5 years after kidney transplant, these 2 Eagles and Packers fans are back together
For a set of Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers fans, Monday's Week 10 matchup is bigger than a game. Organ donation originally brought these fans together, but it's football that keeps this friendship going.
Jason and Jodi Stepongzi are diehard Eagles fans from Nazareth, while Bobbi and Willi Brenner are cheese heads from Rochester, Minnesota.
Jason Spepongzi and Bobbi Brenner, despite repping different shades of green, are forever linked,
"If people are thinking about donating," Spepongzi said, "I live a normal life. Nothing's changed, other than having an extended family."
Spepongzi donated his kidney to Brenner, a total stranger, five years ago. It was a Facebook post two years before that, though, that inspired him to become a donor in the first place.
At the time, a young Eagles fan named Jaxson was looking for a kidney.
"I just read it, just felt the need to do something," Spepongzi said. "I would want someone to help my kid."
While Spepongzi wasn't a match for the toddler, he was a match for Brenner. This kidney would be her fourth after years of dialysis. In July 2020, the transplant happened.
"When I finally met her, it was definitely emotional in the parking lot," Spepongzi said.
Spepongzi shared a photo of the first time he met Brenner in person, about a year after that life-changing day.
"We first decided to get together," Willi Brenner said. "We figured the Pro Football Hall of Fame was the halfway point between Rochester and Philadelphia. When we were leaving that one, I said to Jason and Jodi, the next time the Eagles come to Lambeau, we're going to get tickets and that's going to be the next time we get together face to face."
While a kidney transplant brought them together, football keeps their friendship going.
As for Jaxson, he was able to receive a kidney on Christmas Day in 2020 from another donor. His dad says the now 9-year-old is doing well.