SALT LAKE CITY — At the Delta Center last week before the Jazz tipped off a game against the Phoenix Suns, there was a moment a family from the City of Roy will likely never forget.
“I was just so excited, yelling screaming. I was just so excited, it was just amazing,” said Mario Seward.
Yes, it was not a bad way to celebrate one’s 16th birthday.
Mario Seward unexpectedly got to meet his basketball idol, Suns guard Devin Booker -- thanks to his dad Brian who let the Suns know his son would be attending his first NBA game.
“He said ‘hey what’s up Mario’ -- and I was like oh my God Devin Booker, no way dude. And he goes ‘you want me to sign that for you’ and my mom goes, ‘yes, yes can you sign it.’”
Booker who signed Mario’s Suns jersey no doubt appreciates one of his biggest fans in Utah as well as
the health issues Mario has faced growing up. He’s the lone survivor of triplets who were born prematurely.
And despite the fact he battles Cerebral Palsy, his love for basketball has never wavered.
“He’s had a lot in the early years of his life, mostly spent in the hospital,” said Mario’s mom, Shannon Seward.
“But nothing stops him. He can throw from far away and it goes in, because he’s been playing ever since he could sit on his knees.”
They said Mario would like to become an NBA broadcaster one day.
“I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to have me on the news. I am just grateful to be on FOX 13, you know the whole world watching me.”
