ALLENTOWN, Pa. — From the time Jahan Dotson was little, his mother, Robin, said she knew her son was going to be something special.
"Everywhere he went he carried a football," she said. "I don't care where it was."
He would sleep with it. Ride in the car with it. At one point, Robin Dotson said, she had to ask relatives to stop giving Jahan toys for Christmas; forget Hot Wheels — give Jahan the football.
Look at how far that little boy from Nazareth has come.
Instead of holding footballs, Dotson, 24, is a Super Bowl champion and signing them.
Jahan Dotson received a joyous homecoming Saturday, during the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' "LIX World Champions Night" at the PPL Center.
"I'm here to have fun and to celebrate the Eagles. I think [Dotson] has been excellent for the team."Fan jack Bachman
Part Mardi Gras party, part Super Bowl celebration, the evening gave Phantoms fans the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with the Philadelphia wideout.
'Once I was a little kid'
Folks lined as much as an hour early for a chance to meet their hero.
They included kid brothers Charlie and Jack Bachman of Nazareth.
"I'm here to have fun and to celebrate the Eagles," Jack Bachman said. "I think [Dotson] has been excellent for the team."
Asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said he wanted to be in the NFL and to play for the Eagles, just like Dotson.
Charlie concurred with big brother.
They got their shot to meet Dotson a few moments later, and presented him with a Wilson football. As he signed it and handed it back to the boys with a smile, their faces lit up with grins as they quickly thanked him and ran off.
Dotson, quiet, soft spoken and humble, treated every fan who approached him with the same degree of kindness and attention.
"Once I was that little kid," said Dotson, who grew up with his parents and older brother in the Nazareth area. "To be able to have that role model, especially one in this area, it's really cool for me."
Zamboni rides, 'E-A-G-L-E-S' chants
With the number of jerseys, hats and "E-A-G-L-E-S" chants in PPL Center, it would be hard to believe that the Birds were in the off-season. (186 days until preseason, but who's counting?)
The one-night Super Bowl extravaganza had been weeks in the making, according to Phantoms' Vice President of Marketing Jordan Cannon.
"Right from the moment they won the Super Bowl, we started planning," Cannon said.
He said he wanted it to be fun not only for the fans, but for Dotson and his family, too.
"All the time."Jahan Dotson, when asked whether he and Saquon Barkley ever talk about the Lehigh Valley
Dotson participated in the night's ceremonial puck drop, led the crowd in a "Let's Go Phantoms!" chant, and even hopped on the Zamboni to help MeLVin, the Phantoms' furry yellow mascot, toss out T-shirts.
"You ever talk about the Lehigh Valley with Saquon Barkley?" Gameday host Ben Youngerman asked Dotson during an on-ice interview.
"All the time," Dotson replied.
Dotson made it back to the suite where his family was seated just in time for the first intermission.
There, mom Robin was waiting along with 1-year-old Jayce, Dotson's son. (According to Dotson, little Jayce loved playing in the confetti following the Super Bowl win.)
'Better than I was last year'
Decked out in a fashionable pink sweatsuit, Robin Dotson said she was thrilled. Saturday night was her first-ever hockey game.
There was no better to make than the one where her boy was being heralded a world champion her first.
"The words can't describe," she said. "We never thought in a million years we'd be here.
"Of course, it was always his dream to play in the NFL. We did what we could to assist him and make him happy. But a Super Bowl champion? Oh, gosh."
Dotson said he does it all for his family, especially for his mom, who has been in a back-and-forth battle with multiple myeloma.
"I wanna do it again. And again and again and again. I'm not too big on accomplishments or anything like that, but I want to be better than I was last year."Jahan Dotson
"It can't be described in words how much their support means, not only with this Super Bowl season but my entire career," Dotson said.
"I love them dearly. With all my heart and everything I do, it's for them."
Jahan Dotson is standing on top of the mountain. He has a Super Bowl ring, one year left in his contract and a red-hot Philadelphia team sure to make another playoff run next year.
What's next?
"I wanna do it again," he said. "And again and again and again. I'm not too big on accomplishments or anything like that, but I want to be better than I was last year."
But the kid from Nazareth will never forget where he came from.
