How long has Tyler Shoven been a football fan?

“Since I was born,” Shoven said. “I love football and grew up being a football fan.”

Like his older brothers, Jacob and Luke, Tyler Shoven grew up playing youth football and spent his freshman season in the trenches for the JV Comets in 2021.

But in 2022, as Luke led the Daily Journal area with 27 touchdown passes, Tyler sat out the season for what was just the start of what became a long road to medical recovery.

Born with transposition of the great arteries – meaning his pulmonary artery and aorta were switched – Tyler underwent surgery for a valve replacement that September. On Christmas Eve, the valve ruptured. After a few up-and-down weeks on life support and a little more time recovering, Tyler received a heart transplant.

In February, the Shoven family will happily and healthily celebrate the third anniversary of his transplant. And that’s not all Tyler will be doing that month. After getting together with family for dinner at Sammy’s Pizza in Bourbonnais this past Thursday, he learned that he’ll also be attending the Super Bowl.

As the Shovens sat in the northwest corner of the restaurant, Make-A-Wish Illinois volunteers Gina Cordes and Lisa Holt greeted him with balloons, treats and an oversized Super Bowl ticket with Tyler’s name on it that FASTSIGNS of Kankakee made.

Not long after his transplant, Tyler was contacted by Make-A-Wish, and after officially submitting his wish, was told that it would come true, but not this soon. But after the NFL released more tickets to Make-A-Wish, his dream is now becoming reality a year sooner, as the 45th wish Holt and Cordes have been able to grant in their eight years.

“We knew Tyler’s story, knew some family members and immediately jumped on it,” Cordes said of his wish. “We wanted to be on his journey. ... The NFL allows so many kids to go every year, and they originally said it would be three years out. They upped their admittance this year, and he’s able to go.”

His parents, Jason and Sarah, of Clifton, were able to keep the secret for six days between the day they got the call from Make-A-Wish and last week’s surprise. From the time he had his first surgery when he was 10 days old, Tyler’s fought an uphill battle filled with trying times for the Shoven family.

But as he approached three years post-transplant, those moments have slowly gone from emotionally draining to uplifting. Frowns have flipped to vibrant smiles. There are no more Christmas Eve trips to the emergency room.

His super surprise is the latest of those memories now being made, and those old memories are what make the new ones so special.

“I thought I was prepared (for Tyler’s surprise), but I wasn’t,” Jason said. “It’s been a lot of emotions. The last couple years he’s done extremely well, but this is really cool. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is really incredible with what they do.”

‘The least he deserves’

Tyler wasn’t the only one who was surprised by the news, either. Luke, Jacob, the rest of the family and the staff and the patrons at Sammy’s all found out the same time that Tyler did.

“This is the least he deserves, for sure,” Luke said. “After all he’s done, after seeing me and Jacob being able to perform well with our bodies when he can’t because of what he’s gone through, this really is the least he deserves.”

Both Luke and Jacob were three-sport standouts in football, basketball and baseball before moving on to Olivet Nazarene University, where Luke currently plays baseball and where Jacob played football and has one semester of school left.

Jacob said that Tyler used to wonder why he was put on his path, but he’s since realized.

“I’ve seen him go through stuff no kid should ever have to go through,” Jacob said. “He’s persevered through everything and not let anything get in his way. He asked one time, ‘Why me?’ and one time he said that God chose him for a reason. I think he put his trust in God, and everything worked out.”

Thanking God and the community for his support along the way, Tyler managed to graduate on time last May despite all of his setbacks. It’s moments like those that the Shoven family appreciates more these days, and after all he’s endured, Tyler’s parents are in no rush for their youngest son to keep growing up.

“We’re letting him enjoy some good health and take some time to hang out and enjoy being a kid since he missed a big chunk of that,” Jason said. “We’re just waiting to see what his next chapter is gonna be, but it’s really exciting.”

As miraculous as his recovery has been and as unlikely as getting to go to the Super Bowl may seem, many would likely find it surprising if Tyler has his druthers on who he gets to see in the big game.

“Hopefully, the Bears can make the Super Bowl,” Tyler said. “That would make this wish even better.”