What seemed to be a normal school forum Dec. 13 transformed into a surprise Make-a-Wish reveal for tenth-grader Max LaForge, granting his wish to meet his favorite football team, the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of two, LaForge would fulfill his childhood dream by attending the game where the Saints played the Indianapolis Colts Dec. 16.
As students and teachers filed into the auditorium that Friday morning, the Pine View Jazz Band opened with “When the Saints Come MarchingIn” as a clue to what would follow. Students and faculty had been informed they would be attending a forum about social and emotional learning, but after a brief speech from Principal Dr. Stephen Covert, who is LaForge’s step-father, the assembly turned out to be a facade. LaForge was invited on stage, along with his family, and two representatives from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, who unfurled a banner that read, “Max, you’re going to meet the Saints!”
As LaForge walked onstage, he was greeted by his parents, sister, twelfth-grader Phoebe LaForge, step-brother, twelfth-grader Benjamin Covert, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more. Max LaForge was in tears as he hugged several family members and the Make-a-Wish Foundation explained their purpose and played a video.
“I want to meet the Saints because when I was eight, I was in the hospital, and my dad had Drew Brees [on his fantasy football team] and I thought ‘that’s so cool’…so I started liking him and I fell in love with the whole team,” Max LaForge said onstage. “It’s been a huge dream of mine.”
LaForge’s father, John LaForge said, “All it took was Drew Brees, and all of a sudden he became a huge Saints fan. And, it didn’t become about football anymore or fantasy, it all became about the Saints.”
On his reaction to the surprise, Max LaForge said, “Overwhelmed, happy, I don’t know how to describe it, just amazed.”
The beginning of preparation for the surprise started months ago, when his family submitted the wish and two employees from the Make-a-Wish Foundation visited the family to discuss the arrangements.
“We kind of pieced together which game he wanted to go to; this is their last home game and their last home practice. I kind of helped figure out what he wanted and then talked with the family to figure it out,” Ben Covert said.
The game held a lot of significance, in addition to being the last home game and last home practice of the season, half of LaForge’s family is from Indiana and are big fans of the Indianapolis Colts. This year is the 10-year anniversary of the Saints winning their first Super Bowl.The team they beat in that Super Bowl victory: the Colts, the same team they played at the game LaForge watched Dec. 16.
“Also, Drew Brees was, before the game started, he was tied for third place for the most touchdown passes ever made, so during the game, we not only got to see all of the 10-year anniversary players come out and give a little speech, but we also got to see Drew Brees break that record and so now he is the all-time highest passing touch down leader in America,” Ben said.
News of the supposed forum spread days before the event, causing curiosity because of its unusual pairing of grades. Typically, eleventh- and twelfth-graders attend forums together, while ninth-graders are with tenth-graders. However, the forum was for tenth- and twelfth-graders in order to allow Ben and Phoebe to attend the same forum as Max.
“Quite a few people did ask me about [the forum], and for some, I kind of played along and said, ‘Yeah, I don’t really know,’ and then for others, I would say, ‘I can’t say, but I know it’ll be good,’” Ben said.
The Make-a-Wish reveal was a true surprise for LaForge, although he did have small suspicions while walking into the auditorium that Friday morning.
“There were just a lot of hints at it. I told my brother that’s exactly how I wanted it to go down; I didn’t know it was going down then, but it made sense because my family’s from Indiana and so they like the Colts, so I wanted to go to the Colts game and see if my family could go. It made sense that this forum came out of nowhere and it was going to be the Friday before [the game]… I didn’t know, but I told my friend going into the assembly, ‘I have a weird feeling about this, like something’s going to happen,’” LaForge said. “But it was still a surprise…it was an experience that I would have the same experience whether I hadn’t known or known.”
LaForge and his family chose to submit his Make-a-Wish this year due to the improvement in his condition, cystic fibrosis, compared to previous years; LaForge missed about two months of school last year.
“This year’s been a lot better. I don’t always feel great, but I do feel better than last year, and I haven’t been hospitalized,” LaForge said.
“It wasn’t until recently that we decided, ‘Hey, maybe now’s a good time to get that wish going, it does expire when you’re 18,'” LaForge’s mother, Cara Covert said. “I knew that if we asked him, he would really know exactly what Max wants, and of course it was to meet the Saints.”
After the big reveal and several interviews from local news stations, another surprise awaited Laforge, as his aunt rented a limousine. He and his friends grabbed lunch at Chipotle, and LaForge quickly began packing for the trip when he came home.
On Dec. 14, LaForge and his family flew to New Orleans, Louisiana, explored the city and purchased merchandise, getting ready to meet the team. The next day, Dec. 15, LaForge and his family, along with five other Make-a-Wish kids and their families, watched the team’s private practice at 11 a.m.
“We all had to stay tightly together, we couldn’t venture off on our own, we had to turn off our phones, put them on silent, we couldn’t record anything, we couldn’t take any pictures until the practice was done, so it was super exclusive,” LaForge said.
At the practice, LaForge and other Make-a-Wish kids had the opportunity to be in the team huddle and have many players sign footballs and jerseys.
“I didn’t really know what contributed to them getting Make-a-Wish, but we all just talked about the Saints and we talked about how insane it was because at the beginning of the practice, coach [Sean Peyton] invited us all up and on our way up, we were all like, ‘This is a dream, what is happening right now,’ and it was just a surreal moment,” LaForge said.
Before the Monday night game, LaForge also had a chance to visit a museum he enjoyed during his previous trip to New Orleans, where he watched a Saints game as well.
“Previously, when I was in New Orleans, we went to the World War II museum and I loved it last time, but this time I brought a lot more family with me and I knew they’d all love it, so we decided to go there again,” LaForge said.
LaForge didn’t realize he was attending the game where he would witness Drew Brees breaking the record of most touchdown passes until game day, Dec. 16.
“I was expecting just a normal game, and then when I got there, I realized that Drew Brees was three touchdowns away from an NFL record…It was pretty crazy because the whole crowd just went nuts. It’s a different environment and everyone has a passion for the same thing, and so it was great to be around all those people because they felt the same as you,” LaForge said.
The overall experience and trip was unforgettable, and it all started with an unexpected assembly about mental health.
“If anyone else has someone in their family or friends who have a terminal illness or are qualified to be able to do Make-a-Wish, it’s just such an amazing experience that, like, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so if you have the opportunity to experience it I would definitely take advantage of it,” Phoebe said.
“I kind of just want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout everything and was there for me and put this all together because this was just a dream of mine, and it wouldn’t have been able to come to fruition without everyone here. I want to thank Pine View for everything they’ve done for me, and how the teachers are so accommodating and very helpful throughout everything,” Max LaForge said.
Video by Blue and Gold Broadcasting students Vinay Konuru and Alex Roumi.
Featured photo by Anna Labiner