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The parents of Australian NFL star Jordan Mailata fly 10,000 miles to see him play for the first time, only to have fans of their son’s team apologize to them after suffering their worst loss of the season.
- Father Tupa’i and mother María de Mailata flew 16,000 km to see him play
- Ended up witnessing the worst loss of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles
- Philadelphia fans apologized to them for the display as they lashed out at the team.
Finally, getting his parents to travel to the other side of the world to see him play in the NFL for the first time should have been a lifelong highlight for Australian star Jordan Mailata, but instead it turned into something of a nightmare.
The former NRL player’s Philadelphia Eagles laid an egg of epic proportions when they were beaten 20-10 by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday local time, and fans were so embarrassed that they apologized to the Australian’s mum and dad.
Mailata’s father, Tupa’i, and mother, Maria, had never had the opportunity to watch their son play in the NFL, which he joined in the 2018 draft before impressive fans and pundits by becoming one of the best in the league at his position, left tackle.
The demands of catching up despite never having played the game before he was drafted by the Eagles, Covid travel restrictions, and the massive 10,000km journey from his hometown of Sydney, meant Mailata remained separated from his parents for three years.
Mailata hadn’t seen her parents (pictured together) for three years thanks to Covid travel restrictions and the long journey from Australia to Philadelphia, but their reunion didn’t go as planned.
The gigantic Australian (right) cut a lone figure on the Eagles’ bench after their upset loss to the New Orleans Saints.
That ended late last week, when Tupa’i and Maria arrived in Philadelphia, and the city anticipated the Eagles would make a fine run for a second Super Bowl title after being the best team in the NFL for long stretches of the season.
The Saints were supposed to be easy, leading Mailata to say before the game: “I hope Linc [Lincoln Field, Philadelphia’s home ground] it can give them a good experience, hopefully not too much booing. That would be great for the game at my parents’ house.
Instead, the Eagles walked off the field amid a chorus of boos after the loss, which kept them scoreless in the first half for the only time this season.
The loss means they missed out on securing the vital No. 1 seed for the playoffs, which would have guaranteed them home field advantage in the postseason, and Eagles fans, famously outspoken, didn’t hold back with their critics.
‘Sorry for your family @jordan_mailata they had to see Minshew today. Please ask them to come back when Hurts’ plays, one fan tweeted, alluding to backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, who played poorly in the absence of regular quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“@Eagles if you think you feel bad imagine being Jordan Mailata’s family flying in from Australia to watch that horrible game,” another Philly die-hard wrote.
Tupa’i and Maria Mailata had good seats as they watched their son play an NFL game for the first time. However, what they saw on the field was not so good.
Eagles fans, who are not known for holding back when criticizing their team, apologized to Mailata’s parents for the shocking loss.
‘Honestly, the one I feel the worst for is @jordan_mailata’s family. He showed up at his first Eagles game and he had to see it. I wish it was a better experience for them,” another fan added.
“They’re doing this in front of Jordan Mailata’s parents how dare they,” Brooke Destra wrote.
To make matters worse for Mailata, many fans said he should have been called for a crucial penalty that negated a touchdown run, instead of fellow offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, who was flagged incorrectly on the play.
After the game, the 166 kg lineman was direct about what defeat meant for the team.
“Loses will always expose the foundation of a team,” he said.
“If there’s not a sense of responsibility from the team as a whole when we see that movie, then fuck, we’ve wasted an entire season.”
The Eagles face the New York Giants in their final regular season game next Sunday and can still clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed if they win and the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers lose.