PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has made his first comments since getting benched — and they came in response to a young superfan who offered a message of encouragement.
Giovanni Hamilton, 13, is someone Birds fans know quite well. He has a Philly sports podcast that’s had Eagles players as guests.
On Tuesday he had a video message for Wentz on Twitter after the news broke that Jalen Hurts was starting in his place.
"Carson, I don’t know if you’re gonna see this because you don’t do social media a lot and I know for sure you don’t listen to my podcast and I just wanna say — dude, you are still my hero. You’re still my idol. I look up to you. The way that you fought through so much injuries and, just, bad seasons, it tells a lot about you," he said.
Hamilton knows about adversity. He has a rare medical condition — Schwartz-Jampel syndrome — which has required a lot of surgeries.
"You’re gonna get through this," he tells his idol in the video. "You’re like Rocky, and I’m like Mickey, still in your corner cheering you on."
Hamilton says he wasn’t surprised to see Wentz applaud Hurts after his touchdown against the Packers. And he says he’s going to cheer for Hurts this weekend, too -- "because, No. 1, he’s wearing a Birds jersey, and No. 2, it’s what you would do. And I wanna be like you. Go Birds."
Wentz re-tweeted Hamilton, saying he appreciates and looks up to the teen, and telling him to never change.
Wentz added, "God’s got a plan for me, and I’ll keep pushing through this like I always do, trusting him and giving it everything I got."
Giovanni’s video had been viewed more than 1.8 million times as of Thursday morning.
He had a meet-and-greet with Carson Wentz during 2019 Training Camp that went viral.
Earlier this season, Giovanni sent a heartfelt message to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott after his devastating ankle injury.
In October, when Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a devastating ankle injury, Giovanni went viral his heartfelt message, which landed him on the CBS affiliate in Dallas.
Giovanni made an appearance as well on the CBS affiliate in Bismarck, ND, on Wednesday.