Philadelphia Eagles send family of 'Dutch Destroyer' to the Super Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., (WPVI) -- Lukas Kusters' family got the call from the Eagles on Tuesday.
The team offered them six tickets to the Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. They wanted the family here considering how Lukas has become such an inspiration during their 2017 season. The family says that call couldn't have come at a better time.
"Yeah, it's been incredible," said Lukas' mom, Rebecca Burmeff. "We were not expecting this at all."
Burmeff and her family can't believe they're in Minneapolis for the Super Bowl, but when you think about the Eagles season, it's exactly where they should be. It's where Lukas would have wanted them to be.
"Lukus would be out of his mind excited," said Burmeff.
Lukus Kusters died of stomach cancer in June 2017, just 4 days after his 10th birthday.
Known as the Dutch Destroyer for his style of play on the football field, this Wilmington kid forged a special bond with Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz who heard about his fight for life and sent him a video of encouragement.
Lukus then spent a day at the Eagles practice facility and Lukus gave him a "Dutch Destroyer" bracelet that Wentz has worn every day since.
"It's just an amazing feeling the relationship that he and Carson built in such a short time," said Burmeff.
Tuesday, out of the blue, the family got a call from the Eagles organization.
"They've got tickets for all of us and we just drove out yesterday," said Burmeff. "We drove from Delaware. So, we're a little bit tired but super excited to be here. It's amazing!"
You bet - they wore their Dutch Destroyer bracelets.
The family says the call could not have come at a better time.
"My wife was going back to work for the first time in a couple years and she was going through some old paperwork and saw Lukas' discharge papers from the hospital and she was just in bad place," said Rich Burmeff. "Five minutes later, the call came from Eagles and it went from tears of sadness to tears of joy when they told us they were coming here."
Rebecca says she still talks to Carson Wentz every few weeks. She has no doubt he played a big part in bringing them to Minneapolis.
Since Lukas' death, the family has shipped about 65,000 bracelets and raised about $300,000 for the Live Like Lukas foundation- which helps those impacted by childhood cancer.
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