Scott O’Neil spoke to students at BYU and sat down with Desert News to bring us the most unexpected story of the offseason– to explain why he had decided to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. O’Neil’s wife has been a lifelong member of the church and they raised their children in accordance with it, but Scott never fully joined. Of course, the reason he finally did has a lot to do with his wife, kids, and family, but also Chad Lewis and Vai Sikahema:

While in Utah, they attended the BYU-Cincinnati game on Oct. 16, and while riding on the elevator, O’Neil recognized former Philadelphia Eagles player Chad Lewis. After O’Neil introduced himself, Lewis immediately asked if he knew Vai Sikahema, a former BYU and Philadelphia Eagles football player who is now a well-known morning news anchor in Philadelphia. O’Neil said he knew of him but didn’t know him personally. Lewis told him the two needed to be friends.

The O’Neils got back to Philadelphia and Scott had breakfast with Sikahema the next day. The two became fast friends and immediately hit it off, so much so that Sikahema quickly recruited O’Neil’s help with something. Leaders of the LDS Church were flying out to Philadelphia to see prospective sites for the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Cultural Celebration, but church leaders in Philadelphia, including Sikahema, had been unable to find anywhere that was available. When told about the dilemma, O’Neil immediately went to work, and it was his help that eventually secured the Liacouras Center at Temple University for the celebration.

He would have probably joined the church anyway at the urging of his daughter, but there’s just something about Chad Lewis being the Forrest Gump of this story, using a chance run-in to change Scott O’Neil’s life, that I find amazing. Don’t think this will get me unblocked on Twitter, though.

Andy Reid couldn’t be reached for comment.