14 Times Sports Fans Were Totally Awesome

Sometimes, sports fans do things that are just totally awesome.

Specifically, I’m talking about instances of kindness and generosity. That could be a fan returning a home run ball to the player who hit it. It could be a fan handing over a foul ball to a young person. It could be one fan donating his bone marrow so another could live.

We see examples of sports fans doing great things all the time, and kudos to them for making humanity look good.

Mike Harris

In January 2014, Mike Harris gave his mom a pretty great surprise. As the story goes, Harris’ mom is a huge Seattle Seahawks fan. She missed an opportunity to see the team in person in 1983 because she was pregnant with her son, and years later, he wanted to make it up to her.

Harris surprised his mom with tickets to Super Bowl XLVIII along with travel and accommodations. Her reaction is priceless.

Scott Shelton

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

After Jermaine Kearse caught a game-winning touchdown to send the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl XLIX, he tossed it into the stands in celebration.

The lucky fan who caught the ball was Scott Shelton. According to CBS Sports, a dealer offered Shelton $20,000 for the ball, an offer he promptly turned down. When Kearse called him up and asked for the ball back, Shelton reportedly said that he’d only give it up if it was going to Kearse.

Marlins Fan

In June 2014, one Chicago Cubs fan whiffed on catching a foul ball at a game against the Miami Marlins, and it fell back onto the field. Cubs outfielder Nate Schierholtz picked up the ball and tossed it into the stands.

A Marlins fan caught the toss from Schierholtz and gave it to the original guy who whiffed it (who was busy beating himself up about it at the time). Original guy must’ve realized he was on camera or gotten some good advice, because he ended up giving the ball to Marlins guy’s son.

There’s a lot of giving happening in this video, but I’d say Marlins guy is the awesome one.

Christian Lopez

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit was a momentous occasion for the baseball legend. In July 2011, it came on a third-inning solo home run. The ball was caught by Yankee fan Christian Lopez.

Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com reported that when asked what he wanted for the ball, Lopez said, “Mr. Jeter deserved it. I'm not gonna take it away from him. Money's cool and all, but I'm 23 years old, I've got a lot of time to make that. It was never about the money, it was about the milestone.”

The Yankees gave Lopez some memorabilia and tickets anyway, along with a chance to meet Jeter in person.

Generous Tipper

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

During the 2013 NHL playoffs, one hockey fan watched a double-overtime game between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins at a restaurant in North Carolina. His waitress, a Boston Bruins fan, took care of him during the entire marathon game, which ended around 11:45 p.m.

When he left, the waitress realized the fan had left her a $50 tip on a $19 bill. On the receipt he wrote, “Thanks for being cool about the 4 hour game.”

Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy reported that the waitress, Catherine Farish, later said, “It absolutely made my night and even though I may be a Bruins fan, completely restores my faith in humanity. It was such a kind gesture.”

Indeed.

Father and Son Sugar Bowl

All I want for Christmas is Sugar Bowl tickets. One son gave his Alabama fan dad tickets to the College Football Playoff semifinal between the Crimson Tide and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Dad’s reaction was pretty emotional, and it was a reminder of just how meaningful thoughtful gifts can be. 

Frank Burke

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The San Francisco Giants punched their ticket to the 2014 World Series in dramatic fashion. Travis Ishikawa hit a walk-off home run in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the game and the series.

Giants fan Frank Burke caught the home run ball and knew immediately that he didn’t want to keep it. Burke told The Associated Press (via ESPN), “I believe in karma. I didn't hit that ball .... if anybody's going to have that ball in their game room or trophy case, it's going to be the guy who hit it.”

Burke returned the ball to Ishikawa and received a signed bat and tickets to a World Series game.

Anthony Tarantelli

It’s great when athletes sign autographs for fans, but in this case, it was vice versa. Recently, seven-year-old Anthony Tarantelli sent NFL defensive end J.J. Watt a signed jersey. Enclosed was a letter that described Tarantelli’s pass-rushing abilities and his fearsome reputation.

Red Sox Fan

In August 2014, the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays after scoring seven runs in the 11th inning. At one point, a young Red Sox fan scampered through the stands to snag a foul ball, beating a Blue Jays fan to it.

Eventually, the little Red Sox fan decided to generously hand the ball over to the other kid.

Another Red Sox Fan

Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Another young Red Sox fan followed suit not long after at a game in September 2014. The ball girl at Fenway Park handed a ball to a young boy in the first row of the stands, and he immediately turned around and handed it to a little girl behind him.

The boy, 12-year-old Ryan, later told Red Sox reporter Gary Striewski (via Cut4), “I thought it's a nice thing. And it's good to…make people happy.”

Rivals Raise Money for Charity

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In January 2014, fans of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers put their rivalry to good use. The previous December, a group of 49ers fans raised money for a billboard in Seattle and put the extra funds toward charity.

This set in motion an idea for both cities to raise money for the other. Seattle fans donated to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, and donations from San Francisco fans went to the Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation. The respective teams got involved as well, pledging to match donations up to certain amounts.

Eve Kopp, development director at Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation, told Darren Heitner of Forbes, “The energy surrounding this friendly rivalry has been amazing. It is heartwarming to know that both teams and fans in both cities are joining forces in support of sick and injured kids. Everybody wins.”

Young Giants Fan

At a 2013 game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants, a young Diamondbacks fan was pretty torn up when a ball thrown into the stands was caught by someone else. The ball, thrown by Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra, was presumably meant for this specific kid, but another fan stepped in and snagged the ball instead.

The fan was so upset that a nearby kid, a Giants fan, came over and handed him a different ball to cheer him up.

Bennett Williams

John Amis/Associated Press

In December 2014, UAB announced the cancellation of its football program for financial reasons. It was devastating news for UAB players, fans and the sports world in general.

One young football fan from Ohio wanted to help. Five-year-old Bennett Williams is an Ohio State fan, but he also liked the dragon logo of UAB, according to Brett Edgerton of ESPN. When he heard the news of the program’s demise, he asked his dad if sending a dollar would help.

So he wrote a thoughtful letter and, along with one dollar from his own allowance, sent it off to UAB. The folks in the athletic department were so moved by the gesture, they reached out to thank Bennett and sent him a bunch of dragon swag.

Joey Hilburn

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers fans aren’t exactly known for liking each other, but this story goes beyond all that.

Fox Sports reported that Joey Hilburn, a Dodgers fan who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, signed up for the bone marrow registry years ago. In 2014, he got word that he was a perfect match for a young Giants fan, Ryan Clanton.

Clanton had been diagnosed with Fabconi Anemia, and without a bone marrow transplant, the disease would be fatal. Hilburn donated, and Clanton received his transplant. Awesome.