Seven-year-old Bengals fan Jack Hoffman wins ESPY Award for Best Moment

Published Jul. 18, 2013 9:32 a.m. ET

foxsports

It's hard to forget the story of seven-year-old Jack Hoffman, the Bengals fan battling cancer with his favorite player, Rex Burkhead, by his side.
Jack's story allowed for an uplifting moment for the Nebraska cornhuskers when they needed inspiration during a big game against Ohio State. That moment was awared the 'Best Moment' at Wednesday night's ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.
In May, Kevin Goheen told the story of the 'Team Jack Foundation' and how Burkhead became it's biggest supporter and Jack's biggest fan.

The courageous child and then Nebraska Cornhusker first met in September 2011, days before Jack would undergo invasive surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. The two became close friends and Jack became an inspiration to Burkhead and his Nebraska teammates when they needed it most.

Jack offered Rex a bracelet when they first met, and Rex put it on and asked for more for his teammates. Rex has been wearing it ever since, including during a 34-27 win against Ohio State on national TV on Oct. 8, 2011, two days before Jack was to undergo his second surgery.

Nebraska trailed 27-6 in the third quarter before rallying for the largest comeback victory in school history. Burkhead rushed for 96 of his 119 yards and scored the tying and go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The announcers, ABC’s crew of Sean McDonough, Matt Millen and Jeannine Edwards, told the audience about Jack after Nebraska took the lead.

“That clip still gives us chills,” Andy Hoffman said. “The friendship is great, the awareness is great and we’ve talked about how he’s helped us further the cause of this disease with the prayer and support. But here we are (chokes up, pauses a second) when Jack needs it the most (again pauses, this time a little longer) … We basically had a national prayer request for Jack on prime-time ABC a day before his surgery. It doesn’t get any better than that.”