Wisconsin man battling illness surprises daughter on basketball parents' night
Randy Knecht, a Wisconsin man who's dedicated much of his life to his former high school's sports program, had been deprived of watching his daughter, Ana, compete at the same school he once attended, due to poor health.
That all changed earlier this month, though, when Knecht and his friends concocted a plan to surprise Ana at her high school's basketball parents' night.
Knecht told "Good Morning America" that he decided several months ago that he'd attend the parents' night game to show support for his daughter.
Knecht, who spent more than 20 years coaching football and basketball at Cochrane-Fountain City High School, is currently being treated for several health conditions, including diabetes, at a medical facility in Wabash, Minnesota.
"The plan started as a goal," said Knecht. "I'm setting a goal that I am out of this place in time for Ana's parents' night."
Knecht hit upon the idea while sharing with two longtime friends his desire to attend Ana's game. The idea quickly developed into a plot to surprise Ana, who'd already been told by her father that he wouldn't be able to make the game.
"She said 'Dad, I understand totally. You got to get better. You do what works for you,'" Knecht said.
On Jan. 16, the night of the game, Knecht's friends picked him up and drove him to the big game, where he was ushered onto the court, embraced his surprised daughter, and then spoke a few words to her before the game.
In the video, captured by ABC affiliate WXOW, Ana can be seen walking to center court, teary-eyed and holding a single rose, and embracing Knecht, who's equally emotional, sitting in an electric wheelchair.
"I had no idea and I was very shocked," Ana Knecht told WXOW. "I thought I was in a dream. I just hugged my mom and cried. I went down and hugged him and said hello."
"I think what I said is, you know, 'I love you Annie so much, and we worked hard on putting this together,'" said Knecht, who added he was hoping his surprise wouldn't throw her daughter off of her game.
Knecht, who is vision impaired, said that at one moment when Ana scored a basket, he was suddenly able to see with "20/20" vision the moment that mattered most. He called the entire event "The best day of my life."
"Everybody was there for parents' night, but in essence it really just puts life in a perspective," said Cochrane-Fountain City High School girls' basketball coach Rick Peterson. He called the evening a "very emotional night for everybody involved."
"When times are tough, when I'm sitting here at night, and my pain is 15 out of 10…[I] pop open my computer, watch the video, and that's therapy enough," said Knecht.
"After what we did on parents' night, I don't want to say I don't care, but who cares what happens to me now?" Knecht added.
