London, Ont.'s Jessie Fleming surprises young soccer fan with sweet gift
A young girl watching Canada's gold-medal winning women's national soccer team play in Ottawa on Saturday got a big surprise from midfielder Jessie Fleming.
After the game, Nigel Wallis and his daughter, nine-year-old Logan -- who was wearing a replica of Fleming's number 17 jersey -- were at the sidelines waving a Canadian flag.
Wallis tweeted that's when Fleming, "ran all the way across the field to the dugout, and all the way back to ask whether our daughter wanted her jersey. So incredibly kind."
Canada's national team had just concluded a match against New Zealand (which they won 5-1) as part of their Gold Medal Celebration Tour.
Wallis tells CTV News London his daughter, who plays rec level soccer, "was really excited to see the team -- professional female athletes -- in person."
The family had watched avidly as Canada's women's team took home the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
And after Fleming said it was nice to meet her, Wallis says, "Our kid was sort of awestruck in muteness…"
Wallis tweeted that his daughter slept in the jersey all night.
He says it was "just really sweet of a pro athlete to notice a kid [among] the fans and then to take the time and energy from all the things she has to do post-match (cool down stretching, rehydrate, grab dry clothes, etc.) to make our daughter’s day/week/month. It was very kind of her."
And he encourages everyone to head out and catch a game as part of the team's tour and support the growth of women's soccer.
"The team is awesome, games are super fun, and they’ll have a great time celebrating the historic gold while supporting the team for the future."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.