How Nick Foles eating lunch with a 6th-grader 7 years ago changed a life forever
A single act of kindness can mean a lot in the moment, but in the long run, it can be life-changing. That’s what Grant Chachere learned from Eagles quarterback Nick Foles seven years ago.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss brought us their story this week.
In May 2011, while Foles was playing at the University of Arizona, Grant was a sixth-grader living in the Tucson area. His father, Garret Chachere, was an assistant coach for the Wildcats. He had moved there from the University of Memphis, where he was special teams coach.
Grant was having trouble fitting in at his new school. He was shy and had not made many friends. Also, explained Weinfuss, kids were picking on him because he had a stutter at the time. Often, he would eat lunch alone or with a teacher in the classroom.
“People thought I was different from everybody else. … ‘Let’s go make fun of the guy that’s different,'” Grant, now 18, told ESPN.
When Grant told his dad about his troubles, Garret decided to try and help. For Grant’s birthday, his father wanted to surprise him by joining him for lunch in the school cafeteria. And to make it special, he wanted to bring along a player from the Wildcats.
As he was the running backs coach, he asked one of the running backs, but the person he asked could not make it because he was studying for exams. Garret didn’t work directly with Foles but he knew him pretty well, and knew what kind of person he was. So he approached him with a favor.
Wrote Weinfuss: “When Foles answered, Garret began by saying he had a favor to ask. Details were, intentionally, held back. Foles wavered at first, saying he needed to study for an upcoming exam. Garret understood and told Foles not to worry about it. Then Foles asked what the favor was. Garret explained everything — how Grant had a developmental disorder, how he was being bullied, how he ate lunch alone, how he planned to surprise Grant for his birthday, how he’d love it if Foles could join them. Foles didn’t hesitate. He was in.”
When Foles walked into the cafeteria that day, he was hard to miss. For one, at 6 feet 6, he towered over everyone. But he was also one of the best quarterbacks in the country. In his junior year he threw for 3,191 yards and 20 touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 140.9.
It created quite a buzz as Foles and Garret walked through the cafeteria looking for Grant, but he was nowhere to be found. He was eating in the classroom with one of the teachers. When they finally tracked him down, Grant was stunned to see Foles.
“The fact that he came to eat lunch with me really shocked me because it came out of nowhere. You wouldn’t expect it,” Grant told ESPN.
They sat and ate lunch together while Grant’s classmates hovered around asking for autographs. Foles politely declined because he was there to eat with his friend Grant.
After lunch, the kids were playing football at recess and they asked Grant to play — which was not an invite he typically got. So he played, and so did Foles.
Wrote Weinfuss: “Foles was the all-time quarterback for both teams and with the game tied and a few minutes remaining, Foles threw a pass to the end zone. Garret called it a Hail Mary. Grant, who later was a two-year letter winner as a fullback in high school, called it a vertical route. Whichever, Foles’ pass was perfect and Grant caught it in stride for the winning touchdown.”
They snapped a photo of Grant and Foles that day that still sits proudly in the Chachere’s home, seven years later.
Often times it is the little things that have the biggest impact!
How school lunch with Nick Foles changed a child's life – via @ESPN App https://t.co/MPZEgnPBSp— Steve Hilton (@sdbroncos11) February 3, 2018
Foles has held a special place in the family’s hearts ever since.
Grant is now thriving as a freshman at New Mexico Highlands University, where his father is the offensive coordinator for the football team.
He said that lunch with Foles served as a turning point. He became more social and accepted and had an easier time making friends from that point on.
“Him coming to eat lunch with me actually taught me that no matter who you are, doing one nice thing for somebody can change their whole life, and I really thought that throughout my whole life, I always talk to people to see how their days are going. It actually changed my whole perspective on life,” Grant told ESPN.
“What that really taught me was you can be whoever you want to be, but at the end of the day, it’s about your character and about the things you do for the better of the world instead of thinking about yourself,” he said.
Grant and Foles have stayed in touch throughout the years. In fact, before the Eagles’ 38-7 win over the Vikings in the NFC championship game, Grant texted Foles: “You are a great leader and you’ve always had that ability to lead because a lot of people like you, and not only do they like you, they trust you as a leader … everybody believes in you. Your teammates believe in you. Your family believes in you.”
And he included in the text the picture from seven years ago.
“Thanks, Grant. That means a lot,” wrote back Foles.
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