Phillies: Bryce Harper shocks fan on Fortnite for birthday

ByMatt Rappa|
Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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Where it all began

Harper
Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Harper’s video game hobby, like most kids, began at a young age. But, his tendency to being outside most of the time and playing sports caused him to not be able to play much.

Among his favorite video games included sports, and those that involve fighting, such as Mortal Kombat.

“I enjoyed those types of games, and then the older I got, I kind of fell away from it,” he said.

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It was not until recently that Harper got back into video games. His buddies would not communicate much via text message during the baseball season, but they did get together virtually, rather, on video games.

“It kind of started where we were just getting on live and we’d play Fortnite or whatever we wanted to play that night,” Harper said. “We kind of just hung out and talked crap to each other; kind of like we’re hanging out at night during the offseason.”

“Then it kind of got more competitive and got a lot more fun.”

Harper said that about two years ago, he began playing Fortnite; his joy grew for it the more he played, so much so, that he was able to eventually strike a gaming partnership.

“Me and my friend would go on there and just hang out and then it kind of got competitive,” Harper said. “We talked to Loaded and made that partnership happen for both of us.”

Thanking fans

Harper said that given his circle is “very small” it was fun to let people into his life and play with some fans through the live streams.

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“I just want to thank my fans. It’s so cool to have their support and what they do for me,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to see them supporting me each day, on the field and away from the field as well with gaming and things like that.”

“It’s been a lot of fun.”

As for that one lucky fan who Harper surprised, he said he thinks the new teen will surely always remember ‘I was able to play with a professional athlete,’ two days before his 13th birthday.