As it is said, “a healthy Hockenson is a fantasy difference-maker.” The Minnesota Vikings are waiting for their star tight end TJ Hockenson to be healthy soon, as he is currently recovering from his devastating ACL injury. Besides his team, Hockenson’s family, including his parents, too, are supporting and praying for him in his harsh times.

TJ Hockenson was born on July 3, 1997, to mom Teri and father Tod Hockenson. The couple has four kids in total – three sons and 1 daughter. And guess what? All Hockenson brothers are sports-minded individuals who grew up on a patch of property in Cherokee, Iowa, with parents.

Unfortunately, their profession is unknown, but one thing is surely known: Hockenson’s parents have always been great supporters of him throughout his football career. The professional athlete has also admitted that they attended each and every game of his since Day 1. They followed T.J. from high school to the University of Iowa and now to the NFL, buying an RV to travel to away games. Be it a long distance to travel or a short one, the Hockensons were always there for the youngest child.

They even drive nine hours to T.J.’s townhouse for home games and spend Saturdays together. Additionally, when TJ moved to the Vikings, his father’s favorite team, from Detroit Lions, TJ’s first NFL team, he informed that his parents find it easier to watch him in action in Minnesota. This was because that 2022 trade cut his parents’ travel time to home games in half. Hence, this reduced travel time helped save his parents a lot of gas money.

As much as his parents love TJ, he loves them back, too. That’s why he keeps posting something or the other about his parents on his social media platforms. Once, while wishing his mother a happy birthday, TJ uploaded a photo of his draft day with his parents, and wrote, “Happy Birthday Momma!! Thanks for your unconditional love and support. Been my number one since day one. Love you!!” In another post from 2018, he shared a photo with his parents on his IG and thanked them for traveling every time to watch him play. TJ captioned: “Traveling far and wide to watch me play! Love you guys!”

Indeed, traveling far to only watch their son speaks volumes in itself. However, this family tradition became a nightmare for Tod and Teri.

The injury that hit the family drastically!

Remember the injury scene of 2019, which seemed intense whether viewed from the press box or on TV with numerous slow-motion replays? Then-Lions rookie TJ Hockenson attempted to hurdle a defender but was hit mid-air by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Damien Wilson. This caused Hockenson to spin and hit his head on the turf, seemingly losing consciousness. Now you must be thinking that such injuries are part of football, so what’s the big deal? It is a big deal as they never get easier to witness, especially if it’s your family member.

Hockenson’s family, including his parents Teri and Tod, and his brothers Matt and Andy, were at Ford Field that day. While his parents were seated behind the Lions’ bench, his brothers were closer to where the incident occurred and struggled to hold back tears. Teri prayed, feeling helpless as time seemed to drag on. Hockenson was taken to the locker room. Eventually, security escorted helpless Teri and Tod too, to the locker room, where they learned T.J. had suffered his first concussion and serious injury. And the entire family remained there for TJ that day.

Since then, the family never missed a single game of TJ Hockenson.