It was a moment for Grace.
The Westchester tween who The Post spotlighted for being a die-hard “Swiftie” had her dreams come true on the pop superstar’s concert at MetLife Stadium Sunday – when Taylor Swift knelt down and placed the fedora on her head while singing “22.”
“I felt so special, blissful, nauseous, shocked, excited,” 12-year-old Grace DelVecchio, who has Down Syndrome, told The Post in regards to the special moment.
Prior to the DelVecchio family attending T-Swizzle’s Eras Tour concert events on June 26 and 28, The Post and the DelVecchios reached out to Swift’s public relations team several times to request a meet-and-greet with Grace’s idol – but never received a response.
So when Grace and her dad, Michael DelVecchio, were instructed by a security guard to go to the tip of the ninth row where they were sitting, Michael initially didn’t know what to think.
But inside seconds, he realized that Swift was in the course of singing “Enchanted” – the song that routinely got here before “22,” during which Swift traditionally gives her fedora to an audience member.
“I knew what was going to occur next because I’ve examine it previously. I literally left our bags – I left our backpack, fanny pack, the whole lot on the chair, because I used to be similar to, ‘I gotta go.’ And so they, like, secret-serviced us…up front,” Michael recalled.
“I’m still feeling a few of those goosebumps one week later…I won’t ever have the ability to duplicate something like that for her for the remainder of our lives,” he said with tears in his eyes.
For years, it had been Michael’s goal to meet his daughter’s dream of seeing Swift perform live. The daddy of two eventually secured Eras Tour tickets days before Christmas – after he was unable to get them in the course of the Nov. 15 presale, which made him feel like “the worst dad ever,” he said.
Jenn Sparano, Grace’s speech-language pathologist teacher at Mildred E. Strang Middle School, was sitting in a unique section of the stadium when she looked as much as see Grace’s face on the massive screen.
At that moment, “I really collapsed to the bottom and was sobbing,” Sparano said.
Theresa DelVecchio, Grace’s mom, immediately began receiving pictures of Grace on the massive screen from people she hadn’t spoken to in years who were on the concert, she said with fun.
“There’s not a single one who told me they saw the video [of Taylor giving her hat to Grace] and didn’t cry,” Theresa said.
Probably the greatest parts of the entire experience has been the outpouring of affection for Grace from their Yorktown community, in keeping with Sparano and the DelVecchios.
“I even have loved watching everyone’s interactions with Grace within the hallway this week…Cheering for her, giving her hugs. Everyone seems to be so excited for her,” Sparano said.
“She just eats it up,” Michael added.
The DelVecchios have ordered a glass case — together with a hat stand — to preserve Swift’s fedora for Grace.
