Steelers Star WR Goes Undercover at Dick's Sporting Goods to Surprise Customers
JuJu Smith-Schuster has one of those names that’s right out of a Key & Peele sketch, but his performance on the field is no joke.
Just ask Vontaze Burfict, another member of the Comedy Central Names All-Stars, who nearly got knocked out of his shoes by Smith-Schuster in a game in December.
Smith-Schuster stood over Burfict like Muhammad Ali over Sonny Liston, trading 15 yards of field position for the hearts and minds of the entire Steeler faithful.
The wideout is also a fan favorite off the field, where his playful personality and clear love of his fans show through.
Enter Dick’s Sporting Goods, which had Smith-Schuster go undercover dressed as an employee named “Sherman,” helping introduce the sporting goods chain’s new locker pickup system, where people can order merchandise online and pick it up at their convenience at their local Dick’s location.
It works on the same principle as Amazon lockers, and the sporting goods chain enlisted the football star to show them off.
This is a curious demonstration of human nature, as plenty of folks even in Pittsburgh didn’t quite recognize Smith-Schuster at first.
It’s understandable, since unlike basketball, where faces are in prominent focus, football players are concealed by helmets while they’re playing the game.
Schuster does his end zone dance with one fan. With another, he says “what would you do if you saw Juju right now?”
When the young woman says “ask him to marry me,” Smith-Schuster takes off his disguise glasses, drops to one knee, and ends up with a big hug from the flabbergasted fan.
And perhaps the best part of the whole video comes when two fans come to pick up their merchandise, and it’s a replica No. 19 Smith-Schuster jersey that a father purchased for his daughter, who got to meet her hero in truly heartwarming fashion.
Even better? She didn’t quite recognize him at first either.
Her dad insists he wasn’t fooled, but his insistence that he “knew it all along” leaves plenty of room for some skepticism.
And yes, this was all just an ad campaign for a national sporting goods store trying to maintain brick-and-mortar relevance against online retailers like Amazon.
But at the same time, nobody ever jumped for joy just because they got to meet Jeff Bezos.
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