FRANKFURT, Germany – Family and friends have long loved coming to watch Ezekiel Elliott play football. When the running back returned to Dallas this season, he had dozens of ticket requests and special people in the stands to see him in action.
For some of Elliott’s family, watching him live or even on TV hasn’t been possible.
The reason is some of his family members live in Finland. Elliott has a grandfather, two uncles, aunts and multiple cousins abroad. With the Patriots playing the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt on Sunday, Elliott said this is a special trip for multiple reasons. One reason is that those Finnish relatives are about to see him live in action for the first time inside Frankfurt Stadium.
“For me, it’s exciting. It’s my first international game. That’s exciting. Also I have family that lives in Europe,” Elliott said. “I have family in Finland so they traveled and they’re going to be able to see me live. That’ll be cool.”
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The connection with Finland runs through his grandfather, Leon Huff. A college basketball player at Drake University in the early 70s, Huff played professional basketball in Finland and stayed overseas. One of Elliott’s uncles, Shawn Huff, is also a former basketball player. He played for the Helsinki Seagulls of the top-tier league in Finland, Finnish Korisliiga.
Elliott’s grandfather has visited him in the United States plenty. On Friday, the Patriots running back said there’s a group of relatives in Finland that he’s excited to see this weekend. Due to the time zone, he noted that most of his relatives weren’t able to watch his games on television.
“My grandpa, he tries to come see us once a year in the states,” Elliott said. “And I have two uncles. One of my uncles has come to see me play live but one hasn’t. My two little others and their significant others, also. So, they haven’t seen me live. I’m sure they’ve seen videos of me on TV, but I’m sure they’re not up when we play. I think it’s going to be a cool experience for them to see me in action.”
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