KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A 10-year-old boy who thought he’d never see his Super Bowl souvenir football again has been reunited with it thanks to social media.
“I was very happy. I was like ‘yeah, yeah!’ Doni Morales said.
Doni lost his ball Wednesday during the Kansas City Chiefs celebration parade. His father, Kike Morales, tried to throw the ball to Chiefs players, but he missed.
Someone in the crowd tossed the ball up to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who then threw it back. Paradegoer Kawai Porter found himself on the receiving end of Mahomes’ pass.
“I turn around and see Patrick Mahomes load up for a pass, and he throws the ball. It’s coming right towards me,” Porter said.
He said he picked up the ball, but later, thanks to Twitter, realized it belonged to Doni.
“I saw the article, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to find this guy. This ball means a lot to him.’ I figured out who he was, and we set up to give the ball back,” Porter said.
Doni is thankful Porter found him.
“Because not everyone will have the kind heart that he has,” Doni said.
In exchange for his returned ball, Doni and his dad gifted Porter with Super Bowl gear and confetti from the big game.
The Chiefs offered Doni a Super Bowl LIV ball as a replacement for what happened on Wednesday, but he let Porter keep it as a gift instead.
“It makes me feel amazing. It just goes to show that Kansas City, we’ve got the best people, best fans out there,” Porter said.