Round Rock resident, 11-year-old Audrey Soape lost her grandfather and father within 5 weeks of each other last year, leaving her without accompaniment to the upcoming daddy-daughter dance at her church. To her surprise, her favorite NFL player, 30-year-old Anthony Harris, was there to lift up her spirits.

“I’ve been a fan of him for a long time. And he moved to the Eagles. Of course, I miss him on the Vikings, but I rooted for the Eagles this year since he was playing on the Eagles,” Audrey expressed.

Harris, Philadelphia Eagles safety, lost his grandfather due to COVID-19 complications. Holly, Audrey’s mom, sent a message to him on Instagram offering her condolences. Since then, they have kept up with their communication for the past 2 years.

With Audrey’s dance in mind, Holly decided to reach out to Harris and ask if he would be willing to attend with her daughter.

“I told Holly that if we didn’t make the playoffs or if we didn’t go far in the playoffs, that I would be open to doing it,” Harris shared.

Then, the Eagles were defeated by the Buccaneers, and Harris’ schedule became wide open. According to Fox 4, Harris booked a hairstylist, makeup artist, and transportation for Audrey, and even bought her a dress before flying to Texas for the event.

The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that the daddy-daughter dance was held at Round Rock’s Fellowship Church at the end of last month. At the dance, Harris gave Audrey space as she connected with her friends but was within an arm’s reach if her friends began to dance with their dads, so he could quickly jump in to be her dance partner.

The football player and 11-year-old girl danced to some Disney tunes and even worked together in a scavenger hunt. By the end of the night, Audrey was comfortable enough to open up to Harris about her father.

“I was just trying to be a human. Trying to take off the helmet, trying to take off the cape of what I do professionally and just show some sympathy for that family… You gotta cherish these moments. You never know how long we have here on this Earth. So, the people that you care about and you love, show support for them,” Harris expressed.