A.J. Bouye makes a living on takeaways. Most days the Jaguars cornerback is locked in on preventing big plays, but late this season, Bouye switched it up and decided it was time to give away quite the surprise to one lucky Jaguars fan.
Cynthia Farah is a five-year breast cancer survivor and has been volunteering with the American Cancer Society for 23 years. She assumed her invitation to attend Jaguars practice on Dec. 21 was a chance to meet Bouye, a member of the American Cancer Society's Athlete Council. To her surprise, Bouye presented Farah with two tickets to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta courtesy of the NFL. To sweeten the deal, Bouye himself offered to cover her travel expenses.
"I was totally shocked and it took me a couple days to come down from the surprise," Farah said. "I am looking forward to all the excitement surrounding the big game and was so impressed with A.J. He is mild mannered and was so excited to present us with this surprise. I was just excited to meet him."
Bouye lost his mother to breast and brain cancer when he was only 15 months old and often speaks of how difficult it was for his family growing up without her. This is the second consecutive season Bouye has worked with the American Cancer Society to present a family affected by cancer with a Super Bowl experience.
Farah has never before attended a Super Bowl, but is an avid Jaguars fan and many of her family members were original season-ticket holders.
"I can still recall the night we all went to the airport and then to the stadium as the Jaguars were about to play in their first ever playoff game," Farah said. "The team plane flew over the stadium and 'The Boys Are Back In Town' was playing over the speakers. 40,000-plus people were going crazy. Who couldn't love the Jags!"
