Saquon Barkley was a babysitter before he became an Eagles star
Long before he was a running back for the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL star Saquon Barkley was a typical teenager who also took on some babysitting side jobs.
Now, two of the children Barkley used to watch – Maisey and Zack Hartman – are all grown up, and this Sunday, the siblings say they're going to be rooting for the Eagles and Barkley to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
"This is the first time I'm ever going to root for the Eagles in my entire life," Zack Hartman, a former Dallas Cowboys fan, told "Good Morning America."
"I'm always 'Go birds,'" Maisey Hartman said.
Barkley got his start at Whitehall High School in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, where he was also a star running back for the Whitehall Zephyrs. He came to know the Hartmans because Bob Hartman, Maisey and Zack's father, is the athletic director at Whitehall.
"When I tell people at school that Saquon Barkley was my babysitter, and they're like, 'Maisey, do you realize like this?' I'm just like, 'No,'" Maisey Hartman told "GMA."
According to the Hartman siblings, Barkley, now a father of two himself, was a natural at the babysitting job.
"He wasn't super strict, making sure we're in bed on time, which maybe he could have been more strict on. But he was a great babysitter," Maisey Hartman recalled.
Although a few years have passed since Barkley was their babysitter, the Hartmans say they still have vivid memories of their time together.
"I beat him in Madden when I was 11 years old or something and he was 17," Zack Hartman said, referring to the NFL video game series. "It's probably the highlight for me and my entire life, probably will be forever."
The Hartmans say they're cheering their former babysitter on ahead of the Super Bowl.
"I'm so proud of him. Like, he deserves every minute of what he's getting," Maisey Hartman said of Barkley's success.
"Go dominate, like, be the dude that you are. You're the best player in football for a reason," Zack Hartman added.
