CINCINNATI — For young Colton Jones, the best part of Thursday's game between the Reds and the Diamondbacks wasn't nearly getting his hands on a Eugenio Suarez home run. It was watching his dad fall down the bleachers trying to catch it.
For Colton's father, Richie, heading to the game Thursday was already going to be a milestone.
"Colton's first-ever Reds game," he said. "We were just having the greatest time. From the moment I picked him up from school to getting there. We had hot dogs, candy, he got a drink."
They had seats in left-center field, a prime spot for home runs.
After a few close calls, eventually, Suarez popped one right to them. Richie got a hand on it before it bounced out of his palm, down a few rows in front of him. That's when he threw out all abandon, determined to get the ball for his son.
The rest is now internet history.
"Favorite part was my dad falling down the bleachers," Colton said. "My thought was, when he fell, I didn't know if he would get the home run ball or anything. It scared me. Now he's all bruised. I said, 'Oh, you almost had that.' After that, all the fans came up and said we were going viral."
It wasn't just the young fan's favorite part of the game. Video of Richie's valiant but ultimately failed attempt -- which resulted in a treacherous spill, a lost shoe and a full plate of nachos going airborne -- made coverage on ESPN, "Good Morning, America," Bleacher Report and TMZ by Friday.
That's when Dani Sims, wife of Reds relief pitcher Lukas Sims, reached out on Twitter to try to make things right.
"Oh, goodness *nacho man* if you see this - DM me and @LSims_ will get your son a ball," she wrote. She soon heard back from Richie Jones.
"I couldn't have been more appreciative," Richie said. "(Colton) was so grateful of it. She said, 'Hey, we're going to take care of you. We're going to get you a ball... Lukas has got you. We'll get you a Donato's pizza to exchange the nachos."
Richie said Frito Lay has reached out, too, providing tickets to another game -- with free, unlimited nachos, of course.
For the father of two -- he also has a daughter -- becoming a sports meme resulted in a memory he and his family will never forget.
"That's every father's dream -- make your kids happy," he said. "That's what we tried doing."
