Caleb Lomu's wife predicted his path to the Patriots, then his uncle flew him there

"His uncle, Curtis Tanner, is an American Airlines pilot. Tanner texted Lomu's mother a day or two before asking what flight the Patriots first-round pick had booked for his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium. It happened to be the same red-eye flight that Tanner had been switched to. "He's the type of uncle to where he's going to embarrass you a little bit," Lomu said. "I knew it was coming, so my family told me to film it.""

""I got on the plane and I was kind of waiting, and then of course he got on the intercom and started talking. I thought he was just going to be talking about me, but he brought me up to the front. Proud uncle, is what he was saying." Getting a ride to the airport from a family member is one thing. Having an uncle fly you from Massachusetts for the beginning of a lifelong NFL dream is another. But, that's just how Lomu's luck worked out on this sunny Thursday."

"Lomu began the day in Arizona and found himself shaking hands with Robert Kraft in Foxborough a few hours later. "How great is that karma?" Kraft asked. Lomu's wife, Kitty, predicted the Patriots would be the team to draft him. She printed out a US map with the locations of all 32 NFL franchises ahead of the NFL draft. "We just hung that up, put it on the wall, and then everyone in the family could just get a little sticky note and put their guesses of where I was going to go," Lomu said."

Caleb Lomu boarded a red-eye flight to Boston and expected a playful family embarrassment. His uncle, Curtis Tanner, is an American Airlines pilot, and he had been switched to the same flight. Tanner texted Lomu’s mother before the trip to ask which flight the Patriots first-round pick booked for his introductory press conference at Gillette Stadium. Lomu said his family told him to film the moment. On the plane, Tanner used the intercom and brought Lomu up to the front, calling him out as a proud nephew. Lomu began the day in Arizona, met Robert Kraft in Foxborough, and credited family “karma” and his wife’s prediction for the Patriots selection.

Read at Boston.com