Sept. 19, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- A little over a year ago, Christian Brady stood on the grass at Jeffrey Field and looked out at the scene around him, many emotions running through his mind.
It was September 13, 2013. The Penn State men's soccer team had just battled California, the No. 5 team in the nation, to a 1-1 tie. For Brady however, the night was about much more than soccer.
Brady, the Dean of Penn State's Schreyer's Honor College, had lost his eight-year-old son Mack less than nine months earlier to an unexpected blood infection on Dec. 31, 2012. It was just 16 days before Mack's ninth birthday.
Mack, a huge Penn State soccer fan and aspiring goalie, was honored by the Nittany Lions that night against California, in what was dubbed "Mack Brady Night."
"The night was phenomenal," Brady said. "Obviously it doesn't get any easier, but it was incredibly powerful and emotional moment or us. It was such an incredible game."
Nearly 21 months have gone by since Mack Brady lost his life, but his legacy at Penn State is as strong as ever. This Sunday, the Nittany Lions will host the second annual Mack Brady Game when they play Ohio State at 1 p.m.
For the second straight year, Christian Brady will watch as the Penn State community rallies around him, his wife Elizabeth and his daughter Isabel.
For the second straight year, he will find comfort in the 26 players and three coaches who have become a second family to him.
For the second straight year, he will wish that his son could see everything that he has inspired.
And for the second straight year, the day will mean much more than which team winds up ahead on the scoreboard.
How 'Mack the Jeff' Began
"Last year, they ran a promotion for the game and said they wanted fans to 'Pack the Jeff,'" Brady said. "I suggested that it should be changed to 'Mack the Jeff.'"
What started as a simple suggestion, a way to encourage fans to take part in a celebration of Mack's life, didn't take long to catch on.
In the days leading up to the California game, the phrase 'Mack the Jeff' began to show up across every outlet of social media. By game time, Jeffrey Field was filled with 3,032 fans.
"It's wonderful," Brady said. "It's really humbling how folks have rallied around during this time."
Goalkeeper University
Mack Brady was a child that was passionate about many things, and soccer was certainly among them.
By the age of five, Mack had fallen in love with the position of goalkeeper. It was his dream to one day suit up in goal for the Nittany Lions and later the United States Men's National Team.
After his passing, his parents knew that there was no better way to remember him than to give back to the soccer program. They established the Mack Brady Fund to support Penn State's goalkeeping program with youth clinics, new equipment and scholarship funds.
The goal of the fund? Turn Penn State into the best goalkeeping school in the country.
"We wanted to be able to inspire something more and we want to make Penn State Goalkeeper U," Brady said. "The fact that Mack has inspired this is pretty special."
In return, the Nittany Lions have given back to the Brady's as well.
Since the beginning of last season, the Penn State goalies have worn a patch on their jerseys in honor Mack.
For Andrew Wolverton, being asked to wear the patch is as high an honor as he can imagine. Higher than being named last season's Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, and higher than one becoming Penn State's record holder for career shutouts.
"It's a great honor, obviously, to always be playing for Mack," Wolverton said. "Every time we come out here we want to do our best but it's different when you're playing a little kid like that. You just want to get a shutout on his day."
Those types of sentiments are the one's that mean the most to Christian Brady.
"It means a lot when the players tell me how much they think about Mack," Brady said. "Coach [Bob Warming] has brought together a great group of young men who seem to appreciate this."
The Next Stage
All the sympathy in the world can't replace the void that Mack's passing has left in Christian Brady's life.
Now, almost two years later, Brady and his wife and daughter are slowly learning to live without Mack.
"Obviously we wish this never had to happen," Brady said. We're slowly living with the loss of Mack. We'd love to have him back if that was a choice. We're going to find joy in seeing the guys play and we know that if Mack could, he'd be out there cheering them on."
During the most painful times, Brady found himself lucky to have Warming to lean on. Nine months prior to Mack's death, Warming lost his 21-year old daughter Audrey in a car accident.
One thing that the two tragic events have taught both men, it is that they are fortunate to live in a community like State College, and be a part of a school like Penn State.
"What a wonderful community this is that it comes out and supports one of our own who's had a tragedy in his life," Warming said. "What sticks out to me is what a great place Penn State is and what a great place State College is. We're all in this thing together and I think people realize that."
When Brady watches the Nittany Lions take the field against the Buckeyes on Sunday, he knows his son will be with him.
Mack Brady's legacy lives on, not just with his father and the Penn State soccer team, but with every Nittany Lions fan who shows up to "Mack the Jeff."