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How A Kind Stranger Gave This Refugee Girl Her Favorite Toy
The doll came in a box to a British soldier in Afghanistan in 2011. The soldier, known only as Ali, was evacuated to the UK in December. The doll now belongs to his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. He would like to meet the donor to thank him for the gift.
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Veteran Organist Celebrates 50 Years Of Performing At Blackpool Tower
After more than five decades behind the keys, Phil Kelsall still gets a thrill every time he plays Blackpool Tower’s legendary Wurlitzer organ. Kelsall, 67, started working at the Tower in 1975 and became principal organist two years later. Since then, he’s become as much a part of the building’s identity as the tower itself, entertaining thousands in the historic ballroom with a sound that’s unmistakably Blackpool. “I still get a thrill just sitting at this instrument, which is world famous,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire. “The acoustics here in the ballroom are just superb. When you hear it, there is no mistaking where you are.” The Wurlitzer organ, now 90 years old, remains the beating heart of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. It has featured on radio and television for decades, including the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. But keeping it in top condition isn’t easy. “It needs constant maintenance,” Kelsall explained. “Things start to wear out — springs get loose and keys get loose, especially on the pedal board... they start to rattle — you can hear them.” This week, engineers are giving the organ its full annual service, a process that takes weeks and requires rare expertise. “There’s not many people left in the world who can do it,” Kelsall said. “It’s a very specialised occupation, is organ building.” The instrument is stored under the stage in the ballroom and rises up each day on a hydraulic platform as it’s played — something Kelsall still finds surreal after all these years. “I do sometimes think, as I’m halfway through the stage, what a strange way of earning a living!” The Wurlitzer itself is a marvel of engineering, with 1,000 pipes of varying sizes that use compressed air to create sound. Kelsall believes it’s the most played organ in the world, since it runs for several hours every day. “It’s just an amazing part of Blackpool, along with the trams and the tower and everything else,” he said. Kelsall first fell in love with the organ as a young boy after hearing Reginald Dixon, the Tower’s original organist who held the post from 1930 to 1970. Dixon left a deep impression, and Kelsall never looked back. Over the years, he’s recorded dozens of albums and performed for generations of visitors. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE for services to music. Reflecting on his long career, he says he’s picked up “a few little tricks” along the way — but the magic of the instrument, and the joy of the audience, never wears off.
Score (97)
TikTok Brings a Mother-Daughter Fashion Story Full Circle — and the Internet Can’t Get Enough
As a kid growing up in New York City, Camila Larrain didn’t want to play hooky to stay home — she wanted to skip school so she could tag along with her mom to the office. Her mom, Karen, worked in fashion journalism during the early 2000s, a job Camila found endlessly fascinating. “I would make my own ‘editorial pages’ by cutting images out of magazines and gluing them into a composition notebook, trying to mimic her layouts,” she told PEOPLE. “I also loved helping her choose outfits for her seasonal trips to London, Paris and Milan — it all felt so exciting and glamorous to me.” That sense of wonder stayed with her as she grew up, especially during big industry events she attended with her mom. She still remembers being at the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show when Katy Perry performed “Firework” live. At a Ralph Lauren girls’ show, she was gifted a black suede fringe bag — a fashion keepsake she still uses to this day. But it wasn’t just the events or the outfits. Camila says what stood out most was the behind-the-scenes creativity, the work ethic, and the connection it gave her to her mom. “My mom and I are extremely close — more like best friends. What I admire most is that she’s a great listener,” she said. “She’s always given me the most thoughtful and spot-on advice; I go to her with practically everything and it always seems like she has the right solution.” Last year, when the family moved out of the apartment they had lived in for 18 years, those memories came rushing back. While unpacking, Camila and Karen found old iPhones and BlackBerrys, physical photos, fashion show invites, and vintage magazines — pieces of a fashion era they’d both lived through, now frozen in time. That discovery sparked an idea: what if they brought those moments back to life? TikTok seemed like the perfect place to do it. “It’s where storytelling feels the most creative and accessible,” Camila said. “You can pair visuals with music, edit quickly and turn moments into short stories.” The unpolished, casual vibe of the platform helped the content feel more real. The timing didn’t hurt either. With a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada slated for release this year, interest in fashion’s early-2000s heyday is running high. So Camila dug into her mom’s archive, posted a video featuring old photos and memories — and it took off. The TikTok racked up more than 450,000 views and hundreds of comments from viewers who couldn’t get enough. "Petition to put your mom’s camera roll in the MoMA," one user wrote. Another called the content, “an IRL Pinterest board wow. Your mom is THAT girlllll.” Camila admits she and her mom were surprised by how quickly people connected with the story. “What surprised us most was how detail-oriented viewers were — people were identifying the exact year of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, recognizing designers like Michael Kors during his resort presentations and spotting models like Anja Rubik.” She thinks the appeal lies in how rarely people get to see the personal, unfiltered side of the fashion industry. “It can feel very elusive and exclusive,” she said. “Sharing these behind-the-scenes moments made it feel more human and accessible, and we loved discovering that it provided a sense of escape and nostalgia for so many people.” Now, Camila is looking ahead. She wants to keep exploring her mom’s fashion archives and memories — not just to document them, but to unpack how they shaped her own fashion sense, career aspirations, and relationship with style. She’s hoping to turn the project into something ongoing: a content series blending nostalgia, New York City, lifestyle, and fashion in a way that feels true to their story. “We hope it’s a nice uplifting escape for people to take a break from all the negativity in the world now,” she said. “And also, inspiration that if you have a dream career that you want to go after, the world is your oyster.” Karen, now working in public relations and still living in New York, hasn’t strayed far from fashion. But it’s her daughter’s growing platform — and the shared walk down memory lane — that’s brought her old career back into the spotlight. And for Camila, that spotlight is personal. It's not just about fashion, or TikTok fame. It's about sharing the story of her mom — the one who sparked it all.
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Score (94)
Nike Recreates Late Mom’s Beloved Sneakers After Daughter’s Viral Plea
When Megan Tobias lost her mother Sandy to lung cancer, she and her family carried out one of her final wishes: to be cremated wearing the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers she loved so much. The shoes, a custom Mother’s Day gift designed to match Sandy’s bright blue car, became more than just footwear. They were a source of comfort, identity, and memory—especially in her final days. So when Megan and her family planned a trip to Alaska to spread Sandy’s ashes—a dream destination on her mom’s bucket list—she wanted to honor her by having the whole family wear those same sneakers. But when she went online to recreate them, the design options were gone. With nowhere else to turn, Megan shared her story on TikTok. “I don’t usually make these kinds of videos,” she said in her post, visibly emotional. “But please, if you could tag @Nike and help me make my mom’s custom sneaker so my family can wear them on our trip to spread her ashes, I would be forever grateful.” The video, set to She & Him’s I Thought I Saw Your Face Today, struck a nerve. It quickly racked up millions of views—and Nike saw it. “We’re so sorry for your loss, Megan. Your mom had exceptional taste,” Nike commented from their official account. “We’re working on something special for you and your family. Please check your DMs.” In a follow-up video, Megan shared that Nike had offered to remake the exact custom Air Max 97s her mother wore—for the entire family. The news sparked an outpouring of support. “Home health workers are amazing!!! So glad that @Nike is remaking them,” one user commented. “They’re not just making shoes. They’re fulfilling a memory.” “We’re all family now. Can’t wait to see Alaska,” another added. Megan promised to share a photo of the entire family, standing in front of Sandy’s beloved blue car, wearing the matching sneakers in Alaska. It’s the kind of moment that turns a brand into a memory-maker. For Megan and her family, those shoes aren’t just fabric and laces—they’re a way to carry Sandy with them, step by step, into the places she never got to go.
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Researchers Uncover Health-Boosting Compounds in Monk Fruit — What Is It?
Monk fruit may be best known for sweetening your tea without adding calories, but scientists say there’s far more to it than meets the tongue. New research published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture takes a deep dive into the chemistry of Siraitia grosvenorii, commonly known as monk fruit or Luo Han Guo. The study looks beyond its sweet taste to explore the bioactive compounds packed into this ancient fruit—and how they might benefit human health. Native to southern China, monk fruit has been used for centuries in traditional medicine. But in recent years, it’s caught the attention of researchers due to its high antioxidant content and unique plant chemistry. The UC-led study focused on a category of natural compounds called secondary metabolites—molecules plants produce not for basic survival, but for defense, flavor, and interaction with their environment. In humans, many of these compounds appear to support health. Researchers zeroed in on three main groups: terpenoids, flavonoids, and amino acids. Terpenoids, which are common in herbs and spices, are known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. Flavonoids, another large class of plant chemicals, help neutralize free radicals—unstable molecules linked to aging and chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Meanwhile, amino acids are essential building blocks for protein and play key roles in tissue repair and immune function. The team analyzed both the peel and the pulp of four different monk fruit varieties to see how these compounds were distributed and how they function biologically. Their analysis revealed that the compounds don’t just sit there—they interact with the body. Specifically, the study looked at how monk fruit’s natural chemicals engage with cellular receptors that regulate inflammation, metabolism, and oxidative stress. These chemical interactions may explain why monk fruit has long been associated with medicinal uses in traditional Chinese remedies. “Understanding these pathways helps explain why monk fruit may have health-promoting properties beyond its use as a natural sweetener,” the researchers wrote. One key takeaway: not all monk fruit is created equal. The study found that chemical profiles can vary significantly between different varieties. That matters for both nutrition and manufacturing. “It is crucial to conduct an in-depth investigation on the high-resolution metabolic profiles of different Luo Han Guo varieties,” the authors noted, highlighting the importance of identifying which strains are best suited for food products or health supplements. The findings are part of a broader effort to better understand how plants used in traditional medicine might support modern health. In the case of monk fruit, it’s not just about replacing sugar—it’s about tapping into a rich mix of natural compounds that could offer protective benefits at the cellular level. As researchers continue to uncover the biological roles of these compounds, monk fruit is shaping up to be more than a calorie-free sweetener. It’s a vine with a complex chemical story—one that may help inform how we think about food, health, and the connection between the two.
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Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ Climbs Charts Again After Stranger Things Finale
Even if you’ve never set foot in Hawkins, Indiana, or battled a Demogorgon in your mind, chances are you’ve felt the impact of Stranger Things. After five seasons and nearly a decade, the Duffer brothers' sci-fi epic wrapped up in December—and, true to form, it sent another classic track flying back up the charts. This time, it’s Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. Originally released in 1975, the song hit No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 following its use in the Stranger Things series finale. The last time Landslide charted was in 2003, thanks to a cover by the Dixie Chicks. We’re not spoiling anything, but the song plays during a key emotional moment in the final episode, and clearly, it landed. Music has always been a huge part of Stranger Things, which stayed firmly rooted in 1980s nostalgia from the start. The show didn’t just use big ‘80s hits—it helped bring them back. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill famously re-entered the cultural conversation (and charts) after being featured in Season 4. Other songs, like Metallica’s Master of Puppets and The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go, also found new audiences thanks to the show. According to E!, the behind-the-scenes documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 gives a look at just how hard it was to stick the landing. The Duffer brothers knew expectations were sky-high. “We were getting hammered constantly by production and by Netflix for episode eight,” Matt Duffer said. “It was the most difficult writing circumstances we have ever found ourselves in. Not just because there was the pressure of we had to make sure the script was good, but there’s never been so much noise at the same time.” That noise didn’t stop them. The show’s final season brought back beloved characters, wrapped up storylines, and—true to form—used music as a storytelling tool, not just a soundtrack. Now, as fans say goodbye to Eleven, Hopper, and the rest of the Hawkins crew, Stranger Things leaves behind more than just Upside Down monsters and Eggo waffles. It’s reignited old songs, introduced new audiences to legendary artists, and proved once again that the right song at the right moment can hit hard—even decades after it was first released. Bravo, Duffer brothers. You brought the ‘80s back, and you brought the emotions with it.
Score (97)
This DIY 'Sound Laser' Shoots Music Straight Into Your Ears—and Nowhere Else
A YouTuber has built a device that does something surprisingly futuristic: it shoots music in a narrow beam that only you can hear—if you’re standing in the right place. In a new video, the channel Electron Impressions unveils what amounts to a sonic version of a laser. Instead of using light, this contraption uses ultrasound to transmit audio in a tightly focused direction. Aim it at someone’s head, and they hear the music. Move it a few degrees off-target, and the sound vanishes completely. It’s not a speaker in the traditional sense. You won’t hear anything unless you’re in the beam’s path. So how does it work? Much like a laser emits light of a single wavelength with perfectly aligned wave crests, this “sound laser” produces a coherent, high-frequency beam of sound waves. These aren’t normal, audible soundwaves—they’re in the ultrasonic range, far above what the human ear can detect. Ultrasound has some neat properties. You can blast it at volumes that would be painfully loud if they were audible, and because it’s so directional, it can be aimed with precision. But if the frequency is too high to hear, how does it play music? The trick is to use the ultrasonic tone as a carrier wave. By layering the audio signal—say, a song—on top of this high-frequency tone, the system creates a combined signal. This is essentially how radio works: the carrier wave transmits the signal, and a receiver decodes it back into sound. But here’s where this gets clever. Unlike radio, this device doesn’t need a receiver or a speaker on the other end. The air does the decoding on its own. That’s because sound travels at slightly different speeds through low-pressure and high-pressure air. When the ultrasonic beam moves through air, it subtly modulates the pressure along its path. That modulation distorts the waveform in just the right way to shed the ultrasonic tone and leave behind the audible sound embedded within it. As the YouTuber explains it: “The air itself demodulates the signal, creating audible sound in mid-air.” In effect, the beam creates an invisible speaker hovering in front of the person you’re pointing it at. The experience is disorienting and fascinating. In the video, music plays only when the device is pointed directly at the camera’s microphone. Tilt it slightly, and silence returns. It’s a curious blend of physics and engineering, with applications that range from fun to potentially unsettling. The comment section is already filled with people dreaming up ways to prank friends or create ultra-personal audio zones in public spaces. But there’s a caution buried in the fine print: while ultrasound at volumes over 110 decibels has been approved for certain directional audio uses, there are still open questions about its long-term safety. The creator of the device notes that some researchers think the current safety guidelines may need updating. For now, it’s a slick piece of DIY tech and a reminder that light isn’t the only wave that can be focused, directed, and turned into something magical. Sound—when wielded cleverly—can do the job too.
Score (96)
Europe’s Melting Glaciers Are Being Archived in Antarctica — Before It’s Too Late
Deep in Antarctica, nine metres below the surface of the East Antarctic ice sheet, lies a new kind of time capsule: a growing archive of ice cores pulled from melting glaciers across the world, now preserved in one of the coldest places on Earth. On January 14, scientists inaugurated the Ice Memory Sanctuary, a man-made ice cavern near the Franco-Italian Concordia research base. It’s a last-ditch effort to protect precious samples from the planet’s rapidly disappearing glaciers. The first two samples to arrive in this underground archive came from two of the Alps’ most iconic glaciers: Mont Blanc in France and Grand Combin in Switzerland. Shipped in containers chilled to minus 20 degrees Celsius, the ice cores made the long journey from Europe to the Antarctic plateau, where they’ll now stay frozen for decades, if not centuries, to come. More samples are on the way. Ice cores from glaciers in Bolivia, Tajikistan and other non-polar regions will join the collection over the next few years, as scientists rush to preserve the climatic and environmental data locked inside these shrinking ice fields. “The ice doesn’t lie,” said Professor Carlo Barbante, Vice Chair of the Ice Memory Foundation. “All the samples are different. The ice cores from non-polar regions tell us the history of the regional climate they are from.” That history, he explained, includes atmospheric traces of everything from volcanic eruptions to nuclear bomb tests, to combustion particles and even traces of DNA. Tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice offer clues about how Earth’s atmosphere changed over time, how weather patterns evolved, and how human activity left its mark. But as the planet warms, glaciers in the Alps and other low-altitude regions are vanishing fast. And even those that survive won’t remain uncontaminated for long. Barbante warns that most glaciers below 4,000 metres in the Alps are on track to disappear by the end of this century. That makes projects like Ice Memory more than just symbolic—they’re a scientific emergency response. Celeste Saulo, Director General of the World Meteorological Organization, said the urgency couldn’t be clearer. “Since 1975, glaciers have lost the equivalent of a block of ice the size of Germany and 25 metres thick,” she told the crowd at the Concordia base. “Information lost can never be recovered.” To create the ice cavern that now houses the samples, researchers used a giant inflatable balloon to carve out the frozen space. The team believes the structure will hold for decades. And if the ice shifts, they’re prepared to recreate it nearby within six weeks. Still, the sanctuary’s long-term future isn’t entirely guaranteed. While it sits on protected Antarctic territory governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and the Madrid Protocol, the project still needs political backing from France, Italy, and the international community to safeguard its mission. The opening ceremony had the tone of both celebration and warning. Scientists applauded the feat of engineering and cooperation but also acknowledged the bittersweet truth behind the project. Professor Jérôme Chappellaz, founder of the Ice Memory initiative and researcher at EPFL in Switzerland, said he felt a mix of “pride, but despair as well, due to the slow answer to the current climate challenge worldwide.” Prince Albert II of Monaco, attending as Honorary President of the Ice Memory Foundation, echoed those sentiments. “We are reminded of the fragility and permanence of our planet,” he said. “Glaciers should be recognised as a common heritage of humanity. The memory of our planet matters. Safeguarding it is our common duty and responsibility.” That message is at the heart of the Ice Memory project. For the scientists leading the effort, preserving these ice cores in Antarctica isn’t just about scientific preservation. It’s about protecting evidence—of what Earth once was, and what we’ve done to it—before it melts away forever.
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After 21 Years and Billions of Signals, Scientists Narrow Alien Search to Just 100 Candidates
For more than two decades, volunteers around the world lent their computers to the search for extraterrestrial life. Now, the team behind the project has narrowed 12 billion space signals down to just 100 worth a second look. The project, called SETI@home, ran from 1999 to 2020. It was an ambitious experiment out of UC Berkeley that invited regular people to help scientists process radio signals from space by installing software on their home computers. The idea was simple: instead of using expensive supercomputers to analyze vast amounts of cosmic data, break the job into small chunks and crowdsource it. At its peak, the project attracted millions of volunteers—far beyond the 50,000 the team initially hoped for. “We had a million volunteers,” said David Anderson, a computer scientist and co-founder of SETI@home. “It was kind of cool, and I would like to let that community and the world know that we actually did some science.” That science involved using data from the now-decommissioned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. As astronomers aimed Arecibo’s massive radio dish at the sky, it recorded vast amounts of data, which were then distributed to volunteers’ home computers. The software ran a Fourier transform—essentially a way of identifying frequencies—then scanned for changes that might indicate the presence of unusual, possibly non-natural signals. Those changes, known as Doppler drift, could point to something interesting, like a signal from a moving object in space. But even with help from millions of devices, the results were overwhelming. The project turned up about 12 million potential signals. For years, the team wasn’t sure how to deal with them all. “Until about 2016, we didn’t really know what we were going to do with these detections that we’d accumulated,” Anderson said. “We hadn’t figured out how to do the whole second part of the analysis.” To get there, the team turned to a supercomputer in Germany, courtesy of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics. That helped eliminate most of the radio interference and noise—signals likely generated by human technology or Earth-based sources. What remained was a more manageable 2 million signals. From there, the team whittled the list down even further by removing duplicates or signals coming from the same place in the sky. Then, they went through the top 1,000 candidates manually. The result? A final list of 100 signals of interest. None of them are confirmed as alien in origin, and there’s a good chance they’re not. But they are unusual enough to warrant closer inspection. “If we don’t find ET, what we can say is that we established a new sensitivity level,” Anderson said. “If there were a signal above a certain power, we would have found it.” SETI@home’s findings are now published in two papers in The Astronomical Journal, and while the search isn’t over, the project has delivered a huge scientific dataset—and a model for how crowdsourced computing can contribute to serious research. Eric Korpela, an astronomer and project director, said the team learned a lot—not just about signal detection, but about the limitations of their process. “There’s no way that you can do a full investigation of every possible signal that you detect, because doing that still requires a person and eyeballs,” Korpela said. “We have to do a better job of measuring what we’re excluding. Are we throwing out the baby with the bath water?” The answer to that is still unfolding. But thanks to millions of ordinary people who signed on, the SETI@home project has brought scientists a little closer to understanding what, or who, might be out there.
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This Engineer Spent Two Years Restoring a 100-Year-Old Steamroller
After decades under a tarp and more than 60 years of rust and grime, a 10-ton steamroller from 1928 is roaring back to life — thanks to the determination of a 26-year-old engineer from Greater Manchester. Cameron Stephenson, founder of C.J.S Heritage Engineering, has spent the past two years and tens of thousands of pounds restoring the Marshall S-Type Steamroller in his workshop, Clarington Forge, in Ince. The massive, 18-foot-long machine was originally built for Formby District Council in Lancashire and was used to lay roads by compacting asphalt. “It is a beautiful machine, very much a novelty piece,” Stephenson said. “It has a rich history and I'm glad to be keeping it alive.” The roller’s story spans nearly a century. After serving on road crews, it was reportedly repurposed during World War II to support airfields in the region. In the postwar years, it was bought by Joseph Entwistle of Wigan, who operated it for fun alongside his son, David. But when Joseph passed away in the late 1960s, the restoration work he had begun came to a halt. The machine was left under a tarpaulin in a yard — and largely forgotten. That is, until Cameron came along. He purchased the steamroller in 2022 and began restoration work the following year. “I started off cleaning off the over 60 years of dirt, dust, and rust before building and replacing parts in-house,” he said. “There was some boiler work that needed doing and a couple of valves and bearings that needed replacing, but most of it was in good nick. The gears were mostly fine.” Cameron, who launched his heritage engineering business at just 17, is believed to be the youngest of only 10 remaining heritage engineers in the UK. Alongside his partner, Hannah Walsh, 26, he’s now in the final stages of the restoration — adding fresh paint to the boiler and rooftop and preparing the machine for its return to the public eye. He expects the project to be completed by May, just in time for the summer steam rally circuit. “I’ve spent tens of thousands on the project, but it has been worth it,” he said. “I’m very proud of the outcome.” Soon, the steamroller that once built roads and supported wartime efforts will be back in action — this time, as a rolling tribute to British engineering history.
Score (97)
Indiana Invites 10-Year-Old Fan With Rare Heart Defect To National Championship
Drew Shouse has been Indiana football’s heart and soul all season. Now, the 10-year-old superfan — who’s battled a rare heart defect since birth — is heading to the national championship with his team. The Hoosiers surprised Shouse with the news in a heartfelt video message featuring players like Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and receiver Isaiah Jones. “There’s no way we could go to the national championship without you,” Mendoza told him. Jones added, “We can’t go without the heart and soul of our team.” Born with mitral valve regurgitation and aortic stenosis, Shouse underwent two open-heart surgeries before he was nine months old and a third procedure in 2017. Though he’ll likely need one more surgery in the future, he’s currently stable and sees a cardiologist just once a year. In 2023, Shouse was matched with Indiana’s football program through Team IMPACT, a nonprofit that connects children facing serious health challenges with college athletic teams for mentorship and support. Since then, he’s become a fixture on the IU sideline — and a source of inspiration for the entire roster. He even scored a touchdown at the team’s 2024 spring game. "Drew is an inspiration to all of us on the team," IU quarterback Tyler Cherry said. "He’s a fighter, and seeing him battle through what he has been through motivates all the players to keep going every day." Team IMPACT surprised Drew with Rose Bowl tickets earlier in the playoff run, where he watched Indiana dominate Alabama 38-3. Throughout the season, players like Isaiah Jones, Omar Cooper Jr., and Elijah Sarratt have spent time with him on shopping trips and pregame sidelines. Now, the Hoosiers are bringing their biggest fan to Miami Gardens, Florida, as they face No. 10 Miami in the national title game on Monday, January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium. For Indiana, it’s the biggest game in program history. For Drew, it’s a dream come true.