When 12-year-old travel football team manager Timmy Mathews was diagnosed with Leukemia last year it looked like he would never set foot on the gridiron again. That is, until Wisconsin Badger’s football coach, Paul Chryst, heard about Timmy and his dying wish to get totally fucking annihilated by the Badgers’ star linebacker, Chris Orr.
“I met Timmy on the sidelines after a game and asked him if he wanted to swing by and watch the guys practice,” Chryst said. “Instead he told me that all he really wanted was to feel the full force of Chris Orr completely bulldozing him into oblivion. How could I say no?”
Mathews’ story captured Chryst’s heart, prompting him to reach out to the young boy’s family. Chryst met with Mathews at Camp Randall Stadium later that week, signed Badger gear for him, provided an exclusive tour of the locker room and — when he least expected it — gave Mathews the surprise of a lifetime.
As his visit wound down and Mathews prepared to say his goodbyes, Chris Orr rushed onto the field and exclaimed “you almost left without this!”, running up behind the young cancer patient, picking him up like Simba from the “Lion King” and slamming him onto the turf.
“Honestly, that’s one of the best things about this game. I was blessed with the chance to uplift the community by absolutely flattening a leukemia patient, and every day since meeting Timmy I thank God for that amazing opportunity,” said Orr. “Seeing the smile on his face after I put my head down, ran at full force and literally launched him out of a wheelchair — there’s nothing like it.”
Equally grateful was Mathews’ mother, who said Orr’s incredible act of kindness was the gift of a lifetime.
“I was at a loss for words. I broke down and cried tears of joy when I turned around and saw Chris throw my boy into the ground so hard his breathing tube split in half. I was just so happy,” Mathews’ mother said.
But the Badgers weren’t done. As the icing on the cake of an already incredible day for Mathews, the entire Badgers’ starting defense ran onto the field stood over the young boy and began flexing their biceps, taunting him for “weak moves,” and high-fiving Orr.
With smiling faces and heavy hearts the boy and the linebacker went their separate ways; one on a moped, the other in a minivan, excited for his upcoming night in the ring with Connor McGregor.
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