Florida teacher inspires students through NFL statistics, Buffalo Bills take notice
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Mary Crippen teaches third grade at Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Her lessons blend NFL statistics with what she calls “feel-good football.” Many teams have taken note, including the Buffalo Bills.
Step into Crippen’s classroom and you’ll find students glued to the latest NFL football statistics.
This Miami, Florida, teacher has gone viral online, collecting 3.1 million likes on TikTok, for pairing up her love of football and teaching.
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After drafting teams from across the league, her students use game schedules to learn geography, scores to strengthen their math skills and sportsmanship on the field as life lessons.
Many of those lessons about community, generosity and friendship draw directly from Bills fans.
“Bills Mafia has provided us with a lot of feel-good football lessons,” Crippen said.
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Earlier this year, students learned that the Bills Mafia raised $16,000 for Miami Dolphins’ Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s foundation after he got a concussion while playing the Bills.
Most recently, a lesson on Damar Hamlin opened up students’ minds to resilience, purpose and careers in the medical field.
One student in particular, Sam Miller, who’s better known as “Stat Man Sam,” has fallen in love with everything Buffalo Bills.
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“Every student now goes to him,” Crippen said. “‘Hey, Sam, what was the score of my game again? What was that play that happened? What did you think about it?’ And he’ll tell them.”
The Bills took notice. Dion Dawkins sent a recorded and personalized message to the class.
The team even sent Miller a personalized “Stat Man Sam” jersey.
“I was happy and surprised at the same time,” Miller said. “I didn’t know that the Bills would send anything.”
These are experiences and lessons Crippen said go beyond the gridiron.
“I like stats because I know everything,” Miller said. “I know how much yards each player has on the Bills. Because I watch all the games, like check all the stuff.”
Miller’s father is from Rochester and that’s how he became a Bills super fan.
He hasn’t made it to a game yet, but hopes to change that soon.
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Patrick Ryan is an award-winning reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2020. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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