered event showcases how Western New York comes together.
"Everything Special Olympics does is absolutely amazing, everything they do for our kids," Heinrich added. "Being able to come here with all of these community companies and the first responders and to watch him embedded on the team playing with all of them, and they're including him and high-fiving him. It's really a special day."
Special Olympics New York Senior Director of Development Erica Raepple said that Buffalo Bowl has become a staple in Western New York.
"Just to see the passion that everybody has for our athletes and the acceptance, too," Raepple said. "Everybody comes up to us and they say, How can I help? Well, we have people who are becoming coaches. We have companies that are coming up and hiring our athletes because they see the value in Special Olympics and our athletes."
"Fierce competition is what you're going to see here today and tomorrow," Raepple said.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
