KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) – A young Chiefs fan got the surprise of a lifetime Sunday when his favorite quarterback handed him the game ball.
Lane Cunningham may only be 14 years old, but he’s already been through a lot. The Louisburg boy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was just 9 months old. But he beat it and has been cancer-free for 12 years now.
He and his family have been advocating for childhood cancer awareness, working with the local nonprofit Braden’s Hope.
And he’s not busy pushing for more awareness and fundraising, his mom Kara Cunningham said Lane loves to play football. The eighth-grader played quarterback this past fall at Louisburg Middle School.
That love for the gridiron made a recent phone call even more exciting.
“We were very surprised to get a call from the Chiefs,” Kara said.
The Chiefs invited Lane and his family to Sunday’s playoffs game against the Texans. The teen was nominated to represent Braden’s Hope in pre-game activities and was even introduced on the field.
“It all happened so fast,” Kara said. “We didn’t know what would happen.”
He brought his mom, older sister, best friend and grandpa with him to enjoy the fun.
They all got to stand on the sideline and meet Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt and his family — along with three Chiefs Hall of Fame players and KC native Eric Stonestreet.
And that wasn’t even the best part.
Before the start of the game, all the players lined up to give high-fives, and they made sure that Lane got one from each of them, too. At the end of the line was Lane’s favorite player — Patrick Mahomes, a quarterback just like him.
That’s when Mahomes handed Lane the game ball — and the teen was so shocked he didn’t really know what to do! See the awesome moment in the video player above.
