Anthony Harris, safety for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, made a young fan’s dream come true when he surprised her for her school’s Daddy-Daughter dance.
Eleven-year-old Audrey Soape suffered a devastating loss last year when her father passed away. And if things felt like they couldn’t get any worse, her grandfather passed away shortly after.
Her mother, Holly, took swift action when Audrey’s school’s “Daddy-Daughter Dance” came around, reaching out to Harris, her favorite football player, via social media.
“It’s kind of far-fetched…it’s a big ask,” Holly said. “I just asked if he would come, if he’d be willing to come. And he said, ‘not only will I come, I want to make sure she feels like a princess.”
“I heard about it about a week before the dance. And at first, I was like, really nervous,” Audrey shared. “I was kind of worried all week that I was going to mess up dancing.”
In addition to flying in for the dance, Harris paid for Audrey’s dress, shoes, hair and makeup.
“He had a car with a driver come to the house and pick her up,” Holly said. “He really wanted to make sure she had the best possible time.”
Harris dedicated the entire evening to Audrey and her family, even meeting with her brother Jackson. “It made me feel really happy and feel special because he didn’t only come over just to go to the ‘Daddy-Daughter Dance’ with Audrey, he came over to see me, too,” said Jackson.
A professional photographer captured the entire evening to preserve the moment for Audrey and her family. “I was very happy, and I also felt very special because not a lot of stuff happened to people like this, and especially me,” said Audrey.
Audrey’s mother Holly is forever grateful. “We would do anything for our kids when we see them suffering…to know that there are people out there who will also help be there for your kids and for you, it’s really encouraging for me, and it’s sort of turned this horrible tragedy into sort of this triumphant moment.”