Local student gets special gift from NFL star

Csenge Csicsek – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- Over winter break, Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) senior Adam Birmingham had the moment of a lifetime. San Francisco 49ers’ defensive end Dee Ford purchased a guitar for Birmingham as a holiday gift after seeing how passionate he was about music, and how talented he was.

Birmingham was playing his dream guitar at Guitar Center in University Town Center, when a man sat down next to him and started playing guitar with him.

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“He asked me how long I’ve been playing,” said Birmingham. “He continued to tell that he and his friend who was also present, were in a band together. I didn’t know that Ford was a professional athlete.”

As Ford got up to go check out, he told Birmingham to pick out anything he wanted at the store.

“When he told me, he would buy me any guitar on the wall, I was shocked,” said Birmingham.

“So, I picked the guitar that I have been playing for over a year and I knew it was real when he handed it to me after paying for everything.”

It was a very inspirational moment for both Ford and Birmingham. This was one of those moments where a stranger selflessly does something nice for someone else, expecting absolutely nothing back. It put a smile on Birmingham’s face before the holidays.

“He told me to ‘pay it forward’, and I plan to do so no matter what it is,” said Birmingham.

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