STORY. A GREEN BAY PACKERS FLAG FLIES IN FRONT OF THE BALDWIN HOME IN BOONE. BUT INSIDE, 14 YEAR OLD JAMES IS HAPPY TO WEAR WHATEVER JERSEY HE CAN FIND. SIX THIS SUMMER. IN FACT, HE OWNED AN ENTIRE COLLECTION OF SHORTS SAINTS COLTS. BUT HIS FAVORITE IS ACTUALLY THE NEWEST JEFF WILSON, A JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGS JERSEY. DID YOU KNOW THAT THEY WERE COMING? NO. A GROUP OF JAMES FRIENDS AT SCHOOL CHIPPED IN THEIR OWN MONEY TO SURPRISE HIM ON A SPECIAL DAY. WHAT DAY WAS IT? MY BIRTHDAY. THE VIKINGS NEWEST AND MAYBE MOST PASSIONATE FAN. HE’S WORN IT EVERY DAY SINCE. WE’VE MADE A COMPROMISE THAT AS LONG AS WE HAVE A CLEAN SHIRT UNDERNEATH, HE CAN CONTINUE TO WEAR THE JERSEY. HIS MOTHER, RACHEL, A PACKERS FAN, WILLING TO SET ASIDE THE RIVALRY TO SEE HER SON SMILE. A SENSE OF RELIEF, SENDING HER SON TO SCHOOL, KNOWING HE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A GROUP OF FRIENDS WHO HAVE HIS BACK. THEY’RE SETTING A REALLY WONDERFUL EXAMPLE FOR OTHER KIDS TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THAT KID WHO IS WHO IS DIFFERENT TO MAYBE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND AND THAT YOU CAN REALLY JUST IMPACT SOMEBODIES LIFE IN EVEN A SMALL WAY. A LESSON WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM THIS GROUP OF EIGHTH GRADERS. YOU NEVER KNOW HOW FAR A SMALL GESTURE CAN GO. AND NOW JAMES NELSON, WHILE HIS FANDOM MAY BE FLUID, HIS NEW FRIENDSHIPS WILL LAST FOREVER. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE NEXT THING YOU WANT? OH, COUSIN. OH, ANOTHER VIKINGS JERSEY IN BOONE. BEAU BOWMAN.
Classmates surprise 14-year-old friend with football jersey on his birthday
Updated: 11:17 PM EST Dec 10, 2022
Typically, a sports fan's allegiance never wavers.But at the middle school in Boone, Iowa, a group of teenage boys gave one Green Bay Packers fan a good reason to hop on the Minnesota Vikings bandwagon.Fourteen-year-old James Baldwin is happy to wear whatever jersey he can find. In fact, the eighth-grader diagnosed with ADHD, DMDD, autism and an intellectual delay owns an entire collection, anything from a green Brett Favre jersey to Indianapolis Colts legend Marvin Harrison.But his favorite is actually the newest: a Justin Jefferson Minnesota Vikings jersey.On Dec. 6, a group of James' friends in his eighth-grade class chipped in their own money to surprise him on his birthday at school and he's worn it every day since."We've made a compromise, that as long as we have a clean shirt underneath, he can continue to wear the jersey," James' mother, Rachel Baldwin, a Packers fan said.She's more than willing to set the NFC North rivalry aside to see her son smile.A sense of relief knowing she can send her son to school knowing he will always have a group of friends who have his back."They're setting a really wonderful example for other kids to make friends with that kid who is different who maybe they don't understand and you can really impact somebody's life in even a small way," Rachel Baldwin said.
Typically, a sports fan's allegiance never wavers.
But at the middle school in Boone, Iowa, a group of teenage boys gave one Green Bay Packers fan a good reason to hop on the Minnesota Vikings bandwagon.
Fourteen-year-old James Baldwin is happy to wear whatever jersey he can find. In fact, the eighth-grader diagnosed with ADHD, DMDD, autism and an intellectual delay owns an entire collection, anything from a green Brett Favre jersey to Indianapolis Colts legend Marvin Harrison.
But his favorite is actually the newest: a Justin Jefferson Minnesota Vikings jersey.
On Dec. 6, a group of James' friends in his eighth-grade class chipped in their own money to surprise him on his birthday at school and he's worn it every day since.
"We've made a compromise, that as long as we have a clean shirt underneath, he can continue to wear the jersey," James' mother, Rachel Baldwin, a Packers fan said.
She's more than willing to set the NFC North rivalry aside to see her son smile.
A sense of relief knowing she can send her son to school knowing he will always have a group of friends who have his back.
"They're setting a really wonderful example for other kids to make friends with that kid who is different who maybe they don't understand and you can really impact somebody's life in even a small way," Rachel Baldwin said.
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