As one Twitterer put it, “MLB doesn’t ever need to make another commercial.” In an everything-that-makes-America-great video that’s gone viral, Andy Kyler, the proud father of Kolt, a 9-year-old die-hard Cubs fan from Pierceton, Indiana, surprises his son with an unexpected reward for working hard all day on the farm without any complaining.
“You know I kinda tested you a little bit today, to kinda see how you’d react because I knew you were tired. But you never once complained, you helped. You worked hard,” the father tells his son in a video posted online by Kolt’s sister.
“This is something here that you and I are gonna do, and it’s gonna take a whole day to do it, okay? So do you wanna do it?” he asks.
Without hesitation, the hard-working young boy nods yes.
“You sure? You don’t even know what it is,” Kolt’s dad says.
“I know,” the boy replies.
“But you want to do it?” his dad asks again.
“Uh-huh!” says Kolt.
That’s when Dad of the Year hands the boy an envelope, cautioning, “Be careful in opening that up.”
Kolt’s reaction is going viral for a reason. Watch the all-American video below posted by Kolt’s older half-sister, Hannah Himes:
Himes told ABC News that her brother definitely deserved the tickets:
“Kolt has been helping his dad on their farm for a couple years with their cows, but recently Kolt got two pigs to show for 4H [a youth development and mentoring organization] for the first time so he’s had to work extra hard!,” Himes wrote to ABC News in an email. “He also made the travel baseball team again this year so he’s been busy with regular season, travel team, farm chores, cub scouts, and he is also an honor roll student! ” […]
“He had a double header that morning/afternoon, he mowed our grandma’s yard and then came home for chores and that’s when he got his surprise,” she added. “Before he was given the tickets he was asked if he would help with something that would take a whole day to do, and not knowing what it was he still volunteered to help. I think more people in the world should take note of Kolt’s work ethic, attitude, and thankfulness.”
ABC notes that the tickets are for the Cubs’ June 3 game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Chicago Cubs have clearly seen the video and are “all over this”: