The Notre Dame Prep freshman boys basketball team has the story of a lifetime and it all started with an incorrect phone number. Their coach, Andy Durkin, instructed them to start a iMessage group chat, but they didn’t mean to add Super Bowl Champion Sean Murphy-Bunting of the Buccaneers to the conversation.
A local freshman bball team started an iPhone group chat & messed up one of their teammate’s phone numbers by a digit.
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) November 29, 2021
The wrong number was Sean Murphy-Bunting. It resulted in a group FaceTime with Tom Brady & the Super Bowl Champions. Can’t make this up- story airs Tues @ 5. pic.twitter.com/0Kw3K2sxBu
Here’s how it happened: Luca Gasperoni’s number was added to the group chat incorrectly, it was off by just one, single digit. The number though, started to respond to the group chat, and ensured the Notre Dame Prep students that there was a mistake. The guys thought that their teammate Luca was messing with them, but it started to set in that something was really going on.
“He said he was from Michigan and he sent a picture from the locker room,” said Michael Khouri. “And then we were like, ‘hold on this guy might be for real.’”
Sean Murphy-Bunting is a graduate of Chippewa Valley High School in Macomb where he was a standout football player. He then went to play for the Chippewas at Central Michigan University before moving on to the NFL and winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. It was when he FaceTimed the group of high school students that he received fans for life.
“I’m like, ‘oh we accidentally added someone random’ because no one expects to add an NFL player to a group chat,” said Mark Galle. “It’s a one in a billion chance.”
Within minutes of the start of the FaceTime call, the students were quickly introduced to some of the biggest names in football: Rob Gronkowski, Richard Sherman, Mike Evans, and Leonard Fournette. But as any football fan would do, they wanted to see the “GOAT,” which stands for Greatest of All Time. Mark Galle then asked to see quarterback Tom Brady.
“We all went crazy,” said Danny Quandt. “I was telling my mom, my dad, “Brady is on the phone, Brady is on the phone.’ I couldn’t even hear what Tom was saying. When he said what’s up, I don’t think any of us heard, that’s how loud we were being.”
The Buccaneers players stayed on the phone with the players for about thirty minutes. The kids were ecstatic and understood just how generous it was of the Super Bowl Champions to give up their time to a bunch of random students from across the country.
“In their position, they have a lot to do, a lot of people to see, to talk to us, they really didn’t have to,” said Khouri. “For us, it’s a big thing, to them its something little, but it means a lot. And I think that’s why they did it.”
The Notre Dame Prep freshmen said they are now Buccaneers fans for life and they are rooting for them in the Super Bowl. They agreed they’re definitely Lions fans by nature, but since Detroit isn’t in Super Bowl contention… they’re rooting hard for Tampa Bay.
Sean Murphy-Bunting jumped on the FaceTime call before it was over and told the kids to “ball out” and enjoy the upcoming basketball season. A simple message that didn’t take a lot of effort, but one that will stay with these student athletes for a lifetime.
