American Family Insurance: Brielle's Story

Brielle Saracini McGuire lost her father in 9/11. She was a huge Yankees fan and wrote to Derek Jeter when she was 10 years old, inspired by his special relationship with his parents. At that time, she was invited to Yankee Stadium by Derek Jeter. They met and spoke and remained in touch over the years. Subsequently, Brielle was diagnosed with cancer – twice. Jeter again reached out and left her a voicemail message – telling her, “You are going to beat this” – which Brielle played over and over again to help her through her battle. She did beat it, and now is living her dream as an associate producer at the YES network.

Twenty-one years later, while in the process of producing celebratory messages to appear in the documentary series “The Captain,” American Family Insurance, Elite Media and the directing team of Jams and Bash, brought Brielle to the set where, to her surprise, she was reunited with Jeter. She let him know just how much he had inspired her: “He’s been a light on my darkest day.” Jeter, in turn, told Brielle just how much she had inspired him: “It works both ways; it was just an inspiration to see you.”

The resulting behind-the-scenes video was posted online on both American Family and ESPN social channels. It has resulted in more than 2 million views.