NFL Hopeful Cries When Mom Flies In From Australia To U.S. To Watch His First Game

A teenage boy who had been picked out at high school for his football-playing prospects cried tears of joy when his single mom flew from Australia to surprise him at his first-ever game. Having been born in the U.S., Max Leaitua-Tanuvasa, 16, moved with his family to Australia when he was only six months old. But earlier this year, Max's uncle Manaia – who still lives in the United States and is the football coach at West High School, in Salt Lake City, Utah – chatted to his mom about her son's opportunities playing the sport. Max had wanted to head to the U.S. to experience a year of high school, and during a conversation about whether this might be possible, Max's uncle asked his mom, Tina, if he could be in the U.S. by April, so that he could make football season. The teenager – who is 6'4", weighs more than 250 pounds and excelled at playing rugby in Australia – arrived in late March, and over the months that followed, he learned the game, which he had never played. When Max was ready for his first-ever game, proud mom Tina, 52, from Umina Beach, New South Wales, who had never missed one of her son's big games in Australia, proud mom Tina, 52, from Umina Beach, New South Wales, was desperate to be there. The moment took place on August 18 at a hotel where Max was staying in Anaheim. As soon as he saw his mom the teenager began to cry tears of joy, showing how much it meant to him to have his mother there for his footballing debut. Having watched the game, Tina then spent a few days with her son, hanging out and catching up on his life in the U.S.

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