A.J. Brown made good on his promise to an Eagles fan who protected his sister after the Philadelphia plane crash.
Brown, 27, visited 10-year-old fan Andre Howard at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Wednesday, February 12, and he even brought the Vince Lombardi trophy with him. The wide receiver had previously promised to check in on Andre, who dove to protect his sister during the plane crash last month, after learning he was a diehard Birds fan.
Shortly after taking off from the runway on January 31, the aircraft owned by Jet Rescue crashed into a residential area of Philadelphia. Six people on the plane and a person on the ground died. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said in a press conference that the number of injured rose from 22 to 24, with four still hospitalized and two in critical condition.
Howard, for his part, was rushed to the hospital to have emergency brain surgery. He was in a medically induced coma until earlier this month. After Howard woke up, he asked if he missed the Super Bowl. He was ultimately able to watch the Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday, February 8.
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After the major win on Sunday, Brown reflected on the accomplishment.
“I tried to feel how everyone made it seem to be a champion and unfortunately it was short lived.. two days to be exact lol,” he wrote via Instagram on Wednesday. “I’ve never been a champion at the highest level before but I thought my hard work would be justified by winning it all. It wasn’t.”
Brown noted that his “thrill for this game comes” when he is dominating on the field, adding, “It’s the Hunt that does it for me. It’s when the Db drops his head and surrender because he can’t F with me . The Intense battles. Early mornings. Late nights. Sacrifices. I love putting smiles on peoples faces, don’t get me wrong but it just wasn’t what I thought it would be. It’s the journey that I love the most. BACK 2 Work!”
The Super Bowl win wrapped up Brown’s sixth year in the NFL and his first as a champion. He recently reflected on the challenges that come with being in the public eye because of his career.
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“Reach out to someone [and] don’t be afraid to talk to somebody,” Brown said during a pre-Super Bowl press conference on February 4. “Don’t be afraid to seek help because somebody was there for me. Ultimately, it saved my life.”
He added, “Keeping going because I’m pretty sure you have people who love and care about you. Take it one day at a time. You get to choose your feelings [and] whatever mood you want to be in, you get to choose it. [If] you want to be happy, you can be happy.”
Brown opened up about previously struggling with his mental health.
“That was a dark time in my life that nobody really knew,” he continued. “I wanted to encourage others to seek help whenever they are down. I didn’t really take [into] consideration what depression really was. I always just brushed it off; that’s how I grew up.”
