Kaylan King knew she was going to meet Bryce Harper at Nationals Park. The meeting was set up as part of ESPN's "My Wish" series.
But King, a softball player from Gaithersburg with a kidney disorder, didn't know that Harper, her favorite ballplayer, would be waiting for her at an Under Armour outlet in advance of the game.
ESPN captured Harper waiting in the stock room holding a pair of his new Under Armour-designed signature cleats.
"They're not even out yet," Harper tells the camera. "So excited to be able to give her the first pair."
King, 16, looks dizzy for a moment when Harper greets her with the shoes. "I'm real. I'm not a hologram," he tells her, extending her hand.
King has received a kidney transplant and will one day require another, her mother says during the ESPN video.
Harper is one of Under Armour's top endorsers. Continuing its pattern of locking in its top young endorsers with new deals, Under Armour reached agreement in the spring on a multi-year extension of its partnership with the player.
The new contract came one year after Harper's best season with the Nats earned him the National League MVP award.