kade foster birthday

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

Some sceptics are even saying they think Foster will be bullied even more now that such a spectacle has been made. 

But despite those criticizing the move, others are pointing out that Foster probably was overwhelmed, but that doesn't mean he wasn't happy. 

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. 

Lead photo by

NHL


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