Minn. Man Gives Super Bowl Tickets To Young Eagles Fan Who Beat Cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A young Eagles fan who spent years battling cancer got the surprise of a lifetime thanks to the kindness of a Minnesotan.
Cole Fitzgerald, 13, found out on Monday that he will be coming to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis. The tickets were delivered to him in person thanks to a generous man from Eden Prairie.
"The person who won the tickets from the raffle said, 'I'm a die-hard Vikings fan. There's no way I can go to the Super Bowl,'" Spare Key Director of Development Mary Serie said.
Spare Key is an organization that helps families in crisis with ill children. When the Vikings lost the NFC Championship, an Eden Prairie man called Spare Key with a mission to give his prized tickets away with a purpose.
"That's when he found Cole," Serie said.
Fitzgerald, who lives in Philadelphia, is an eighth grade cancer survivor who battled neuroblastoma since he was 3. Because of his joint underdevelopment, the die-hard Eagles fan never played football. The Minnesotan found a story online about Fitzgerald managing his junior high football team.
"He decided he wanted to give the tickets to Cole," Serie said.
Serie flew out to Philadelphia over the weekend with the tickets, and then gave Fitzgerald the biggest surprise of his life.
"No way," Fitzgerald said. "Oh my goodness, I know what it is."
The boy that has always been on the sidelines will be front and center on football's biggest night.
"I want to thank the fan," Fitzgerald said. "Sorry for your season. Good luck next year."
Fitzgerald will never know the man who gave him the tickets. But he won't forget the kindness of Minnesota Nice.
