Austin Lauer was born prematurely at 26 weeks — three-and-a-half months early — with cerebral palsy. He weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces. Much of his early life was spent at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where his father noticed a curious phenomenon.
When the Philadelphia Eagles played, their football games aired on televisions throughout the hospital, and young Austin paid rapt attention.
“I said, ‘He’s really into this,’” George Lauer recalled. “He was only 3 years old, and he had all kinds of problems, but he was focused on the games.”
George never had much interest in football, but he saw the spark in his son and went all-in. Lincoln Financial Field opened around that time, in 2003, and George started taking Austin to Eagles’ home games, driving in from their Manchester home and rooting like crazy from the wheelchair-accessible platform at mezzanine level.
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They did this for the next 20 years, as Austin grew from a boy into a man, his devoted father always by his side.
Somebody took notice.
Earlier this month, a week before the Eagles’ Super Bowl appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs, George received a phone call from the franchise’s front office indicating that an anonymous donor was arranging a trip for him and Austin to attend the big game in Arizona — and footing the bill for the tickets, airfare and transportation.
“I’ve never met the man,” said George, who has learned a bit about his benefactor. “He sits above us in a suite. He was so touched by the father-son relationship, he decided he was going to send us to the Super Bowl.”
The Lauers want their story told because they hope it will inspire others to do good — or at least to feel good.
“You hear about a lot of bad news,” George said. “This is an inspiring story. There are amazing people out there.”
The game didn’t unfold quite as they’d hoped — the Chiefs won 38-35 on a last-second field goal — but the weekend was unforgettable.
“The whole experience was phenomenal,” Austin said. “I think it’s amazing, for somebody to do this out of nowhere.”
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A passion for the Birds
Austin, now 23 years old, sports two green Eagles tattoos on his left arm. One depicts an outstretched bird, the other the Super Bowl LII stadium in Minneapolis, where the Eagles beat New England for the title in 2018. Austin attended that Super Bowl, too, after the Lauers were among the winners of the team-run lottery, enabling them to purchase tickets for the face value of $900 apiece. Austin made the trip with his mother Diane.
His passion for the Birds runs deep, from his Eagle-green wardrobe to the constant stream of sports-talk radio and television banter that airs throughout the day in their home.
“I started watching when I was a little thing,” Austin said.
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A family friend, John Darcy of Brick, encouraged George to run with it. A Pop Warner football coach with Eagles season tickets, Darcy routinely gave George and young Austin his tickets when his coaching duties conflicted with the Birds’ home games. Eventually the Lauers bought their own season tickets, and over time they became well-known fixtures at the games. Four Eagles cheerleaders accompanied Austin to his senior prom at Manchester High School.
“He just really got attached to the team, and the team got attached to him,” George said. “It’s his whole life.”
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For a while George, who owns the plumbing business George R. Lauer Jr. Plumbing, took Austin to one or two Eagles’ road games each season, traveling as far as Denver, Dallas and New Orleans. They eventually stopped because, inevitably, Austin’s power wheelchair would get damaged or outright destroyed in planes’ cargo holds.
The issue concerned George to the point where he brought a traditional push wheelchair to this year’s Super Bowl as a backup. Fortunately they didn’t need it; the airlines took pristine care of the power chair. That was one of many highlights of their journey to Arizona, starting with the initial phone call.
‘It was magic’
George was just wrapping up a gym workout Feb. 3 when his cell rang. It was the Eagles’ ticket office calling. His initial thought: Maybe he’d prevailed in the fan lottery again?
“It’s my pleasure to inform you that you and your son are being sent to the Super Bowl,” the voice on the other end said, before explaining the anonymous act of kindness.
“I was crying,” George said. “It took me a while to get my (stuff) together.”
Then he informed Austin, who was in disbelief.
“I was really surprised,” Austin said. “I was like, ‘Are we really doing this?’”
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They arrived two days before the big game, staying in Phoenix’s luxurious Arizona Grand Resort & Spa. A van with a wheelchair lift took them wherever they needed to go. That included the Eagles’ VIP tailgate party the day before the Super Bowl.
During the game, the Lauers sat in a suite facing the 20-yard-line. The outcome was a bummer, and Austin remains bugged by the controversial defensive-holding penalty that aided the Chiefs’ game-winning drive, but they wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
And although George and Austin haven’t met the donor yet — he lives in Delaware — they’ve learned who he is and are making a photo album to present to him when they eventually come face to face, perhaps at next fall’s home opener.
“We enjoyed every minute of the whole thing,” George said. “It was magic.”
Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
