Wichita teacher surprised with visit from her NFL hero, who showed up in her school’s gym

When LaShay Powell was around 13 years old, she by chance met Kordell Stewart, who at the time was the star quarterback at the University of Colorado.

It might have been the most exciting moment of her young life, and it led to an intense devotion to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I was like, ‘Oh, he’s gonna be my husband and I’m gonna grow up and marry Kordell Stewart,” Powell said during a television interview that aired Tuesday morning on the “Today” show. “And then he obviously went to the Steelers, and I was like, ‘Well, that’s my husband’s team.’”

On Tuesday morning, Powell was reunited with Stewart in the gymnasium of Northeast Magnet High School, where she works as a U.S. history and law teacher. And after recovering from a near hyperventilation incident, Powell got flowers from her childhood hero. She got to hug him and chat him up, and when she started to feel lightheaded from all the excitement, Stewart even fanned her with a cardboard sign.

It was a big morning for Powell, a 22-year teaching veteran who was featured on a segment of the “Today” show meant to mark National Teacher Appreciation Day. Producers for the show, which airs mornings on NBC, cable Channel 3 in Wichita, learned about Powell along with the rest of the Internet when, in January, her students gave her a custom-made Steelers jersey and filmed her over-the-top reaction. The students then posted the video on TikTok, and it went viral. To date, it’s been viewed more than 10 million times.

Producers for the “Today” show showered Powell with gifts during their live segment on Tuesday. They flew Stewart, 50, into Wichita to surprise her, and in front of a gym full of pom-pom-waving students, he presented her with a pair of tickets to any Pittsburgh Steelers’ game this season. She also got a $5,000 voucher to travel anywhere she wants.

But of all the surprises, Stewart’s appearance seemed to be the one that got to Powell the most.

As he walked out from behind the bleachers holding a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket full of Steelers’ merchandise, Powell exclaimed, “Oh my god!” and started backing quickly away from Stewart, waving her hand and saying “No, no, no, no.”

She then jumped up and down, turned in circles and crouched on the floor, all while screaming something unintelligible at the top of her lungs.

“Today” show anchor Sheinelle Jones, a Wichita native who traveled back home to host the live shot, helped Powell stand back up as Stewart handed her the flowers and hugged her as she cried. “Oh my god! Oh my god! It’s Kordell Stewart,” she said, looking him up and down in disbelief.

After she composed herself, Powell was able to visit with Stewart through several commercial breaks. When everything was over, students clamored from the bleachers to congratulate their teacher and take selfies with the football star.

Northeast principal Benjamin Myrick, who stood on the sidelines taking photos and video throughout the morning, said that the surprise visit was not easy to arrange, especially with all the end-of-the-year happenings at school. But it was something he felt he needed to say yes to.

“In the end, education has been in a tough spot for a number of years,” he said. “So anything that highlights and celebrates what is right and good, it’s worth it. “