Family Surprises Grandpa at Hockey Game (Exclusive)

Kailey Cullen and her family are extremely close to their 88-year-old grandpa, John “Bozo” Kennedy.

Kennedy, a retired manufacturer’s sales representative, played hockey at the University of New Hampshire from 1956 to 1959 as the goalie. He was awarded the first Roger A. Leclerc Trophy as team MVP in 1958 and, to this day, usually attends at least one game a year.

“He likes to keep up with the team and see how they’re doing each season,” Cullen, 28, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Aside from his love for hockey, he has made us all big football fans, as he’s been a New England Patriots season ticket holder for 54 years.”

“He is always in the loop and up to date with what’s going on with each person in the family,” the Boston local adds. “I admire him because he is such a genuine person and a joy to everyone. Some of my favorite memories with him are from holidays, playing games or him telling stories.”

For the past few years, Cullen says her family has had a tradition where one of her cousins takes Kennedy to a UNH hockey game. He loves being on campus, especially enjoying the crowds. This year, the family decided to do things a little differently when choosing who would take him to his annual game.

Cullen’s aunt reached out to Mike Murphy at UNH to inquire about adding Kennedy to the alumni list so he could be mentioned at a game, knowing how much it would mean to him and to represent players from the 1950s. Once they received confirmation, the whole family decided to fly in to surprise him. While the surprise unfolded at the restaurant, Cullen captured it on video.

“I also went to UNH, so I made up a story that I won tickets to the game from an alumni group and asked if he wanted to go with me,” Cullen says. “I took him to a restaurant on campus, and my mom and stepdad were there when we walked in. Then, a little while later, my uncle and cousin walked in.”

“They came from New York for the surprise, so that really threw him off,” she adds. “Then my other cousin came in, and my grandpa started texting my aunt to tell her how we surprised him. But she walked in before he could send the text, and after that, we were all there. It brought tears to his eyes.”

But little did Kennedy know, this was only the beginning. Thanks to UNH, at the game, the family also surprised him by putting him on the Jumbotron.

“There was one point when we all got nervous about when they were going to make the announcement about him. We all had our phones out, ready to record, and he turned to my cousin and said, ‘What are they all talking about?’ ” she recalls. “So we realized we needed to stop talking about it with him right there, but even still, he didn’t know what was about to happen.”

After the evening, Cullen compiled all the moments she’d captured and posted them to TikTok, where her video garnered 100,000 views.

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Since the video went viral, Cullen says it’s been wonderful reading through the comments. She hopes people see this and realize that sometimes, it’s the little things in life that can bring so much joy to someone.

“I think his favorite part of the surprise was having us all there with him,” she says. “Of course, he enjoyed the hockey game and the surprise of being recognized and being put on the Jumbotron, but the fact that we were all there with him was definitely his favorite part. He said it was one of the best days of his life.”

“It feels amazing knowing we’ve created such a lasting memory for him,” Cullen continues. “I know we’ll be talking about this for a while. We’ve all watched the video many times, and it just brings a smile to my face each time.”

“Whether it’s people saying they were at the game and how special this moment was, or just people saying how precious the video or my grandfather is, it’s been really nice to see how touched people have been by the video. There was a comment from someone who said their dad was on the team and knew my grandpa, which was cool.”