Owings Mills 9-Year-Old Delivers Ravens Pep Talk

OWINGS MILLS, MD — A pint-sized celebrity paid a visit to the Under Armour Performance Center recently ahead of the Ravens-Eagles game. Zion Harvey, who made history last year as the first child to receive a double hand transplant, told the Baltimore team that he wanted them to "destroy" their Philadelphia opponents.

Standing next to Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, the 9-year-old addressed the team with two messages: "First, I'm going to try to make it to the game," Harvey said. "Second, I want...everybody at the game to destroy the Eagles."

Quarterback Joe Flacco scooped up Harvey into the team huddle, where they cheered "Destroy!" on the count of three.

Watch the video of Zion Harvey's visit with the Ravens.

The Ravens beat the Eagles, 27-26, on Sunday.

Although he wanted the Ravens to beat the Eagles, Harvey had his own connection to the city of Philadelphia, and it was a positive one.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia performed a double hand transplant procedure on him last summer that was the first of its kind for a child. When he was 2 years old, his hands had been amputated due to an infection.

A year after surgeons performed the transplant, Harvey is shaking hands with Harbaugh, Flacco, Terrell Suggs and Steve Smith Sr., who are preparing now to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas.

Words of wisdom from the 9-year-old apply there too: "...never give up on what you're doing," Harvey said in an interview one year after his surgery, as he worked to train his brain and hands to work together. Said Harvey: "You'll get there."

See Also:

• Owings Mills Boy with New Hands Throws First Pitch at O's Game
• Boy Returns Home After Double Hand Transplant
• Owings Mills Boy Receives Groundbreaking Double Hand Transplant

Still image from the Baltimore Ravens/YouTube.