Angel Tree wish from young Eagles fan in North Texas goes viral

FORT WORTH, Texas - A North Texas child will receive gifts from around the country after his Angel Tree wish blew up on TikTok.

A teacher posted a video, worried that the young Philadelphia Eagles fan would be ignored in Cowboys country. The response was beyond anything she could have expected.

Eagles Angel Tree Wish

When Nicole Swartz went to pick an Angel Tree child at her church, one tag stuck out to her – an 11-year-old child in Fort Worth who is a football player and a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

The Mansfield Middle School teacher overheard another family comment on the boy’s favorite team.

"He was like, this kid is not going to get picked. He likes the Eagles. We live in Dallas Nation. This isn’t going to work. And he put it back," Swartz said.

So, she grabbed him instead.

But as she’s not really a football fan, she turned to TikTok for help, leaning on the City of Brotherly Love for gift ideas.

"I was just trying to get as much ideas as possible, and it kind of just blew up," she said.

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Football Fans Respond

That initial video now has more than half a million views. The comments are flooded with mostly Eagles fans offering to send the child Eagles gear.

Swartz received posters, wall décor, jerseys, t-shirts, jackets, and two pairs of tennis shoes.

Then the Philadelphia Eagles organization contacted her with an offer to ship its own personalized box of goodies – everything from a signed helmet to a ball that says, "Go Birds!"

On Christmas morning, the young fan will be surprised by a mountain of packages from complete strangers. Even some Cowboys fans sent gifts. 

There’s also now an Amazon Wishlist to help with the basics, such as clothing and toys.

Joyous Christmas

Swartz described the emotional phone call she received from the child’s grandmother, giving thanks.

"She starts telling me he is a super shy kid, but he is trying to come out of his shell," she said. 

She’s hoping it will be a transformative Christmas that creates the spark for a football future.

"Maybe one day I will see him on the big screen. Maybe one day," the teacher said.

Swartz said the experience has also convinced her to be somewhat of an Eagles fan. 

"I have to now," she joked.