Grayslake soccer fan scores call from English player after postponed trip
Max Hund of Grayslake received the phone call of his young life earlier this week.
The 10-year-old soccer player and his father, Chris, spoke Tuesday with Mason Holgate, a professional soccer player for Everton of the English Premier League.
"It was really cool talking to an actual player on one of your favorite teams," said Max, who plays for Libertyville-based FC 1974.
The call - recorded on both ends and made into a video - was the latest in a remarkable sequence of events for the Hund family that began in early February after Max insisted they enter a contest.
Some family friends originally from Liverpool attended an Everton match over the holidays and saved the game day program as a souvenir for Max.
The fourth-grader was flipping through the program on the ride home from soccer practice when he spotted a contest advertisement. Among the prizes? A trip for two to the United Kingdom to see an Everton match. Chris initially scoffed.
"Buddy, people don't win this stuff," he told his son. "We're not going to do that."
Max decided otherwise when they got home. He got his dad's laptop and brought it to him.
"He said 'You're doing this right now,'" Chris said, laughing. "I said 'OK, fine.' It was just a quick online thing. But in your mind you start thinking, what's going on? Why is my kid having this strong feeling? You have this small belief that starts. It goes back to the magic of being a kid, I guess."
Chris was at Walgreens waiting for a prescription Feb. 14 when he got an email from Everton Football Club with "congratulations" in the subject line. He opened it to find a list of prizes they had won along with a trip itinerary for their visit.
In disbelief, he forwarded the email to his wife, Kasey, at work. She agreed it looked legit and told him to follow the instructions. "It was crazy," Chris said.
It got even crazier when Chris told his son. "It felt like winning the lottery," Max said.
The family had Max's first passport expedited in less than a month. The duo had their bags packed for the trip on the evening of March 11. A car was scheduled to take them to O'Hare in the morning.
However, that same day the NBA suspended its season and President Donald Trump announced a travel ban from Europe but not the U.K. A friend was texting Chris links to stories about British events being canceled left and right.
Torn over whether to make the trip, Chris said he was unable to sleep. He contacted Everton in the morning. Fortunately, his fears were immediately put to rest. Club officials asked the Hund family to reschedule for the next time Everton plays rival Liverpool, whenever that turns out to be.
"They've been nothing but amazing since then," Chris said. "They've been great. They've constantly tried to engage and say, 'Hey, we're sorry this hasn't happened yet.' My feeling is it's fine. They can't control this."
During Tuesday's call with the 23-year-old Holgate, who assured the family they would be welcomed at a future date, Max discovered he has something in common with the star defender. They both like to play PlayStation soccer while quarantining at home with their parents.
"Here's a multimillion dollar professional athlete just talking to my son about how they love playing video games," Chris said. "It was pretty cute."
Chris said the trip's postponement actually works out for the best. Kasey and Max's 12-year-old sister, Emmie, also a soccer player, will join them when the game is rescheduled.
"I can't wait," Max said. "Next year I get to probably take my sister and my mom. And we'll stay longer and do extra things."