By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
Two of the last three Sundays, 18-year-old Jackson Ertz has watched his older brother Zach on national television catch a combined 11 passes for 125 yards home alone on his Danville, Calif. sofa.
This Sunday, things will change — just a smidge.
Ertz and his family arrived in Minneapolis, M.N, home of Super Bowl 52, Friday morning and will be in attendance at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon to cheer on the star Philadelphia Eagles tight end.
To the SJSU baseball commit, his older brother has been an inspiration since his early days.
“I’m so proud of him. I’ve always admired how hard he works,” Ertz told The Spear this week in an exclusive interview. “[Zach] definitely makes me want to be better at what I do.”
As surprising as it sounds, Ertz hasn’t given the trip to the North Star State much thought.
“I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like,” Ertz said. “It’s gonna be a fricking crazy experience just getting there that day.”
Crazy experience should be an understatement, especially considering how he felt last week during the final quarter of the NFC Championship game with the Eagles up big.
“By the fourth quarter, I was getting the chills. Even right now talking about it I’m getting the chills,” the SJSU baseball commit told The Spear.
It was an emotion Ertz described as strange because with his brother now in his fifth season in the National Football League, he says he’s supposed to be used to it.
“When [Zach] first made it to the NFL and was on TV, I was kind of starstruck,” Jackson said. Things have since changed, however. “Now, not so much.”
Ertz even had the opportunity to meet some of his older brother’s teammates, including Eagles’ quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, as well as running back Darren Sproles at Zach’s wedding.
As if the aforementioned list of stars weren’t enough, Zach married Julie Johnston last March. Johnston-Ertz currently plays for the U.S. Women’s National Team and was a part of the 2015 World Cup champion team.
As for Zach, he’s got a shot to be a part of a championship team as well come Sunday night. But as for his younger brother Jackson, who by the way will have a better seat than his couch that night, he knows his older brother will shine.
“Eagles will get the dub by 10,” Ertz predicted. “Zach is going to have two TDs and 100 yards.”