Seeing a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in-person at an Air Reserve hangar is pretty exciting.

Even more thrilling, though?

The moment Justin Jefferson walked out from behind the aircraft.

"I was honestly amazed," laughed 18-year-old Avery Fast.

Avery and nine other young men had spent the earlier part of the day touring the Vikings practice facility as part of a fully planned Make-A-Wish weekend. They and their families were gifted multiple items of team merchandise, including No. 18 Jefferson jerseys, and then the special guests were ushered into a darkened auditorium.

When the lights came up, Avery thought they might see Jefferson standing on stage. Instead, the group was surprised with custom-designed bomber jackets.

"That's when I thought he was gonna show up," Avery said. "So when we got to the hangar, I wasn't anticipating it anymore. I was like, 'He's not gonna be here, of all places. And turns out, that's actually where he was. So that was really cool. Yeah, that was so much fun."

The Vikings hosted 10 Make-A-Wish youth last month for an incredibly special "Jets Day," pulling out all the stops for a once-in-a-lifetime experience with Justin "Jets" Jefferson. Each of the young people, who ranged from 5 to 18 years old, have faced significant medical challenges and were given the opportunity to request anything they wanted through the Make-A-Wish nonprofit. All 10 had asked to meet and spend time with the Vikings receiver.

Jefferson later reflected on young people from all over the country using their Make-A-Wish to meet him.

"It's pretty crazy," he said. "You know, out of all the players in this league, out of all the sports that we have, they chose me to be with for this. So that's pretty special for me to think about — to really think that I've come from a small place, you know, a place we don't really get too much of that type of hype.

"It was just great to have that experience for them and, really, for them to [see] I'm a normal person, they can talk to me about anything, and they can have fun with me and be present with me during that moment," Jefferson continued.

Upon meeting the young people and their families at the hangar, Jefferson participated in a Q&A moderated by Sunday Night Football's Maria Taylor and offered inspirational words and takeaways. He then spent an additional two hours connecting and creating intentional memories.

Interactive stations were set up throughout the hangar, a flight simulator and photo ops with the F-16, a Lockheed C-130, Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Boeing AH-64 Apache. Jefferson, wearing a custom flight suit, enjoyed climbing into the Chinook's cockpit with a few of his new friends.

The Make-A-Wish guests visited with servicemembers, even getting to meet therapy dog Diesel, and also stopped by Jefferson-themed pop-ups to receive "Jets" swag, Oakley sunglasses, a new pair of Under Armour kicks courtesy of Tradehome Shoes and even replica "Jets Day" chains from Continental Diamond.

Jefferson did the Griddy with nearly every young man but perhaps most with 5-year-old Gabe Downey, who has battled cancer and wished to show off Jets' signature dance with the wideout.

"You don't care about the planes or the jacket or the sunglasses, do you?" Jefferson laughed. "You just wanna Griddy!"

Avery, a native of Windom, Minnesota, explained he was diagnosed as an eighth grader with a benign brain tumor after suffering a seizure. Surgery unfortunately wasn't able to resect the entirety of the tumor based on its location, so Avery still underwent chemotherapy treatments in efforts to shrink the mass. To this day, he still has a portion of the tumor in his brain; thankfully, it doesn't currently affect his day-to-day life.

"We started out with monthly checkups, and now it's every three months — and that's gonna keep getting longer and longer," he explained. "It'll be a part of me for the rest of my life, and that's OK. I turned out fine, and I'm here now, so it's amazing."

Jeremiah, 16, is part of the Make-A-Wish program after being diagnosed in February 2025 with a heart condition. The discovery came as a shock to the teenager, who was required to abruptly quit football after spending most of his life playing the sport.

"It was heartbreaking," he described. "It was hard for me, getting through it, and I just believe I can fight through it and get back to my passion [in some way]."

Jeremiah, his dad and his brother traveled from North Carolina to be a part of Jets Day.

Though he doesn't have a regional connection to New Orleans or the Twin Cities, Jeremiah explained he first took notice of Jefferson in 2017 when he played for LSU.

"I was like, 'Who is that? Who is No. 2?' " Jeremiah recalled. "I'm like, 'Maybe I should support him. Be his fan.' And then when he started getting popular, you know, with the Griddy and all that, I'm like, 'Oh, this dude is the real deal.' So when he came to the Vikings, I'm like, 'Oh, snap. I've gotta support this team.'

"So yeah," he added with a grin, "that's how this all started."

Jeremiah was encouraged by conversations with Jefferson and felt reinvigorated to stay around the sport of football, even if that means coaching or scouting rather than being on the field. He's taken notice of the impact Jefferson makes on children in Minnesota and beyond and hopes he can replicate some of that positive influence.

Uplifting Jeremiah and the other youth is exactly why Jefferson does what he does in the community.

"That [heart condition] isn't something that he wished for. That's not something that he dreamed of happening, but you know, the difficulty of his life and those circumstances, he had no choice but to give up football," Jefferson said. "But you know, talking to me … he felt the love still there, and he felt that he should still be around the game of football. So it's pretty cool to have that impact, and to have that type of vibe from a kid that's really still learning things and still trying to figure out his life.

"You know, I always think about my mom during these types of things, because she's always preached to me about giving back to the younger community, especially," Jefferson continued. "These people are going to remember this moment for the rest of their lives."

They certainly will.

Avery, Jeremiah, Gabe, Aiden (11), Cooper (16), Jayce (14), Jensen (8), Liam (12), Nash (16) and Wyatt (8) soaked in every moment of Jets Day, which didn't end with the hangar visit.

Though Jefferson did depart following the portion of the day, the Vikings had additional surprises in store for the young men and their families.

A bus took them to U.S. Bank Stadium for a private tour of the Vikings game-day home; they next were told they would get to run through the Vikings tunnel onto the field during the "Showtime Sequence" rehearsal in advance of Minnesota's home opener.

Each Make-A-Wish recipient was announced individually and ran through the tunnel as the Vikings ship's dragon spewed steam and purple-hued lights flashed. Some made sure to do the Griddy, while others sprinted as fast as they could onto the field. Jeremiah surprised everyone by doing a backflip during his entrance.

"I planned that," Jeremiah said with a smile.

The special guests met and interacted with the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders and Vikings SKOL Line before being invited to the team's locker room for a catered dinner. Upon entering the locker room, an excited buzz quickly spread as the 10 young men discovered their own personalized lockers. Name plates hung over each space, which featured an authentic Vikings helmet, more merch and custom-made trading cards courtesy of Fanatics.

"This is crazy!" Avery exclaimed, checking out his locker with his two older siblings.

Nash, who lives with a neuromuscular disorder, used his wheelchair to maneuver to his favorite players' lockers (including Jefferson, of course) and snap photos in front of them. He beamed at each stop, repeatedly expressing disbelief in the whole experience.

If Nash and the rest of the group thought surprises were wrapping up there, they weren't.

The families after dinner were informed they'd arrive the next morning for a Fanatics-donated shopping spree at the Vikings Team Store. They also attended the team's Saturday walk-through session at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, reuniting with Jefferson and having the chance to meet several of his teammates and Head Coach Kevin O'Connell.

Jets Day (Weekend) wrapped up Sunday, when the families were able to view the Vikings-Falcons game from the Tradehome Shoes turf-level suite. The Make-A-Wish recipients wore their bomber jackets to welcome Jefferson to the stadium, and Jefferson reconnected with them postgame, despite a tough loss, to offer final encouraging words.

"This is just such an amazing experience," Avery said. "It's truly once-in-a-lifetime. There's not many people who get to experience something like this, and I think that's kind of the whole point, which is awesome. From beginning to end, it was just amazing.

"I'm just thankful for moments like these," Avery added. "I didn't even know it would be possible, for real, but I'm just thankful to have this opportunity, to be out here and enjoying my favorite sport, meeting new people and great people. I absolutely love it."

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