A young boy who had his dream snatched away by a stadium security guard has reason to cheer again after officials eventually returned his game ball.
Even though Levi Still’s father has been a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, his son somehow ended up devoted to the Denver Broncos.
This year for Christmas, Levi received a Patrick Surtain II jersey and tickets to the next Bengals game—against the Broncos.
It was mild weather on game day, during which the visitors took the home team into overtime, with Surtain II recovering a fumble in the fourth quarter to the delight of Levi, wearing his name on the back of his shirt.
Though the Broncos fell in overtime, Levi had plenty to cheer for, as after the final whistle he received a surprise.
“All of a sudden, we see Pat Surtain walking to us. We just freaked out and he ended up handing [Levi] the football,” said Tracey Ewing, Levi’s mom.
That moment when you get a 🏈 from @PatSurtainll 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mqeANUbN4z
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 28, 2024
But as they were getting ready to leave the stadium, security guards said it belonged to the NFL and under no circumstances—childhood dreams included—could it be allowed to leave. Devastated, Ewing took to Facebook and X to try and find a solution.
“The only thing I knew to do was go to social media and try to get my boy’s ball back,” she said.
Just now seeing this… Before the game yesterday I gave away a game ball to a little kid. Just for it to be taken away from him if anybody can put me in contact with the kid and his family hmu asap !!
— Patrick Surtain (@PatSurtainll) December 29, 2024
Word even reached Pat Surtain, whose help would fortunately not be required, as Ewing told WCPO 9 Cincinnati that on Sunday morning, one of the security guards reached out.
“He instant messaged me and just said he, you know, [sic] the steps that he had taken to get it verified and to make sure he could have it, and then he reached out,” Ewing said.
“I felt happy because I thought I was never going to get it back,” Levi said after their family made a little road trip down to Paycor Stadium for the recovery.
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