"It was probably the best day of my life"

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — When you look around the Wilkinson household, you would think every day is game day. But it's actually just another day at Cody Wilkinson's house as a diehard Eagles fan.

Wilkinson says, "I started being an Eagles fan as early as I can remember, probably 5 or 6 years old." Being a Tucsonan with a father and brother who are both Raiders fans, we had to ask:

"Why the Eagles?"

Wilkinson responded, "Why not? They are the best team in football. I love them I really do."

Aside from his life as an Eagles fan, Wilkinson is a husband and father. He and his wife Amy have been married for 16 years and she says, "I just knew that once I married him, I had to be an Eagles fan or I wasn't going to be allowed back in the house."

Wilkinson is also a University of Arizona graduate. He says, "I was probably going to college when Nick Foles was the quarterback at the U of A."

If you remember, Foles was the quarterback that helped the Eagles win their first and only ever Super Bowl title in 2018. Wilkinson says that day "was probably one of the best days of my life."

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Beyond all of that, Wilkinson is also a cancer survivor. Linda Wilkinson, Cody's mother reflects on the day she heard the news. She says, "he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma when he was 16 years old. It's the worst thing a parent can hear."

His wife added, "we both probably shouldn't have been here. I had a car accident when I was young and he had this."

Thanks to a stem cell transplant, Wilkinson beat the odds. His best friend Gabe Borquez was with him during that difficult time. He says "one of the things I asked his mom was, 'did he get a Make-A-Wish, did that exist?' And they basically said he was too old. When you're 16, 17 you're too old for Make-A-Wish."

Fast forward 21 years: Borquez had an idea as soon as the Eagles punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. A GoFundMe was launched to help raise money to send Wilkinson to the big game.

"I cried for a couple days just hearing what my friends and family did," says Wilkinson.
After raising over $6,000, they had enough to send him to the game, but not without stipulations.

Borquez says, "I told him one of the stipulations of getting him into the stadium was he has to take a video of him singing and dancing to umbrella by Rihanna." Of course, Wilkinson came through. He even posted the video on his Facebook page.

While the Eagles didn't win the championship game, Wilkinson says it's a day he will never forget.