Field day

Marcia Kmet, Sun City resident, grandmother of 11, and great-grandmother of four, was filling up her car at the gas station last week. Something very strange happened next.

“A woman came over and asked me for my autograph,” Kmet said.

Recently, Dave and Marcia Kmet have become celebrities overnight and have received an overwhelming number of phone calls. This is what happens when your grandson gets drafted by the Chicago Bears.

Marcia said, “I told Cole early that morning, ‘You’re going to shine.’”

Cole Kmet, a 2017 St. Viator High School graduate attending Notre Dame, was selected by his hometown Chicago Bears with the 43rd pick.

Marcia said, “We were on cloud nine. We were anticipating that he would be selected by Jacksonville. The phone rang and it was my son letting us know he was selected by our own Chicago Bears.”

Cole Kmet, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound tight end had his name called on the NFL Draft show. The 2020 85th NFL Draft was held from April 23–25 via videoconferencing.

Marcia said, “He always played football and softball. He attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. He played both baseball and football in high school. The White Sox were interested in drafting him out of high school. He even worked out for them at their ballpark. But he dreamed and wanted to play football.”

Cole was a top MLB prospect. He led St Viator High School to the Class #A State Championship in 2017.

Marcia said, “We are a football family. His father, Frank, was on the Bears practice squad and signed as a free agent with the Bears in 1993 before being cut.”

Frank Kmet led the Huskies to a 1987 State title. He played at Purdue and was a fourth-round pick by Buffalo in 1992.

“Cole’s Uncle Jeff Zgonia played for the NFL for 17 seasons and now is a defensive line coach for Washington,” Marcia said.

“I am so blessed. All my grandchildren and great-grandchildren are wonderful kids. Cole was always a good kid with great parents. There has been so much excitement. I have been receiving phone calls constantly from friends and neighbors. They are all excited at Cole playing here for our home team.

I am from New Jersey and it is not as an enthusiastic sports town as Chicago is. Chicago fans love their teams. I posted my wonderful news on Facebook and I got calls from my High School friends. Some I have not seen for 58 years. But they remembered me.”

The celebration in the Arlington Heights community included a parade in front of Kmet’s home on Saturday morning. Cole stood in front of his home and waved to all the fans that drove by, some singing the Bear’s song, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.”

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