Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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SPORTS LAND — There's something magical about an NFL training camp, especially when you're a young football fan.
Sure, it's nothing but drills and short scrimmages, and it's not as exciting as an actual game, but it leaves you awestruck to be so close to football players you admire. There are a lot more fan-player interactions and the full experience is much more intimate for it.
If you're lucky, you've left with a moment you'll never forget.
That's the case for 8-year-old Mason Young, who got an up close and personal chance to high-five Baltimore Ravens superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson this week along with some of his youth football teammates.
In a video that the NFL team shared Monday, Jackson is seen running out onto the practice field, slapping hands with the kids lined up along the pathway. The camera then pans to Mason, who is holding his hand up to his face and jumping up and down in amazement.
Wait for the reaction to high-fiving @Lj_era8 💜 pic.twitter.com/9qAEC1smiy
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) July 31, 2023
His pure joy quickly won over the internet.
Mason, still beaming days later, told NBC News on Thursday that the 2019 MVP is his role model.
"I want to have his feet and I want to have his throwing power," he told the outlet.
His youth football coach, Saheed Shiitu, who helped bring Mason to the practice, added that Jackson is a major influence on his young players, joking that he's so popular that his players would prefer to wear their replica Ravens jerseys over their youth team uniforms.
That's all you really need to know when comes to how meaningful this small moment was for the kids that day.
And to me, that's what makes sports so special.
