See inspiring letters between Seahawks’ Derrick Coleman and young fan
Almost 10 million YouTube viewers have watched Seattle running back Derrick Coleman’s Duracell battery commercial.
Two of those viewers hold a special place in his heart.
The clip shows the struggles that Coleman, who has been deaf since the age of 3, has endured throughout his life, culminating in his success with the Super Bowl-bound Seahawks.
Riley Kovalcik, 9, saw the commercial and was inspired to write a letter to Coleman since she and her twin sister are also hearing-impaired. Their father, Jake, posted the heartfelt note on Coleman’s Twitter feed:
@Seahawks @DC2forlife you’ve inspired my little girls in a way I never could. THANK YOU! #Seahawks #SuperBowlXLVIII pic.twitter.com/lhpJfCPOSD— jake kovalcik (@JakeIsMobile) January 21, 2014
“He’s been so successful,” Jake Kovalick told the New York Daily News. “ He’s somebody to look up to and he made her feel like hearing aids are cool.”
The former UCLA running back wrote a pretty amazing response and also posted it on Twitter before heading to a team walkthrough Wednesday morning:
@JakeIsMobile Your girls are awesome! Read them my letter back when you can! Thank you for the support! Means a lot! pic.twitter.com/9x5tQQwNbk— Derrick Coleman Jr (@DC2forlife) January 22, 2014
Coleman said in the Seahawks locker room that afternoon that he receives a lot of letters but that one was special. He added that he just had to respond.
“It means the world to them,” Coleman said of the letter. “It only took a couple of minutes of my time.”
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