When Jeremiah Moon looked to the sky at the end of the National Anthem, minutes into playing his fourth NFL game, he saw his biggest fan zoom over M&T Bank Stadium – in a helicopter.
The Ravens' second-year outside linebacker had a special moment before Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins, which he shared on social media.
As a Florida Gator in 2017, Moon was hanging out with his family on the field after a game against UAB near the tunnel when he met Jacob Long, who was 13 years old at the time.
Long first asked for Moon's gloves, but he had already given them to another kid. Long was dejected – until Moon gave him his cleats instead.
"I guess I was feeling good," Moon said Wednesday in the Ravens locker room. "I was just feeling generous."
From that day forward, Long was a Moon fan and the shoes have been a decoration in his room.
Fast forward about six years and Long is now a Lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps, serving as an aviation mechanic. When Long found out he was going to be part of the flyover at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, his family made sure they were all in attendance.
His mom reached out to the Ravens' public relations department with the story and sent the cleats to the team, which Moon autographed before the game, and the two met up afterwards to chat.
It's also special to Moon because his father was in the Marines, serving for 15 years.
"It was just a full-circle moment," said Moon. "Jacob is huge now. He was only 13 the first picture and now he's 19 and he's about as tall as me now. He's doing big things, which is so cool."
