(CBS DETROIT) – It’s a sweet way to celebrate your birthday: Free tickets to see the Detroit Lions.
“When they sent me a text message, this is a scam. I was like, ‘Don’t pick it up.’ Then they were like ‘If you don’t, we will go to the next person.’ I was like hold on,” Niko Monjarez said.
It’s a notification that almost seemed too good to be true. Niko just celebrated his birthday, and luckily, his aunt knew about Home Bakery’s raffle and was looking to score. The bakery recently went viral after creating a cake imitating the headstand celebration done by Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s game.
“I thought I’d just get the receipt and stick it in his card, I probably won’t win. The love gift is, I spent two hours in the cold waiting just for him,” Monjarez’s aunt, Cyndi Wehrli, told CBS News Detroit.
The St. Brown cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s playoff game.
Customers had to buy something from the bakery to participate. That decision alone was a game-changer.
“Normally, in January, I’m laying off, I’m cutting hours, some up to 25%. I don’t have to do that. Some of my people will look for a second job; they don’t have to do that,” said bakery owner Heather Tocco.
Tocco and her team decided on the headstand cake weeks ago. It took around 200 hours to complete and stands just over 6 feet tall.
“We actually took the image of him on his head and expanded it to the height that we wanted,” she said.
Wehrli says she is in disbelief that her nephew won. As a lifelong Lions fan, she’s proud to witness the team’s progress.
“I think it’s so amazing that St. Brown did what he did and used a local entity,” she said.
Monjarez isn’t surprised his aunt had the winning receipt. He says she does a lot of good in the world. With the win, he now gets the chance to surprise another family member.
“My dad’s been a lifetime Lions fan. This is historic, and to be able to go see that is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Monjarez said.
The cake display will stay up until the Super Bowl, while the Home Bakery team is planning to replace it with a Vince Lombardi display.
Terell Bailey
Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Terell has had a passion for broadcast journalism since childhood. Growing up, throughout his schooling he was known for doing the “morning announcements.” Fitting he became a TV journalist, right?
