Sunday was an extraordinary day for NFL player Demaryius Thomas -- and it wasn’t just because his team, the Denver Broncos, got one step closer to the Super Bowl.
For the very first time in his pro football career, Thomas’ biggest fan was in the stands to cheer him on: his mom.
As NFL.com reports, Thomas’ mom, Katrina Stuckey Smith, has been in a Florida prison since 2000, serving a 20-year sentence for drug trafficking.
She, however, was one of 46 nonviolent drug offenders whose sentences were commuted by President Barack Obama back in July.
“God is good,” Thomas reacted to the news at the time, calling his mom “his best lady.”
Smith was released from prison to a halfway house in November, but she was reportedly barred from travelling for 60 days.
Once that ban lifted though, Smith had just one desire -- to see her son play football as a pro.
Decked out in Broncos garb and eagerly snapping photos of her son on the field, Smith was in Denver on Sunday night to watch her son’s team play the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Broncos bested the Steelers 23-16, and will advance to next weekend’s AFC championship game.
According to 9News, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning helped make the day even more special for mom and son. Manning reportedly gave Thomas the game ball so he could give it to Smith.
Thomas, who was just a pre-teen when his mom was sentenced to prison, was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He’d previously played college football for Georgia Tech.
Earlier on HuffPost: