Maisey Hartman ’27 is an elementary education major at St. Joes. Originally from White Hall, Pennsylvania, Hartman was in elementary school when Eagles running back Saquon Barkley babysat her and her brother. The Hawk spoke to Hartman about her experience with Barkley ahead of his Super Bowl appearance.
How did Barkely become your babysitter?
He went to the same school district that my dad was the athletic director at — White Hall [Coplay] School District. I went there. So did my brother, and my dad was athletic director there, still is currently. And Saquon went there. He played football there, and him and my dad were super close. One night, my parents wanted a date night or just wanted to go out, and my dad asked Saquon, ‘Hey, want to babysit the kids for a night?’ and Saquon was more than interested in doing it.
How long was he your babysitter for?
On and off for about a year. It was around the time when he was a junior or senior in high school.
What was he like during that time?
He was super nice, energetic, a great friend to be around. He wasn’t one of those strict babysitters that made us be in bed at a certain time. Me and my brother grew up with a lot of girl babysitters, so a lot of the time my brother was the odd one out, so it was different this time having a boy babysitter. They played Madden, but Saquon always made sure I was included. We had a lot of fun together. We would play games, talk about random things, watch movies, just do things together. He was like a friend to us, and we had a lot of fun together.
Do you have a favorite memory with him?
When he was at Penn State, he invited me, my dad and my brother to a game, and we went through the locker room and backstage, and we saw him. I was nervous to say hi to him because I thought he forgot about us and wouldn’t remember who we were, because he was becoming big time famous. He yelled to me, ‘Hey Maisey, you’re not gonna say hi to your babysitter?’ and that just showed the kind of person he was, and that he’ll never forget me or my family.
How does the Barkley you know compare to the one you watch with the Eagles?
When people watch the games, he’s always cheering on his teammates when they get a touchdown over him. He’s very selfless, down to earth, I think that’s exactly how I would describe the way he was when he was at Whitehall or babysitting me. The way I know him personally, that’s the exact person he is, and I think that’s the way he shows himself on screen. And if people can’t see that, I hope my words will show that that’s just the way he is. You just have to look closely to see that he’s just a very good person, and I think you can easily tell.
How do you feel watching him play in the Super Bowl now?
It’s so exciting. I can’t believe this is happening. I remember when I was younger, I couldn’t even wrap my head around the fact that he was even a football player in my house in the first place. I just thought he was a random kid babysitting me. … It’s just insane to see. I’m really extremely proud of him, and it’s exciting to see him coming from a small town like Whitehall to the big screen and making his way being the best running back in the league and doing amazing things.
