Brandon Graham receives the Mason Spencer Man of the Year Award, thanks to one 8-year-old’s kindness
“You keep showing your kindness and helping people and I hope that one day somebody gives you one too for doing the same thing,” Graham told ‘Mighty Mason,’ who survived a kidney transplant at 3.
Fresh off his Little League game and dressed in his “Royal Blueberries” baseball uniform and his matching cap, 8-year-old Mason Spencer stood beside 6-foot-2, recently retired Brandon Graham. As the two prepared to take photos together, Graham reached for his phone to see a FaceTime call from his wife, Carlyne.
Answering the call, Graham leaned over to show Mason and his parents, Erica and Rich, his phone. Displayed on the screen was Graham’s son, Bryson, at-bat for his own tee-ball game. As Mason watched the screen with his glasses propped above his nose, Bryson hit the ball and Mason, with a smile on his face, gave a slight applause.
A few minutes earlier, Mason presented Graham with the Mason Spencer Man of the Year Award — a trophy Mason decided to make for Graham after the former defensive end missed out on the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Mason had made a video urging fans to vote for Graham — and showed that video to Graham at a previous meeting — but it was not enough, as Graham lost out to Jaguars’ Arik Armstead.
After presenting him the trophy, Mason handed Graham one more item: a signed photo of the two of them together after Mason’s speech at Lincoln Financial Field for the Ronald McDonald House’s 50th anniversary dinner in September.
The two had been together on four separate occasions — from signing events to playing catch on the sideline at the Linc — after Mason developed end-stage renal failure at 3 years old. He needed a kidney transplant in 2019, and “Mighty Mason” sang the Eagles fight song before heading into surgery. Since then, Mason has been to the Super Bowl, spoken publicly about his journey, and created a special bond with Graham.
“[Mason] loves everything about being an Eagle,” Rich said. “And all of a sudden BG steps into our world when we’re going to this Ronald [McDonald House] event and they both spoke on the same night. It was kind of magical from there.”
With each interaction the two have shared, Graham has given Mason a new memory to last a lifetime. On Saturday, Mason wanted to give back to the two-time Super Bowl champion that has already given so much to him and Eagles fans everywhere.
To say he was excited would be an understatement.
Mason woke up at 6:30 a.m. Saturday ready to go. After eating his go-to breakfast, Lucky Charms, he was prepared to leave his Langhorne home and start his day.
“One of the first things he mentioned was that he cannot forget to go get the trophy from the basement,” Erica said.
After his baseball game, Mason went straight to Oxford Valley Mall — accompanied by his parents, his sisters Olivia and Madeline, and his grandparents Paul and Linda — for his fifth meeting with Graham.
After arriving, a nervous Mason slowly approached his “best friend” Graham and carefully placed the trophy in his hands.
“I made you an award,” Mason said.
“I appreciate you, man,” Graham responded as he continued to read what was engraved on the bottom of the trophy. “For kindness and charity. Awarded the Mason Spencer Man of the Year. You keep showing your kindness and helping people and I hope that one day somebody gives you one too for doing the same thing. Keep on doing it.”
After he received his trophy, Graham expressed how excited he was to show it off to his children.
“It’s definitely something that I know my kids are definitely going to love when I go home and show them,” Graham said. “But I hope I’ve inspired them to go out there and just make sure that you’re being kind and being nice to people. Sometimes you just never know what people are going through in life. So, I was just thankful that [Mason] thought about me.”
When asked where he’s going to place the trophy, Graham said, “I’m sure wifey will find out where she’s going to put it.”