KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Chiefs fans go to a game or watch it on TV, they get a sense of excitement and joy for the team. But for one local family, when they see the Chiefs play, it's bittersweet.
"Even when he was young, he was never a fair-weather fan when he went to the game. If it was rain, sleet, snow, he went he stayed," Marty Cooper, Nick Cooper's mom said.
Nick was the ultimate Chiefs fan. So much, he saw something special about a young kid from Texas (Patrick Mahomes) who made the roster.
"He had faith in him before he even really signed up with us. The minute he did, he knew that the Chiefs would do the things that they had never done before," Marty said.
His younger brother Davis said the two were texting about it and Nick was thrilled over this new star joining his favorite team.
"I remember Nick had texted me and said right away, we gotta order his jersey," Davis Cooper, Nick's younger brother said.
Betting on his intuition, Nick went out and bought two Mahomes jerseys even before the quarterback ever took a snap.
"We weren't on the train yet and Nick was on the train," Marty said.
His excitement for this new player couldn't be masked. Nick was ready to see his new favorite player get on the field. But sadly, that never happened.
"He ended up getting in a terrible car accident and he had brain injuries and severe brain injuries and lived in an ICU for 12 days. It was just horrible. It was literally a parent's worst nightmare," Marty said.
Nick died on July 31st, 2018. His heart went to a 53-year-old man.
Now, the Mahomes jerseys he bought are still on hangers in his parent's house untouched.
His parents say through the grief they find comfort watching the team – and the player – their son loved.
"One thing we look forward to every Sunday is sitting down and watching the game. Honestly, some of those games were really hard to watch because of everything that was going on. But some of it was tears of joy because we knew that that's what Nick loved," Brent Cooper, Nick's dad said.
His sister Libby said she wishes her brother was here to see the team do what he dreamed of them doing.
"He would love watching Patrick do as well as he is doing," Libby Cooper, Nick's sister said.
This team is truly bringing families closer and giving them a bond unlike an other.