ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — You can take the man out of Buffalo, but you can't take Buffalo out of the man.
Former Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips was back in Orchard Park on Sunday, continuing his charity work in Western New York and hosting his annual Playmakers event at Highmark Stadium.
"I was worried it wouldn't happen because you never know. ... Are the kids only interested in a current Buffalo Bill?" said Phillips, who signed a new deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
But despite the rain, and Phillips switching teams, the crowd came out on Sunday.
"I'm glad to see him and the wonderful, beautiful face of his," former Playmakers camper and now volunteer Blake Cavers said.
"You'll see people who are blind, with spina bifida, in wheelchairs, autism, Downs Syndrome," Phillips said.
"They'll participate in every single station we have. We figure out a way that they are able. I don't say disabilities. They have different abilities."
Daniel Krzyzanowycz has adopted four children with special needs. He said his son has woken up every day the last two weeks asking how soon he would get to go back to the Playmakers camp.
"My son, he's been waiting for this since basically last year. Last year was the first time he did it," he said. "This is a day to make these children feel amazing, feel good about themselves."
The event, like so many others Harrison and his Playmakers put together, is for kids with special needs and developmental differences.
His former teammates were on hand to help. Josh Allen and several other Bills made their way to Highmark Stadium on Sunday, while fullback Reggie Gilliam and tight end Quintin Morris are working hard to carry on the Western New York Playmakers' success when Phillips won't be able to make it back to town.
"I have a brother with special needs. I kind of know what it means to everybody out here. It's just priceless. It warms your heart," Morris said. "There's nothing else I'd rather be doing."
Gilliam added, "I made a promise to Harrison last year. I told him, after this one, anything else you're doing, let me know because I wanna be there for them."
Morris and Gilliam are helping the Playmakers legacy move on, because after all, the new man on the Minnesota Vikings is still a Buffalo guy.