PITTSBURGH — What started as a routine flight to the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, turned into an unexpected bonding moment between strangers and a soon-to-be NFL rookie.
Two Jacksonville Jaguars fans, Dee Dee Ellis and Deb Ausberry, struck up a conversation with the family of Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love while traveling to the draft. The encounter quickly shifted from casual small talk to an unforgettable connection at 30,000 feet.
“Well, this guy whose last name is Love, who the people of Notre Dame love, who happens to run really fast,” Ellis joked, recalling the moment she and Ausberry realized who they were talking to.
Ellis said she and Ausberry are loyal Jaguars fans, which sparked a lighthearted exchange with Love’s family during the flight.
“His dad said, ‘So you’re going to the draft. What team?’ I’m like, yeah,” Ellis said. “I thought he was being funny.”
What she didn’t immediately realize was that she was speaking with the family of a projected NFL Draft prospect.
“He was cheesing from ear to ear,” Ellis said of Love’s father as the conversation unfolded.
The interaction left a lasting impression on both sides. Ellis said the brief flight connection quickly turned into something more memorable.
“Two hours, we’re besties, yeah,” she said jokingly.
While Love is unlikely to end up in Jacksonville, his unlikely in-flight supporters say they’ll be cheering him on regardless of where he lands in the NFL.
What began as a chance meeting in the sky became, for a few hours, a shared moment of excitement ahead of one of football’s biggest stages.
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