What’s the biggest gift a father can give to his daughter? A Bowl win! Sadly, it was Penn State HC James Franklin who found himself on the losing end. Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame did not leave any chance for Franklin to put a smile on her daughter, Addison, aka Addy Franklin’s face. A post-game video has gone viral where the young girl was seen breaking down to tears. The 24-27 loss by the Fighting Irish will continue to haunt the father-daughter duo for a long time. With this, no matter how successful Franklin’s season has been, he failed to break through his bleak resume against top teams. That’s how Franklin failed to keep his promise to himself and his team.

Well, we know how much value the Orange Bowl held for the Penn State HC. Both Franklin and Freeman shared the same journey. The Nittany Lions HC had British and Caucasian roots while the Notre Dame HC had South Korean roots. This was their fight to become the first African American football coach to win a college national championship. Maybe Franklin was a bit more desperate as he had been vocal about his goals. Back in 2019, in an interview with HBO’s 247 College Football, he had poured his heart out.“I don’t usually talk about this publicly but my goal has been to be the first African American football coach to win a college national championship. That’s something that’s very historic.” In that clip, Franklin had his daughter Addy by his side. So, in a way, even the daughter latched herself onto her father’s potential milestone.

Nevertheless, she only received heartbreak in return. And obviously, it was overwhelming for the little one. After all, dads are daughters’ superheroes. Even though she, along with her elder sister Shola, has grown up watching their dad go through game-day pressure, the younger one couldn’t handle the Notre Dame loss. In the clip that went viral, Franklin was spotted walking down the locker room, holding Addy’s hands tightly.

As he paused and turned around, the daughter could no longer hold her tears. Giving daddy dear a hug, she immediately broke down. Franklin, too, embraced her and rubbed her daughter’s back to console her. An absolute father-daughter moment! Even though there is nothing sweet in the present situation, the fact that the father and the daughter are beside each other in one of their toughest times would surely make you go ‘Awwww.’ After all, Addy holds a special place in Franklin’s heart. 

Did James Franklin’s daughter’s condition influence him to join Penn State?   

Remember when Franklin paid a visit to the Children’s Hospital in Hershey shortly after taking up the HC role at Penn State? Well, that’s when he shared a dark story of his life. A child dealing with a serious disease is an issue that impacts Franklin at his core. During the visit, he shared that his youngest daughter, Addison, has been battling sickle cell anemia. Now that’s a very rare disease.

A blood disorder that affects 100,000 people, primarily African Americans. “You know, this (hospital visit) is important to us, too, because our youngest daughter has sickle cell disease, the full-blown disease,” stated the Nittany Lions HC. The couple got to know about their daughter suffering from the disease shortly after she was born. Franklin further revealed, “It was a big factor in us coming to Penn State, making sure that we were going to have the right type of support…And then fortunately, the person that used to run the sickle cell branch here at the (Hershey) hospital now is in State College. So it’s a tremendous blessing.”

Back then, Addy was only 5 years old while Shola was 6 when James Franklin replaced Bill O’Brien. 10 years later, Addy was now 16. In that way, she has seen her father grow in his role at Penn State. Before the Orange Bowl kicked off, the HC was seen walking across the field holding Addy’s hands. Yes, it did break the little one’s heart but she is surely proud of her dad!