The man who was the first born-and-bred American to play AFL was a keen onlooker as Mason Cox followed in his footsteps during the Collingwood-Essendon blockbuster on Anzac Day.
Chicago native Jason Holmes, who played three late-season matches with St Kilda last year, was sitting with Cox's family and friends at the MCG as the big Pie made his exciting debut.
The pair are close friends, and after Holmes rang Cox in the lead-up to the match to congratulate him, the Magpie offered to organise tickets for the Saint to sit with his entourage.
Holmes said he felt an enormous sense of excitement for his fellow American.
"It was really great. I was so excited and was so happy another American was playing," Holmes told ESPN.
"I called him on Saturday and congratulated him, and he said he could get me a ticket if I wanted to come along. It was really nice sitting with his family and friends in the stands ... it's great to meet different people from his life, those who are important to him, like his family who flew out and friends he'd known since college. It was really amazing that something like that can eventuate.
"It was his day but it was awesome to be a part of it."
Like Holmes last season, Cox didn't appear overwhelmed by the occasion, making an immediate impact in his first match. But while the Saint beat him to the punch in becoming the first American to play senior football, the Magpie at least got bragging rights by kicking the first goal.
"I may have played the first game but I told him 'you might kick the first goal, you're playing forward and I've never kicked one ... you've got to get it done'," Holmes said.
"I couldn't have been any happier when he took that mark. I took my phone out for a Snapchat video, and he drilled it and it was so exciting."
Cox said he was proud to have Holmes' support.
"I'm sure he was chuckling [after I kicked the first goal]," Cox told ESPN.
"But he was absolutely ecstatic for me and had genuine happiness for me. He's such a great guy, we're good friends."