Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jesse Luketa played three snaps on defense and 25 on special teams in the team’s 37-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. There were doubts about whether he would even make it to the stadium.
As he explained on Monday to reporters, Luketa left the team hotel reasonably early enough to make it to State Farm Stadium well before he needed to for the game.
He got a notification of a tire issue and thought he could get it to a gas station for some air but instead ended up having to pull over. He was 30 minutes away still.
Not knowing what else to do, he saw a family that appeared to be going to the stadium in Cardinals gear.
He flagged them down, told the father he was a player and needed a ride. The guy wasn’t sure but spoke with his wife and agreed to do it.
Luketa made it on time, took pictures with the family and kids and said he took care of their tickets to the Cardinals’ next home game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon said the team also got the family an A-Lot parking pass as well.
This is fantastic story for all involved. The family got to hang out with a Cardinals player and Luketa got help.
He apparently has had tire troubles frequently, saying he has had it happen “four or five times.”
This might have been the one positive thing to come out of the Cardinals’ game on Sunday.
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