12-year-old Geography fan receives birthday wishes from all over the globe

Jody Smith, a contributor to CBS Sports and a Senior Writer at FantasyData, had a request for his followers on Twitter.

It was the birthday of his 12-year-old son Brandon, and due to the lockdown and self-isolation, Smith was not able to celebrate it in the usual manner. Now, Brandon is a Geography buff and Smith had a novel idea to celebrate this special day.

So, he wrote put up a post on Twitter, requesting his followers for birthday wishes for his son, along with mentioning the place they were located at so that Brandon could track and mark those places on his map.

This is my son, Brandon. Today is his 12th Birthday. I can’t give him the party he deserves but Brandon loves geography.

He would love it if you would RT or reply where you are so he can mark it on his map. pic.twitter.com/nO0draKinL

— Jody Smith (@JodySmithNFL) April 11, 2020

“I thought, well, I can maybe reach out to Twitter and get 50 or 100 people to tell him where they’re from,” Smith told Yahoo Lifestyle about his idea for a virtual celebration. “I thought maybe we’ll fill up some of the states, or part of Canada.”

What happened next is not something Smith could have imagined in his wildest of dreams. In a few hours, Smith’s post went viral, with people across the globe wishing Brandon and joining this virtual celebration!

Brandon has received over a whopping 100,000 wishes from all parts of the world, ranging from the United States to Australia. India, Guatemala, Spain, Indonesia, you name it, and Brandon had a wish from that country!

Would you believe that he also received a wish from Antarctica? Isn’t that just amazing?

@JodySmithNFL hi Brandon here is a special message for you from Antartica! pic.twitter.com/RVVxy1hJxP

— #helloMyNameIs Eva (@Destructo_Dog) April 12, 2020

A few hours ago, Brandon’s map looked like this. The dots are locations from where he has received his birthday wishes.

Late Easter update to Brandon’s map. Got to add a few new countries and islands pic.twitter.com/PTMVEME6BD

— Jody Smith (@JodySmithNFL) April 13, 2020

“It’s his last birthday where he’s just a kid, next year he’ll be a teenager,” Smith reflects. “I’m really tickled that his last real innocent birthday as a kid was something that transcended everything and became so exciting for so many people.”

I am sure these wishes made Brandon’s day!