On the same night, his grandfather, Jerry Maye, over 750 miles away, entered Goodman Arena in Salisbury, eager to shake hands with members of the 2026 Catawba College baseball team at the program's annual First Pitch Dinner.
Jerry, a 1965 Catawba College graduate, was a standout pitcher for the Catawba Indians in his time, leading to a brief career in professional baseball prior to a successful career outside of the game.
It was at Catawba College where he and his wife Rita met, leading to a long, long line of tremendous athletes down the family tree. Their only child, a son named Mark, quarterbacked the University of North Carolina in the mid-to-late 1980s and served as a captain of the team.
From Mark came four boys – Beau and Luke, who played basketball in Chapel Hill; Cole, who won a national championship with the University of Florida's baseball team; and Drake, who, like his father, played quarterback for the Tar Heels, and now leads New England into this weekend's Super Bowl LX.
"We're a family that's seen a lot of ball, B-A-L-L," Jerry said.
Even though none of the four boys donned a Catawba uniform like their grandfather, it wasn't for a lack of trying from the school's Head Baseball Coach.
"We would always tell Jerry, if he knew of a left-hander who was looking to transfer [Cole], the door is always open," Jim Gantt said.
Carolina fans will remember Cole's brother, Luke, from his game-winning shot for UNC in its Elite Eight win over Kentucky in 2017, sending the Heels to the Final Four en route to their sixth national championship.
Jerry watched every second of that game from his couch in Conover – where he plans to watch another grandson play on Sunday.
"I don't know if I can jump quite as high as I did when [Luke] hit his shot some years ago," Jerry said. "But you can bet I'm watching the game."
Rivaled by his love of watching his grandsons play B-A-L-L, Jerry remains very passionate about Catawba College and its baseball program to this day, including a beaming approval of the team's head coach.
"I really think so much of [Gantt]," Jerry said. "I love him. I think he's just a wonderful person and admire him so much for the job he does and has done at Catawba."
Gantt will be the first to tell you, however, that the tradition and expectations of the program under his leadership – as he now enters his 30th season as head coach – were instilled long before Gantt stepped foot on Catawba's campus.
"It tells you about the depth of our program," Gantt said. "From Dick Williams and Harvey Stratton to Jerry – the history runs deep. Even as we go through logo changes, the root of our Catawba Culture runs deep and we can't forget it."
Catawba's baseball teams – from Jerry's teams in the mid '60s to the two-time reigning South Atlantic Conference champions of today – have been admired for their work ethic and a commitment to being the best versions of themselves off the field just as much as on it.
A recent slogan that has embodied the team's spirit is "Be Your Own Hero", suggesting that all one needs to reach what they desire is within themselves.
The saying rings eerily similar to Drake's newest coined nickname now known around the league – "Drake 'Drake Maye' Maye". Like the ball players of his grandfather's alma mater, Drake needs no moniker other than himself. After all, he had to fight for it.
"When the brothers would play 2-on-2 basketball, the older three would say, 'Now, who's going to take Drake?'," Jerry fondly recalled. "[Drake] said that always motivated him growing up and that's all the four of them did was compete in things."
As Drake makes his final preparations for the big game, the week may include one final call to his grandparents, a tradition the three kept for the entire regular season, but at a specified time.
"We got him on a Tuesday early in the season," Jerry said. "He said, 'G-dad, g-mom, we've been winning games talking on Wednesdays, why don't you call us back tomorrow?"
But regardless of when the call takes place, Jerry said his phone call won't have as much football advice as reminders to, perhaps, be his own hero.
"We'll tell him we're praying for him and he will likewise say the same," Jerry said. "We'll tell him to enjoy it fully because it's a blessing and we always tell him, 'Do your thing. Do not hold back. You worked hard. You're prepared. Let it flow and don't do yourself a disservice by not letting what you've prepared for and what the good Lord's given you the ability to put out there [come to fruition]."
As millions settle into their couch to watch the big game between the Seahawks and Patriots on Sunday, Jerry Maye will settle into his too. And if the game comes down to the wire and goes his way, he may just have another big jump off the couch in him.
- Shared from the Catawba Athletics website. Written by Drew Sandifer
