Bobby Wagner

Ade Lewis got booed every day at school but still loves his Seahawks

Published Jan. 18, 2016 1:10 p.m. ET

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Teddy Mitrosilis

In the days leading up to the Seahawks-Panthers game this past weekend, diehard Seattle fan Ade Lewis wore Seahawks colors to school to show support for his favorite team.

The problem is Ade lives in South Carolina, so kids at school -- presumably Panthers fans -- gave him trouble for being a loyal member of the 12's. When he'd wear his Seahawks hat to school, the kids would boo him. 

Last Thursday, Ade's mom, Heather, posted a message to Facebook telling everyone what was happening at school and that Ade was building up courage and finally telling bullies, "I don't care if you like [the Seahawks] or not. I do." Still, Heather wanted her son to know there are tons of Seattle fans out there who would have his back, so she shot this out onto social media in the morning:

Later that day, Heather picked up Ade up from school and told him how many "likes" he got on his Facebook post. Ade was hoping for 10, but in roughly six hours, he had received more than 4,000.

Local media picked up the story, and support from other Seahawks fans started filling up Heather's Facebook page. 

Heather, who grew up in Washington state, couldn't believe it, and yet the support was just starting. By Thursday night, the Seahawks themselves heard about Ade's story and were so inspired by his commitment and courage that the team got involved.

Jordan Hill Skyped with Ade later that evening:

Meanwhile, Seattle posted a video to YouTube with Bobby Wagner offering words of encouragement to Ade and saying, "What's up Ade? Heard you out there repping us. I just wanted to let you know we appreciate you, and if anybody try to pick on you we got your back. Don't worry about it."

The next day, head coach Pete Carroll joined in on Facebook to support Ade, and by this time Ade was doing radio interviews in Seattle as Heather wondered what in the heck was happening.

On Saturday, a package arrived at the Lewis house from the Seahawks. It included signed footballs and more Seahawks gear, and also a note from Carroll saying the Lewis family had four tickets and four pregame sideline passes for Sunday's game in Charlotte against the Panthers. 

Yep, Ade was going to see his Seahawks play in the postseason as an official guest of the team. Heather posted this video and wrote, "We are SO excited. I'm overwhelmed by the love and support from this organization and ALL of you Seahawks FAMILY. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for rallying behind my little 12, Ade."

The Seahawks' season ended with a loss to the Panthers, but that didn't stop the Lewis family from creating an awesome memory.

Ade was certainly disappointed his team lost, but he learned a lot of lessons in the last week.

He learned about courage. He learned about being your own person and standing up for what you believe in. And he learned that defeats are sometimes part of life -- you just gotta shrug them off and keep going.

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Bobby Wagner

Seattle Seahawks

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