LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Male High School student was granted the ultimate wish: He's going to the super bowl.
Caleb Efird, 16, loves football. However, it's how the linebacker has carried himself off the gridiron that's scored him points.
"Caleb has always handled himself in the highest level of character that you hope to see in young men," said Chris L. Wolfe, Male's football coach.
That's especially the case when considering what Caleb's been through.
"He's really a special kid," Wolfe said.
Caleb was 14 when he found a lump in his neck.
"They were like, 'Caleb, you probably have cancer. There's a softball sized tumor in your chest,'" he said.
Caleb was diagnosed with Lymphoma in November 2017.
"I saw my dad cry, and that doesn't happen a whole lot," he said.
He underwent four months of chemo, and the kids weren't always nice.
"Especially freshman year, there's a lot of immaturity," Caleb said. "They stopped talking to me and stuff."
He found out he was in remission in March 2018.
"I appreciate (Wolfe) for treating me normal," Caleb said. "This is one heck of a coach right here. He's got a lot of wins, he's going to get a lot more, and he's a good man too."
Throughout the process, the game of football didn't leave his mind.
"I was in a hospital room with a plastic piece in the side of my ribs and getting surgeries to winning a championship," he said. So, that was pretty fast. Life's crazy."
It was about to get crazier. Norton Children's Hospital referred his name to Make-A-Wish. It just so happened renowned sports agent Leigh Steinberg had extra tickets to the Super Bowl.
"(Steinberg) got three tickets left for Make-A-Wish kids," Caleb said. "(Make-A-Wish) wants to sponsor you. I'm like, 'I'm all in. Let's go.'"
Caleb and his siblings fly to Miami on Friday morning for the exclusive 33rd annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party on Saturday and then the game of a lifetime. He doesn't care who wins as long as it's a good game.
After all: He's already won.
"I think probably that's what he wants to be, probably, just one of the guys," Wolfe said. "And I think he's there now, except someone who's gone to the Super Bowl."
Saturday is Caleb's 17th birthday.
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