Make-A-Wish Jets fan reflects on becoming NFL Draft viral sensation
Thirteen-year-old New York Jets fan and Make-A-Wish recipient Kyle Stickles reacted to becoming a viral sensation during the 2023 NFL Draft Thursday night.
"It is incredible," Stickles told Joey Chandler of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "I mean, seeing all the support from everybody, it is amazing, and I hope this can help other kids and people going through cancer or anything else like that."
Stickles is in remission from osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that impacts roughly 400 children in the United States per year. The teenager who first received his diagnosis in September 2020 turned into a favorite among NFL fans when he hyped up the Kansas City crowd before he announced that the Jets selected linebacker Will McDonald IV with the 15th overall pick:
Stickles required surgery in December 2020 that involved a part of his tibia being removed and replaced with a cadaver bone. He explained how football and the Jets helped him throughout his recovery.
"After the surgery, my leg was all casted up and stuff, and I wasn’t feeling good at all for a long time," Stickles said. "Having football to watch on Sundays and something to look forward to meant a lot."
Stickles hopes to remain connected with the NFL through adulthood either as a player or a reporter. He referred to McDonald as "a beast" and a defender who "can get into backfields really quickly and kind of just change the game." He said that his favorite current Jets player is star cornerback and 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.
"It feels amazing," Stickles said about the experience that included sitting between general manager Joe Douglas and assistant general manager Rex Hogan during the team's predraft news conference last week. "If you look back two years ago I think it was, I was sitting in a hospital bed at my worst point, and it is incredible where I am today."
Assuming new quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Gang Green begin the season at home, Stickles could be the perfect person to energize fans at MetLife Stadium via the campaign's first "J-E-T-S" chant of 2023.
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