7-year-old boy with special needs shines at football game

Glenolden, Pa. (WTXF) - A 7-year-old boy with special needs was given the opportunity to feel like a hero on the football field.The boy's big brother pushed his wheelchair into the end zone and then the unexpected happened from the opposing team that left everyone in tears.

In a way, you could call this the longest scoring drive of the game when St Gabriel’s Norwood JV football recently played Annunciation of Havertown. 

"There wasn’t a dry eye in the stands," the 7-year-old's mom said. Taylor was holding her 7-year-old son Ryan who has special needs when FOX 29 visited Wednesday. Ryan was pushed by his older brother toward the end zone after kickoff as a sign of solidarity.

“I was surprised. It was really cool because obviously he can’t play sports so it was really neat to see him do something that a typical kid could do," Taylor said. “Ryan has a condition called lissencephaly so his brain is completely smooth so he has really bad seizures. He’s fed through a feeding tube. He cannot walk or talk but he’s very happy.”

His dad, Christopher Bannon, came up with the idea as a surprise for Taylor's birthday. 

“I wanted to find something unique something from the heart. Something she could remember for a lifetime," he said.

He got their older son Chris to do the honors and give Ryan that special push. 

“It’s happy to see like doing something for him and how like the rest of the team was like supporting us with it," Chris said.

No one expected the other team to get involved in the tribute. 

“When Annunciation ran out on to the field it was just that’s it I lost it. I started crying. Coach Jim was crying. Other parents were crying. It was heartbreaking. It was awesome," Chris said.

For Ryan’s mom it meant everything.