Adorable Family Moments in Sports

The holidays are all about family, so it seems like an appropriate time to point out a few adorable family moments in sports.

We’ve got the cute offspring of professional athletes. We’ve got special moments with fans. We’ve got hat tips, parental pride and birthday presents in the form of home run balls.  

As the holiday season gets into full swing, let’s take some time to appreciate some of the wonderful family moments sports have provided us.

Chris Paul’s Son

Chris Paul’s son, Chris Paul, Jr., has a history of being adorable, especially during press conferences. One memorable moment happened during a 2012 presser with Blake Griffin. The elder Paul and Griffin encouraged the youngster to “do the Blake face,” and it was glorious.

He also showed off some impressive acting chops in this State Farm commercial.

Tom Brady’s Daughter

Tom Brady’s wife (perhaps you’ve heard of her) posted this adorable photo of their young daughter Vivian on Instagram.

Vivian is sporting a Tom Brady jersey and appears to be watching her father’s game against the Detroit Lions intently. That’s one adorable daddy’s girl for sure.

Goalie’s Family

When Troy Grosenick got his first NHL win, many of his family members were in attendance, but no one was happier than his dad.

In his first NHL game, the goalkeeper achieved a shutout with 45 saves—setting a modern-era record for the most saves in a debut shutout. The video of his dad celebrating is priceless.

Scott Grosenick told Curtis Pashelka and David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News, “I tend to show my emotions. It just happens.”

Birthday Home Run

It’s not every day your son hits a major league home run. And it’s really not every day he does it on your birthday.

Chris Colabello of the Minnesota Twins came to bat in the fourth inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays back in April. As Fox Sports interviewed his mother Silvana, Chris delivered a fantastic birthday gift—a home run.

Needless to say, Silvana’s reaction was pretty endearing.

Peavy Press Conference

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

How cute are Jake Peavy’s kids? Two of the San Francisco Giants pitcher’s sons joined him at a World Series press conference prior to Game 6.

Wyatt and Judson were absolutely the highlight of the presser. At one point Judson even revealed his father is not his favorite baseball player. You can watch all the cuteness here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Jose Fernandez, Mom and Grandma

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

It’s great to see family supporting one another—and it’s especially great to see families laughing with (or at) each other.

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was separated from his grandmother when he defected from Cuba. He hadn’t seen her in six years when in 2013, she surprised him in Miami during an interview.

The next season, she attended a game with Fernandez’s mother, and the two wore custom jerseys that read “Mama” and “Abuela” on the backs. The first time his grandmother saw him pitch, Fernandez threw six innings of one-run ball for the win.

He also grounded out weakly in the third inning, and his family was caught on camera laughing and shaking their heads.

Manning Kids at Training Camp

Prior to the 2014 NFL season, Peyton Manning’s kids visited him at Denver Broncos training camp.

Extreme cuteness ensued.

Frozen Fred Jackson

Well, Fred Jackson might be the best dad ever. Not only does he play in the snow with his kids, but he brings the snow inside, too.

If you’ve been around anyone between the ages of four and 10 in the past year, then you know the movie Frozen was kind of a big deal.

So when Buffalo got slammed with six feet of snow recently, Jackson shoveled some of it inside and into the bathtub so his girls could act out the movie with their dolls.

Dad Bum

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Madison Bumgarner was the hero of the 2014 World Series—no doubt about it. His father told Michael Powell of The New York Times how proud he was and is of his son.

In fact, Powell visited the elder Bumgarner, Kevin, at his home in Hudson, North Carolina just after Game 7 concluded. Kevin showed Powell a text message he had sent to his son after the eighth inning.

The text read, “OMG. You’re so much more than awesome. To see you work on the mound reminds me of watching you in high school. You are willing yourself to perfection and dragging the team along with you. I couldn’t be more proud of your baseball accomplishments.”

Kevin got choked up as he showed Powell the text, and he said even though he knew Madison wouldn’t read it until after the game, he wanted him to know just how proud his dad was.

Jeter’s Nephew

Derek Jeter’s 2014 farewell tour often made him the center of attention, but it was his nephew who really stole the show.

With everyone tipping their hats to the captain, no one did it better than young Jalen. Jeter’s nephew melted a lot of hearts when he tipped his cap during a pregame ceremony in Detroit. Then he did it again at his uncle’s last home game in New York.

Derek Redmond

This story is older, but it’s definitely one of the most emotional family moments ever in sports.

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, American runner Derek Redmond aimed to win a medal in the 400-meter race. Redmond had been forced to withdraw due to injury in 1988, so he was more motivated than ever, according to Rick Weinberg of ESPN.com.

During his semifinal heat, Redmond injured his hamstring on the backstretch and fell to the ground. Hope of winning an Olympic medal was gone, but Redmond got up to try and finish the race anyway.

As he limped toward the finish line, his father, Jim Redmond, raced down from the stands. Jim rushed onto the track and past security to help his son cover the final 120 meters.

Afterward Jim told reporters, “I'm the proudest father alive. I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did.”

Super Bowl Tickets for Mom

Want to be an awesome son? Surprise your football-fan mom with Super Bowl tickets.

According to John Breech of CBSSports.com, one Seattle Seahawks fan wanted to attend the AFC Championship Game in 1983 (Seattle was in the AFC back then), but she couldn’t go because she was pregnant with her son.

Thirty-one years later, that very son surprised her with tickets to the 2014 Super Bowl. Her reaction is, well, it’s the greatest.