An American fan of Arsenal who went viral on Twitter this summer received the surprise of a lifetime live on NBC Sports during the Premier League Mornings Live event on Sunday.
Jessica Shannon, from Texas, took the Internet by storm over the summer on seeing the Gunners play in person for the first time in Charlotte, NC.
And she found out live on-air that the Premier League and Arsenal would be flying her to London to see a home match for the first time.
Being a supporter for nearly 20 years without ever having seen the team play live, Jessica was overcome with emotion when the players came on to the pitch at Bank of America Stadium for pre-match warm-ups this summer.
Her partner, Patrick Smitherman, caught on camera the moment she began to cry. When Jessica shared the video on Twitter later that day, the response was overwhelming.
I’ve been an @Arsenal fan for nearly 20 years yet never seen them live. My boyfriend captured my reaction as @MesutOzil1088 @LacazetteAlex @Aubameyang7 entered the pitch. Thank you for visiting us, Gooners. @PLinUSA @PLinUSA @arsenalamerica #arsenalinusa pic.twitter.com/SKzevsIZBZ
— Jessica (@jessicas0226) July 20, 2019
The video was viewed more than two million times, while the post received over 39,000 likes and 5,000 retweets.
Jessica, a pediatric chaplain at a children's hospital, was invited to share her story on camera with @PLinUSA as part of coverage of the Premier League Morning's Live event in Austin, Texas last week.
She was then invited to join Rebecca Lowe live on-air during the NBC host’s pre-match Q&A with fans, having no idea her dream of seeing Arsenal at Emirates Stadium was about to come true.
And the tears flowed again when she found out the news from Rebecca!
