That’s what fans are for. Even if they’re not exactly familiar with you.
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jesse Luketa got a flat tire on game day and got assistance from a family.
It was 45 minutes before Luketa had to be at State Farm Stadium when one of the tires of his 2019 BMW started losing air. It wasn’t just a low-pressure situation. Well –metaphorically, anyway. Luketa was worried he might have driven over a nail.
He managed to make it to a gas station, but putting air in his tired simply wasn’t enough. He looked to his right to see someone pumping gas and wearing a Patrick Peterson jersey.
“You guys going to the stadium?” Luketa asked, telling The Athletic’s Doug Haller.
“I’m a player,” Luketa said. “I got a flat tire. Can you guys help me out? I need a ride to the stadium.”
While the Phillips family are avid sports fans, they weren’t 100-percent sure he was actually on the team. But it didn’t talk long for Nicole, the wife and mom of the family, to ask him to get in the care and drive him the 45 minutes to the stadium.
The conversations in the car went from Thanksgiving plans, Luketa’s life in Canada — and even fantasy football.
Right place, right time.
A family of #AZCardinals fans helped out @OttawasVeryOwn in a big way ahead of Arizona’s Week 12 tilt on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/ofUvFnuPvS
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) November 27, 2023
They vehicle pulled up to the player’s entrance with eight minutes to spare and the Phillips family went to the friends area after the 37-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams to pose for pictures with Luketa who spotted them.
“It’s definitely one for the books,” he said. “This is the type of stuff that only happens to me. I don’t know anyone else it would happen to. But I’m extremely grateful and forever indebted to them.”
