Notre Dame Basketball Player Gets Surprise Reunion With Army Brother
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell got the best Christmas gift a young man could ask for Monday night.
No, it wasn't the Fighting Irish's 77-62 win over Colgate. It was a surprise reunion with his brother, Bo.
After Notre Dame's victory Monday night at Purcell Pavilion, the video board displayed a special message from Bo Farrell, a U.S. Army lieutenant who has been serving in Afghanistan.
"Matty, I've been watching you tonight from here. For us, home is wherever we're together, and I look forward to being home with you soon; really, really soon," Bo Farrell said in the video.
It turned out "here" wasn't Forward Operating Base Fenty at Jalalabad Airport; it was behind the scenes at Purcell Pavilion. After his video message to his brother, Bo Farrell came walking out of the tunnel, much to the surprise of his brother and the crowd in the seats. Matt thought Bo wasn't getting home until February.
WATCH:An unreal moment between two brothers.
— Notre Dame Basketball (@NDmbb) December 20, 2016
Matt Farrell thought his brother was coming home from Afghanistan in February... he was wrong. pic.twitter.com/kp8GVik7Si
According to WSBT-TV in South Bend, the Farrells grandmother, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, former player Austin Burgett and a few other Notre Dame staffers were in on the surprise, but the rest of the Farrell family had no idea Bo was back in the U.S.
Bo will have a few weeks to spend with his family before he must return to Fort Hood in Texas to continue his tour of duty, but the Farrells will get to have Christmas and New Year's together first.