The reunited Japanese American twins who recently made headlines for supporting opposing teams in the NFL have attended this weekend’s Super Bowl — the first time for each of them.
Steve Tazumi and Tom Patterson, who were separated at birth and reunited at age 40, showed up at the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona, in a contrast of colors Sunday: Tazumi donned green for the Philadelphia Eagles, while Patterson sported red for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Image via NextShark
Photos exclusively shared with NextShark show the brothers enjoying their time at the event and at a tailgate party in Phoenix. They originally planned to watch the game from their own homes, but NextShark and the NFL surprised them with tickets to attend their first Super Bowl ever.
Image via NextShark
“[We’re] very, very, very excited. Let’s go Eagles! E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!” cheered Tazumi, while Patterson joked “Down! Down! Down! Down! Down! Down!”
Image via NextShark
The pair was also captured throwing a football to each other for the very first time during a Super Bowl VIP event.
The twins were born in Japan in 1958. They lived together briefly in an orphanage before being adopted by different American families.
The twins at 15 months old.
Tazumi grew up in Harrison Township, New Jersey, while Patterson grew up in Liberal, Kansas. At the age of 16, Tazumi was told that he was adopted and that he had a twin brother.
At 40, Tazumi found Patterson’s adoptive father, Claude Patterson. He set out for Philadelphia and met his long-lost brother in 1999.
Twins meet for the first time in 38 years.
The twins have since bonded over football. They also learned that each of them had been managing a bodybuilding gym in their respective hometowns before they met up.
Image via NextShark
The Chiefs ultimately emerged victorious over the Eagles 38-35. With this, Patterson not only takes home bragging rights, but also $25 after winning their wager.
Check out more photos from the twins’ trip to Arizona:
Image via NextSharkImage via NextSharkImage via NextShark
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