Leafs celebrate Kade Foster's birthday but not everyone thinks it was a good idea
The 11 year-old boy who was devastated when no one showed up to his birthday party received quite the surprise when his father's tweet went viral, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to fly him out to a game in celebration of his birthday.
Kade Foster's father, Jason Foster, took to Twitter last week to ask that people send birthday wishes for his son, who was heartbroken after none of his classmates showed up to his party.
My son Kade had his 11th birthday party last night. None of his invited friends came. That hurt. I’m asking my Twitter friends to show him some love today. If you have a minute, please send him a birthday wish. @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/kn0vP1l6z8
— Jason Foster (@NLWildlife) November 3, 2019
What followed was totally unexpected, as the tweet proceeded to go viral and more than 50,000 people offered birthday wishes to Foster.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and Toronto Maple Leafs stars Mitch Marner and John Tavares are just some of the major names who reached out to Foster following the tweet.
At the time, Marner and Tavares both hinted at a special surprise for the young Maple Leafs fan.
In the end, the team flew Foster and his family out to Toronto to attend a game this past weekend.
He was given a cake and serenaded by the entire arena during Saturday's game, and he also got to meet the players in their dressing room before the game.
.@CarltonTheBear with a special delivery for Kade 🎂#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/jGDOrZtxRE
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) November 10, 2019
Many have praised the team for performing such a kind, grand gesture for the boy. But as with any other issue, not everyone is on board.
Photos and videos of Foster at Saturday's game show that he barely cracked a smile throughout and appeared to be quite overwhelmed, which is entirely understandable.
Look how happy he is.
— Jim Pickens (@UneatenToast88) November 10, 2019
And although not everyone smiles when they experience joy, many are saying it may have been too much for him.
Some are saying the gesture was shared far too much over social media and that it should have happened in a more private way.
It's a lovely gesture but the kid looks incredibly overwhelmed and that he isnt enjoying it much. Perhaps you could consider just giving him some quiet time for the rest of the game/visit and not posting any more social media content?
— Dr Vicky Forster (@vickyyyf) November 10, 2019
Others are pointing out that Foster might have been embarrassed by his father's choice to publicly announce that no one came to his party.
His Dad is happier than him, which makes sense considering he embarrassed his son nationally.
— OMO3 (@OMO313) November 10, 2019
Some sceptics are even saying they think Foster will be bullied even more now that such a spectacle has been made.
He looks miserable. It’s bad enough the dad posted what happened all over the Internet, then they force him into this and embarrass him even more. It was a nice gesture, but he was clearly terrified and embarrassed. And now when he goes back to school he’ll be bullied even more
— Sadie 🇺🇸🦅 (@chives5) November 10, 2019
But despite those criticizing the move, others are pointing out that Foster probably was overwhelmed, but that doesn't mean he wasn't happy.
Please don’t assume that because he’s not smiling he’s not enjoying it- there are all different kinds of people in the world and for some people smiling may not come easy.
— HockeyMomGG (@gghockeymom) November 10, 2019
And the vast majority of Canadians still think the Toronto Maple Leafs did a great thing by saving Foster's birthday and giving him the best gift a young hockey fan could ask for.
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