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TV Exclusive: Chicago Family who met Rodgers talks about chance encounter

Posted at 10:10 AM, Dec 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-04 11:10:04-05

It's a meeting Packers fans can't seem to get enough of.

For about a week now, the Nicoll family can't get away from it.

"If you go to the shares you'll see that people say, that's our Aaron," Julia Nicoll said. "They're sharing with their friends."

The meeting was between a star Packers quarterback and two fans of the Chicago Bears. 

Peter Nicoll, a sports-loving 11 year old, has his room decked out in gear from his favorite Chicago teams. He might need to make a little room for number 12 after a night he will never forget.

"My son and I decided to take a spontaneous trip to the city to see the Christmas decorations," Peter's mom, Julia, said.

"We were standing at a corner in Chicago and I thought I saw Aaron Rodgers," Peter explained. "I whispered to my mom, I think that's Aaron Rodgers."

"I thought no way," Julia said.

She looked again and decided to ask.

"I just really quietly said, are you, and then I stopped myself," she said. "He looked right at me and said, I am. And then I thought, oh my gosh."

Then, they talked. It was just a man to a mom and her son.

"Sports I would do, or anything I would do in life, or about family vacations," Peter said. "He was just talking like a normal person."

"He was like an everyday, normal person who would live on my block," Julia said. "It was that simple. There wasn't a big, it was just really normal, lovely."
 
A nice conversation, from a nice guy - a story that had to be told. Peter shared with his friends.

"Some of them didn't really believe me, but I showed them a picture and they believed me," he said.

Mom Julia shared on Facebook. Packer fans took it from there.

"5,700 people like that photo and the story, isn't that crazy," she said while looking at the shares.

"Every single comment, every one was that's so great in this time, that's what we need to hear," Julia said. "It's so refreshing to hear that a professional athlete was so kind to a mom and an 11 year old boy."

A normal conversation and an unforgettable night. A story worth sharing to the world, with a few moments kept secret. Peter won't say where Rodgers was headed to dinner that night. That will remain between them.