CLEVELAND — A Columbus father, who had been deployed overseas in South Korea, surprised his two kids at a Cleveland Cavaliers game in a moment that stole the show in front of a sellout crowd.
With the help of the organization, Sergeant Jessie Hawkins dressed up as an inflatable basketball hoop, while his two kids, Connor, 4, and Oliver, 2, tried to make a shot during a break at the end of the first quarter. The boys thought they were going to the game to be honored as a military family, but they didn’t know they were going to be one of the main attractions.
As the crowd cheered on the kids during every attempted bucket, they didn’t get out of their seats until Jesse revealed to his kids that he was inside the basketball hoop. The two young boys rushed to give their dad a hug as everyone in the Q rose to give the family a standing ovation. It was the first time they saw each other in person in 16 months.
Jesse’s wife, Brooke Hawkins, got the ball rolling on the surprise when she went to the Cavs organization in hopes to make the military homecoming a reality. She says they jumped on board without hesitation after telling them her story.
She called the reunion emotional.
"My biggest fear was [2 year old Oliver] not knowing who daddy was,” she said. “And for him to look at him and he looked at his doll ‘he’s like daddy daddy’…it was a lot.”
The military sergeant could only see his kids on FaceTime during his basic training and deployment. But, they had him everywhere they went. Brooke created dolls with Jesse’s face on it, so the kids could take their dad with them whenever they wanted.
Jesse was a nervous wreck about the surprise, he said.
"I was pretty nervous until I got out to the court and saw the kids and then the nerves went away,” he said. “I wanted to see their reactions."
It was an emotional moment for the family, who will begin a new life in Washington, but they will leave Ohio with a moment they will never forget.
"To see the reaction from a million people crying and I’m ugly crying, it means a lot,” Brooke said.