It's hard to tell who had the bigger smile at the Texas Bowl — Syracuse's perky Otto the Orange mascot or one of the hundreds of cheering children inside Reliant Stadium.
More than 700 underprivileged Houston-area kids attended the football game for free on Friday thanks to $44,444.44 in donations as part of #CuseTixForKids, a fundraising project that began with a goal to fill 200 seats.
See also: Beyonce Sings 'Survivor' to Terminally Ill Fan to Grant Final Wish
Started by 35-year-old sports blogger Sean Keeley, creator of the Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician blog, the project surpassed its original goal of $12,000.
Donations big and small came from Syracuse fans, as well as rival teams Connecticut and Notre Dame. Keeley said he was "blown away by the response."
"We ended up hitting our goal of $44,444.44, in honor of Syracuse's legendary No. 44," Keeley told Mashable on Saturday after Syracuse defeated Minnesota at Friday's Texas Bowl. "That was good enough to purchase 1,450 tickets, as well as food vouchers and orange T-shirts for the kids at the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, DePelchin Children’s Center and other charities."
"Out of that, around 700 or so tickets ended up getting used, and the kids ranged from elementary-aged to high school-aged, whoever wanted to attend," he added, saying "cold weather, holiday plans and availability limited how many tickets were actually used. All of the charities still get the T-shirts regardless."
Julie Huynh, who coaches the Syracuse mascot team, documented part of the kids' trip:
@NunesMagician #Otto loves #cusetixforkids pic.twitter.com/xOM6hOOFBz
— Julie (Walas) Huynh (@JulieWalas) December 28, 2013
#Otto snagged his own #cusetixforkids tee. #happyorange #beatminnesota #orangenation pic.twitter.com/eDNJKJNa33
— Julie (Walas) Huynh (@JulieWalas) December 27, 2013
#Otto visiting the very excited #CuseTixForKids fans in the third quarter. @NunesMagician pic.twitter.com/yPzHi6BwX8
— Julie (Walas) Huynh (@JulieWalas) December 28, 2013
Like many fans, Keeley wasn't able to attend, so along with the donors, he rallied to fill more seats with help from the Houston Texans organization, which runs the Texas Bowl.
"It seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to take some of the money we would have spent to travel and buy tickets, and put it toward giving kids who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to attend a chance to experience a bowl game," Keeley said.
While Keeley watched from home, the children tuned in from inside the stadium in sections near the Syracuse marching band.
"I remember that feeling of going to a big football game as a kid. It makes you feel important, like you're a part of something," he said. "I hope that happened for some of them."
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Image: Twitter, Julie Huynh