Philadelphia Eagles fans help local family have heartfelt reunion with stranger from the Super Bowl

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A local family dealing with a recent tragedy and looking for answers took to social media to find help.

So, Suzanne McDonald posted on the Philadelphia Eagles fans' Facebook page.

Back in February, The Dream Foundation sent McDonald, her niece KelliRae, KelliRae's mom, and her cheer coach to the Super Bowl.

There, they met another fan who made a lasting impact on their family, but they never got his name.

"We left, we're like, 'Oh my gosh we never got his name and his number.' So I posted but knew it was a long shot," McDonald explained.

Within minutes she was able to find who she was looking for.

The mystery fan was Rick Santiago. He didn't know the family prior to meeting them at the Super Bowl but that didn't stop him from making a connection with KelliRae, who was sitting behind him.

"She was very excited, very charismatic. She had personality and I love getting everybody involved," said Santiago.

It didn't take long for them to bond over their love for the Eagles.

"It was the best time ever, those two engaged immediately and they had an amazing time," said McDonald while reflecting back on the game.

She says these last few months have been tough, but KelliRae wanted to live her life to the fullest until she passed away six months after the Super Bowl.

"She was my baby girl, KelliRae never gave up. She stopped all treatments when she realized the cancer had spread and she wanted to live life to the fullest. She just wanted to be remembered as KelliRae," said McDonald.

These families were brought together by a fan base that often gets a lot of backlash, and it's moments like this and positivity that shine through.

"I treated her the same as I would treat the other person in the row ahead of me or next to me. We all want to be a part of this beautiful thing called sports, the ups and the downs. She wanted to be a part of it. That moment, it was a great one," said Santiago.

This goes to show a simple act of kindness goes a long way.

Their meet-up was all made possible by Eagles fans. The family hopes to make this a yearly tradition.