Do you know someone who should be highlighted as KYW Newsradio's Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week? Nominate someone you know.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Days after going viral for becoming upset over the thought of young, exciting Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey being traded for disgruntled Nets superstar Kevin Durant — 8-year-old Zack Wagner got a huge surprise.
While we were interviewing Zack, who is KYW Newsradio’s Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week, he and his father, James, suddenly saw a familiar face pop up on his screen.
It was Maxey, which made Zack happy.
“I’m glad to see you smiling,” Maxey said. “No more crying. No more crying. We gonna get you a jersey, and I’m gonna sign it and, hey, whatever the future holds, it’s gonna be alright, because you’ll have that jersey.”
Maxey asked Zack how old he was and what grade he’s in.
“Good to meet y’all,” Maxey said to the Wagners. “Pops, take care of my man for me.”
Zack said it was cool to meet Maxey. The experience made an impression on his dad, too.
“Looking at [Zack] and seeing him here … and just the tears, you know, happiness — I think it definitely made his day,” James said.
What got this story started is a video James recorded of his son earlier this week amid rumors about where Durant might land and what it would take to acquire him. James told Zack in order for this Sixers to get Durant, the deal would likely have to include Maxey, which made Zack hysterical.
“We’re sitting at dinner,” explained James, “and he kind of went to the floor and put his head down on the floor, and I didn’t even realize that he was crying. And he turned around and I saw that he was upset.”
That’s when James started recording his son — just to have it as a memory to show him and laugh about later. But after sending it to his wife and circulating it to some friends, James was persuaded to post it to Twitter.
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“I didn’t know how to do that. I’ve never posted on Twitter before. But I thought: Hey, it’d be cool — a player like Tyrese — it’d be cool to show him the impact he has on young players and how much of a role model he is for Zack.”
With a little help from his wife and friends, James posted the video. He had no expectations, but it took off.
Maxey, himself, even retweeted James, and added: “I gotta get lil man a jersey.”
To James, these were tears of passion, not sorrow or sadness. He asked his son if he wanted them to take it down, but Zack said he was fine with it.
“You weren’t ashamed of crying, right?” James asked his son during our interview. “You just know that it showed how much you cared about Maxey, right?”
Zack agreed.
James said his family is very passionate about sports. He and his wife got engaged on the 50-yard line at Lincoln Financial Field. That is something he’s passing down to his children: three boys and a girl on the way. James says they are a big Eagles family.
But Zack’s favorite team is the Sixers.
He got interested in basketball a year ago when he and one of his brothers started playing hoops on their dad’s old basket.
“Then, right away, asked us to sign him up for basketball and started watching Sixers games and immediately really liked Tyrese Maxey,” James said, “which I thought was cool, because he didn’t go after the top player, the MVP or the top player in the league. He went after a player that he just thought was fun and exciting to watch.”
“He’s really good and quick, and it’s really fun to watch,” Zack said of his favorite Sixer.
Zack has not been to a Sixers game in person — yet — but it’s only a matter of time. And he’ll always have the memory of Tyrese Maxey surprising him on Zoom.
Do you know someone who should be highlighted as KYW Newsradio's Philadelphia Sports Fan of the Week? Nominate someone you know.