"Rome!"
It's a simple answer to a simple question for 6-year-old Evelyn "Evie" Johnson: "What was the best part of your trip to Chicago?"
Evie — who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March — and her family experienced a special weekend that included visiting Halas Hall, meeting Bears players and attending Sunday's game against the Patriots. But for those close to Evie, her answer is a no-brainer.
Living in White Salmon, Wash., with her parents Kyle and Whitney — who met while attending the University of Washington – Evie developed a passionate fandom for Rome Odunze while he was a receiver for the Huskies.
A fandom that stemmed from hearing Odunze's voice on TV broadcasts, seeing his bright blonde hair on the sidelines and watching the talented wideout make plays for Washington soon turned into a mode of support for Evie while she went through cancer treatments this summer.
After a particularly challenging day in June, Kyle went to Evie's bedroom to console his daughter. Evie told her father she was upset over the fact that Odunze — who had been drafted by the Bears in April — was no longer a Husky. She thought she'd never see him play football again.
"It kinda broke my heart, but also made me smile at the same time, which I needed at the time," Kyle said. "She doesn't really understand the whole college versus NFL thing, so my reaction was just like, 'it is sad. We loved him. He's a great player and by all accounts, a really great person, but aren't we really excited about him getting to keep playing football and follow his dreams?' I think that kind of helped her. She realized, 'oh, it's like a good thing for him.'"
Kyle captured the moment on his phone for his own memory and posted the video on social media to share with the Husky community. It didn't take long for Odunze to discover the post.
"It was immediately heartstrings tugging just for my time at UW ending and the fans in general. Having that time come to an end was a bittersweet moment." Odunze said. "But seeing that video was awesome, just seeing how passionate she was about it and how much she was drawn to our team and my play in particular. I had to reach out and let her know I'm still playing football. I'll still be out there just in different colors. That time at UW was special and I'm so glad it touched so many people's hearts and hopefully I can continue to do so with the Bears organization."
Odunze went on to send a direct message to Kyle, which included a personal video for Evie — one she now watches frequently to help ease her pain on tougher days in the hospital.
Over the summer, the Bears got in touch with the Johnson family and invited Evie, Kyle, Whitney and the couple's 4-year-old daughter Eleanor out to a game at Soldier Field. Once it was safe enough for Evie to travel, the trip was planned and the family set off for Chicago last Friday.
The Johnson's next stop was Halas Hall Saturday morning. Community engagement strategist Emily Rooney welcomed the family to Halas Hall and helped make their visit to Chicago smooth and comfortable.
Decked out in her Odunze jersey t-shirt, Evie made her way to the practice viewing suite to watch the team's walk-through, where she quickly found and pointed out her favorite player before playing some games and discovering Monsters of the Midway trading cards. Evie and Eleanor made new playmates in the suite as they were joined by executive assistant Autumn Swindell's two children.
Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and President & CEO Kevin Warren spent time visiting with Evie and her family and expressed their appreciation for them making the trip to Chicago.
Just months ago, the Johnsons didn't have ties to the Bears, but Whitney felt the family's connection to the organization begin to blossom Saturday.
"The support from our family, our friends, our small community at home to this larger football community has just been unbelievable and completely heartwarming and honestly a little overwhelming," Whitney said. "These are going to be special memories our family is going to remember for the rest of our lives."
As walk-through neared its conclusion, the Johnsons made their way down to the practice field where they were joined by special advisor to the President/CEO & chief administrative officer Ted Crews, who helped facilitate the family's visit with the Bears. Crews first got in touch with the Johnsons after Odunze's message to Evie in June and expressed his appreciation for them flying out to Chicago to support the rookie.
As Evie eagerly awaited the chance to meet Odunze, kicker Cairo Santos, punter Tory Taylor and receiver DJ Moore stopped by to see her.
Minutes later, Odunze came over to finally meet Evie and her family. Neither the Bears rookie nor Evie could keep from smiling as Odunze thanked her for supporting him as both a Husky and a Bear.
Even though Evie grew shy as Odunze spoke with her, Whitney could feel how impactful the moment was for her daughter.
"She's pretty quiet, but when it's just us and it's nighttime, she loves to talk about it," Whitney shared. "She's so excited and happy. She really just kind of takes things in and then at night after she has had time to think about it, she'll say, 'that was so awesome.'"
The introductions kept coming for Evie as quarterback Caleb Williams stopped by, played catch with Eleanor and talked with Evie about how he paints his nails for game day. Fellow Husky alumni Coleman Shelton and Kyler Gordon also joined in on the fun.
The Johnsons went out to Soldier Field Sunday to support Odunze and their newly beloved Bears. They were greeted at the gates by McCaskey and his wife, Barb, before making their way to the field to watch pregame warmups.
Evie watched from the sidelines in awe of Odunze as he went through his typical pregame routine, flashing some highlight-reel catches along the way. She also pointed out some of her new friends like Williams and Gordon as they warmed up.
Odunze shared one final moment with Evie Sunday, stopping by the sideline as players made their way into the tunnel before kickoff. In just 24 hours, Evie went from shying away from Odunze to eagerly awaiting his high five.
The moment was equally as special for Odunze, who has been moved by Evie's support and resiliency while battling leukemia.
"Knowing all the struggles she's been through, the adversity and the fight that she has — meeting Evie was awesome," Odunze said. "For the Bears organization to help me out and be able to get Evie and her family out here, that means a lot to me. It's something that I'm super proud of to be able to do and let her have that experience.
"I know she'll remember this for a long time. Things like that are a lot bigger than football and, on this platform, it's a privilege and an honor to be able to do things like this."
As Odunze ran off the field, a smile remained plastered on Evie's face. For Whitney and Kyle, seeing Evie's joy and experiencing those moments as a family was powerful.
"Overwhelming and amazing," Whitney said. "There are no words to describe it."
"A lot of joy brought this weekend by of course, Rome, and the entire Bears organization," Kyle said. "It's an unforgettable weekend. They've got some new Bears fans out in the Pacific Northwest."
Kyle and Whitney never imagined a social media post sharing a challenging yet beautiful part of Evie's journey would lead them to Chicago. While being open to experiences like these took time for Evie's parents, they want their daughter to look back and see memories filled with love and positivity.
"After we ring that bell, we want her to remember this," Kyle said. "We want her to remember good things and not the lumbar punctures and really hard nights and pain. So for us, this is an experience of hopefully sort of turning that page. We want her life to be more about joy and seeing how many beautiful people love her, versus all the bad things that have happened."
