Good sport! Heartwarming moment shy Detroit boy, 4, realizes thousands of hockey fans are cheering for HIM during his first game after jumbotron operator kept flashing his face to the crowd
- The Miller family took four-year-old George to his first hockey game on February 11, and made a sign to celebrate the occasion
- During the Detroit Red Wings match against the Vancouver Canucks, the jumbotron operator found George and his sign, and the crowd began cheering
- His mother Chelsea Miller said her ‘shy’ son was delighted at people wanting their photo with him, and the Detroit Pistons NBA team offered him tickets
A Michigan boy was shocked to find himself the center of attention at a NHL game last week, after the jumbotron operator spotted him and the crowd began cheering.
Four-year-old George Miller was attending his first ever hockey match, and his parents had made a placard commemorating the milestone.
‘It’s my first game,’ the sign read, with George’s name.
The sign caught the eye of the jumbotron team during the February 11 match between the Detroit Red Wings and the Vancouver Canucks, and they repeatedly panned to George’s face.
‘He didn’t know it was about him,’ said his mother, Chelsea Miller.
‘He just kept saying: ‘Red team’s winning.”
George Miller, aged four, was taken to his first NHL game on February 11 in Detroit
When the jumbotron first found him, George was shy – but soon he began reveling in the attention
Miller said her son was ‘shy’, but soon he began beaming when he saw his face on the giant screen.
Even the Vancouver fans, who booed in jest at the beginning, began cheering for George.
After the game, which Detroit won 5-2, George found himself swamped by fans.
‘There were probably at least 100 people that asked to take pictures with him,’ his mother said.
People wanted high fives, and some even asked for his autograph.
Chelsea Miller said her ‘shy’ son was initially unsure about the attention, but soon grew to love it
Fans asked George for his photo after the game – which was won by the home side
In the days after the match, George’s fame spread.
‘WE LOVE GEORGE!’ the Red Wings tweeted.
The University of Michigan hockey team asked: ‘George do you need a Michigan jersey for the next game?’
The Detroit Pistons NBA team finally chipped in.
‘Let’s us know if he wants to come to a Pistons game!’
His grandmother replied on Twitter, saying: ‘Absolutely!’