Steelers WR Claypool touching the lives of fans
TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (BVM) — It may be smack dab in the middle of the NFL season, but one Pittsburgh Steelers rookie is still taking the time to appreciate his fans. Just last week, wide receiver Chase Claypool recently gifted an autographed jersey to Jimmy Swoager of Alabama, who was recently diagnosed with dementia.
This wouldn’t have taken place without the help of Swoager’s son. His son, BJ, is an influencer on the video app TikTok, having over 600,000 followers. He used his platform to share the story of his dad, Jimmy, a Pittsburgh native who has dedicated his life to cheering on the black and gold. The video picked up steam, and caught the eyes of the Steelers’ rookie.
Claypool reached out to BJ, letting him know exactly what he wanted to do. That entailed videoing himself signing the jersey, dropping it off at FedEx, and posting it on TikTok. Jimmy may be losing some of his memory as a Steelers fan, but Claypool wanted to make a memory that’ll be hard to forget.
Chase Claypool sent an autographed jersey for a Steelers fan diagnosed with dementia.
His reaction to receiving the jersey: priceless 🥺 (via bjswoager/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/5TOm3UiZGd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 27, 2020
“My dad is the best dad in the world…I played college baseball, I played from ages 4 through 23. He missed 1 game in those 23 years. My dad can’t remember these little moments in life,” BJ said. “I thought what if somehow, someway, somebody showed dad some love. I had no expectations. I thought it’d get some views and people would say they love my dad.”
What followed was his interaction with Claypool and the eventual delivery of the signed jersey. It was signed “Jimmy! Thank you for being a lifelong Steelers fan!”, and made the room emotional. In BJ’s video, his father is seen crying, forever grateful for the gift he received.
“The last five days, his memory has been amazing. He’ll remember Chase, that he’s from Canada, little things like that,” BJ said. “He hasn’t had emotions for five to six months (since his diagnosis), and now he’s starting to laugh and cry.”
The high-character act by the rookie standout moved mountains for the Swoager family. But after a life devoted to supporting his hometown team, Jimmy may have deserved that jersey. More likely than not, it’ll probably be hung in the room of his house that stores strictly Steelers memorabilia.
He has loads of terrible towels and jerseys there, a culmination of his many years of Steelers support.
“It was black and gold my whole life growing up. We’d go up to Pittsburgh to watch games. We’ve been to playoff games. Every Sunday and Monday we were watching games with dad. He’s an avid fan, yelling at television,” BJ said. “He watched all the 70s Super Bowls, and followed that legacy with us. As kids in our pictures, we all have Steelers gear on. It’s part of our life.”
Back in the day, Jimmy even used to hang out with players that lived nearby. There was a local bar down the block from his Pittsburgh home, and he would often belly-up at the bar, drinking amongst some of the players.
He’s been a fan for so long that he remembers watching the all-time greats like Mean Joe Green, Jack Lambert and Lynn Swann. He also enjoys recent greats like Big Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu.
“He’ll say ‘Pola-mala-mala’,” BJ said. “He can never say his last name.”
But despite these many years of dedication to one franchise, it’s been a while since Jimmy has been back home. Because he’s not a fan of flying, the family used to hop in the van and do the 13-hour drive from Alabama to Pittsburgh. Now, that’s too long for him to be driving.
While they’ll be going to Jacksonville to see the Steelers take on the Jaguars, the family still wants to get him back to Pittsburgh. Some way, somehow, they want Jimmy to see the Steelers play at Heinz Field once again.
“That’d be a dream come true (going to Heinz Field).” BJ said. “He (Jimmy) said if the Steelers go to the Super Bowl he said, ‘I don’t care, I’m going.’”
