Young NHL Fan Gets Huge Reward for Standing-By His Team

Being a sports fan is a commitment, and it's not always fun, but as this young hockey lover can attest, allegiance pays off in the end.

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NHL star John Tavares of the New York Islanders treated 11-year-old fan Jake Lotoki to an autographed jersey after learning that the boy was taunted by fans of the Winnipeg Jets during the teams' match-up last week.

According to the Winnipeg Sun, Jake Lotocki wore a Tavares jersey to the game in Winnipeg, and was mocked by Suns fans, who got in his face saying, "You suck! Go home, loser!" He had to crumple up the jersey on his way out so people wouldn't see it.

When Tavares found out about the incident, he contacted the Islanders' Director of Communications and had a signed jersey sent to Jake. The Islanders Booster Club sent the boy additional memorabilia, and a restaurateur in Winnipeg, where Jake lives, offered to have the family as their guests for dinner. They also got season tickets to see the Islanders play!

According to Yahoo! Sports, Jake will attend an Islanders morning skate when the team travels back to Winnipeg next season and will meet Tavares and some of his teammates.

In fact, Jake has now received so many offers from people wanting to cheer him up that his mom is putting an end to it.

"As a family we've decided we will decline anything further," Jake's mom Sue told the Sun. "What we've received from the Islanders is amazing. There's no way I could say no to that. But beyond that... getting this dialogue going is what we hoped for."

Looks like Jake was actually a winner.