Getting a professional athlete’s autograph is a rush unlike any other for a young kid.
Trust me on this – I was nearly trampled by a mob of bandwagon Yankees fans as a boy in a successful quest for Derek Jeter’s autograph, and it’s something I’ll never forget.
The same can be said for the time Larry Allen signed my ticket before a Cowboys game back in the day, and I had no idea God made humans that large.
But an even more special memory unfolded for a young girl during a minute-and-a-half exchange at the National Fantasy Football Convention in Fort Worth over the weekend: She got to give her autograph to her favorite player and homophone. (On a mobile device? Watch the video here.)
Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith was among the dozens of NFL players on hand for the convention at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Twitter user @Blackjack_red captured the moment between Jaylon and Jaelyn.
The young girl was nearly speechless when she saw Smith, a brick house of a man who played all 16 games in 2017 a year-and-a-half after suffering severe nerve damage in his knee during his final collegiate game.
“I’m your biggest fan,” she finally yelled, beginning to jump up and down in elation. She handed him a slip of paper with her name on it.
“Jaelyn? I’m Jaylon,” Smith said. “So we have the same name?”
The third-year Cowboy completed the dream-come-true encounter by taking not one, but two photos with his little fan. He wanted one on his phone that he later posted to Instagram with the caption “Jaylon and Jaelyn.”
A post shared by Jaylon Smith (@yolo_smith9) on
“If there is anything I’ve ever enjoyed more than this 2 minutes I can’t remember it,” @Blackjack_red wrote on Twitter. “She didn’t ask for an autograph, she just wanted to give him hers [...] @GoNFFC out here providing experiences of a lifetime.”
The three-day National Fantasy Football Convention hosts hundreds of fans and includes appearances by some of the NFL’s biggest stars and top fantasy football experts. 2018 marked its second year.
Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was previously the face of the convention and is still a part owner, along with Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and two other business partners.