From tragedy comes happiness, a Mt. Juliet family sadly lost their home in a fire that destroyed the apartment complex where Chris Kelsey and his son Max live. Both are diehard Nashville SC fans, Kelsey only a few days before the fire waited with 2,000 people ahead of him at 10 in the morning to get tickets for the Leagues Cup final between Nashville SC and Inter Miami.
The fire destroyed Max’s entire Nashville SC collection; it was a bitter pill to swallow. Kelsey told NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, “I woke up to people pounding on my door and that’s when I realized that the building was on fire… for me, it was mostly losing (Max’s) stuff,” said Chris. “I was very emotional as a parent about the whole thing.”
Supporters of Nashville SC heard of what happened and were able to replace some of the team gear Max had lost, then the club called inviting the two to the Leagues Cup final, but with a special perk.
Max takes the field with Lionel Messi
“We had no idea that it was going to be what it was,” said Chris. While Chris knew his son would participate in the pregame ceremony, he did not know that Max would walk out hand in-hand with Lionel Messi.
“I didn’t know until I saw it on the jumbo screen and like I said I just broke down and lost it.” While Nashville SC eventually lost the match on penalty kicks, giving Lionel Messi his first title as a Inter Miami player, the joy Chris Kelsey’s son had walking out with the world champion was all worth it.
“It just meant so much to me, like you know, just for people I’ve never met before to have that kind of kindness in their heart and try to make a new memory,” Kelsey said.
