Parny and Surrey have been neighbors in Bailey Island, Maine for over a decade. They've watched each other's lives unfold from their front porches, shared countless cups of coffee, and followed their grandsons' NFL careers with the kind of attention only grandmothers can muster. On February 8, 2026, both of those grandsons will take the field at Super Bowl LX — one playing, one coaching.
Parny's grandson, Jackson "Jake" Bobo, is a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. Surrey's grandson, Ashton Grant, is the quarterbacks coach for the New England Patriots. Neither grandmother thought this moment would actually happen.
"Rooting for one team or the other, we thought there was no way we would both make it, and lo and behold, here we are," Parny told WGME.
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Start Your News DetoxFor five years, the two women followed their grandsons' parallel paths through professional football — different routes, same destination. They laughed about the odds. They marveled at the coincidence. And somewhere along the way, their pride in each family's accomplishment deepened their own friendship.
What makes this moment worth noting isn't just the statistical improbability. It's what Parny and Surrey have decided it means. They've chosen to frame this as something shared rather than divided. Yes, one grandson plays for Seattle and one works for New England. But both made it to the biggest game in American sports. Both families get to experience that pinnacle moment.
"No matter the Super Bowl outcome, these grandmothers will remain friends," Parny said. "Whoever wins, it's been a ride for both teams and certainly for both grandmothers."
There's a quiet grace in that statement. Parny and Surrey aren't pretending they won't have a rooting interest — of course they will. But they've already decided that the outcome of one game won't reshape a decade of friendship or diminish what their grandsons have both achieved. That's the part worth paying attention to: not the rarity of two family members reaching the Super Bowl, but the choice to celebrate both.
"Everybody appreciates it for what it is, which is friendship and a little bit of competitiveness," Parny said.
On February 8, one team will win. The other will lose. But Parny and Surrey will drive home together, two neighbors who watched their grandsons reach the pinnacle of their profession — together.
