Army Reserve Master Sargent Joe Egersheim didn’t play a down of football, but his appearance under the Friday Night Lights was the ultimate highlight in a game between Jonathan Law High School and Bethel High in Milford, Conn.
That’s because Egersheim had been gone for a full year to serve a tour in Kuwait. He arrived home a month early, but his son, Cole, who plays football for Law, and his daughter, Olivia, who is a cheerleader for the school, had no idea.
So, Joe dressed as an official, and surprised his kids during the coin toss of the game.
Cole isn’t a captain, but his coaches told him to head out to mid-field for the toss anyway. That’s when he recognized his father, not by looking at him, but by hearing him.
“I heard him start laughing, using his little snicker — ‘Heh heh heh,’” Cole told The New Haven Register. “So I was like, ‘That’s him. Dang.’”
“What’s funny is when I got out there, I turned and faced the head referee so (Cole) still didn’t realize it was me until the announcer mentioned we had a guest referee,” Joe added. “That’s when I turned around and started laughing. I guess they say I have a funny, recognizable laugh. That’s when he knew.”
Olivia then ran out onto the field and embraced her dad.
“I literally started crying a bit,” Law coach Erik Larka told The New Haven Register. “I looked at my defensive coordinator, Tom Drea, and he had some tears coming down. And watching some of the reactions, it was kind of surreal. It kind of put football on the back burner for a little while.”
To put a stamp on the heartwarming night, Cole intercepted a pass four plays into the game and kicked five extra points.
“It [the surprise] was the highlight of my life,” Joe said. “Besides having my kids, it was the highlight of my life.”
Does high school football get any better than that?
