New York Hero Gets Two Super Bowl Tickets

Lilly Rayl 2/13/23

Jay Withey probably never imagined going to the SuperBowl for free but his life saving actions resulted in that! Jay Withey, a 27 year old mechanic, was in Cheektowaga, New York  on Christmas Eve when he was in his car in the freezing temperatures. He was almost out of gas so he went and broke a window to get into the school Edge Academy. There were 24 other people and two dogs he also saved.

Jay Withey was awarded two Super Bowl tickets from the Buffalo Bills. Former Buffalo Bills Running Back Thurman Thomas and his wife Patti surprised Jay Withey with the tickets as a “Thank You”. By breaking into the window the people got things from the kitchen to eat, and blankets to keep them warm. The people would have been stranded in the freezing blizzard if it weren’t for Jay. 

Mario Johnson, someone Jay helped, offered to restock the supplies they used after breaking the window. The school didn’t accept any payment for the window that  Mario offered. The school was just glad the citizens were safe during the blizzard.

Jay left the school a note letting them know what happened. The police found the note to the left. The police tried to find Jay on social media so he could be recognized for his actions. 

Only on really special occasions do people get Super Bowl tickets for free. 24 Covid-19 patient care teams got free Super Bowl tickets in 2021. Another occasion was Tom Brady giving a 10-year old brain cancer survivor. The Vikings have also given away a ticket for free to a 99-year-old fan of theirs. 

Jay didn’t expect the amount of attention he got for his actions, he said he got “Thank You” letters from Australia for helping those people. He stated, "It's very humbling to be rewarded the way I've been rewarded, and whether it's just a gift or people telling me good job it's just very surreal, very humbling,". For the 2023 Super Bowl tickets you would have to pay around 6,000 dollars! That is really expensive and getting it for free is a giant reward, but a kind citizen like Jay deserves it.