Reunited twins separated at birth find themselves rooting for opposing Super Bowl teams
February 3, 2023
A pair of Japanese American twins who were reunited as adults after being separated at birth have found themselves divided once again — but this time, over their support for opposing Super Bowl teams.
Steve Tazumi and Tom Patterson were born in November 1958 in Japan. They resided in an orphanage on the island of Kyushu, where they were adopted by different American families.
Tazumi grew up in Harrison Township, New Jersey, as a passionate Philadelphia Eagles fan. As for Patterson, he grew up rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs in Liberal, Kansas.
At the age of 16, Tazumi was told that he was adopted and had a twin brother.
The identical twins were only reunited in 1999 at the age of 40 after Tazumi found Patterson’s adoptive father, Claude Patterson.
“At the age of 40, I flew to Philadelphia to meet my twin brother for the first time,” Patterson told Fox 2.
The twins have since bonded over football, visiting each other to catch football games together.
“I’ve never had a brother. And it’s nice to talk about sports and we talk every day usually,” Tazumi told 6ABC.
“It’s exciting for me to have him be a part of me, to watch the NFL games and talk to one another. And fight with one another about our teams,” Patterson said. “He’s the only brother I have and it really means a whole lot to me to have somebody to share a lot of my feelings and knows exactly how I feel.”
Tazumi and Patterson also discovered that they were both owners of bodybuilding gyms in their respective hometowns before finding each other as adults.
“That is what blew me away the most is that he owned a bodybuilding gym in Liberal, Kansas, and I owned a bodybuilding gym in Runnemede and Belmar, New Jersey,” Tazumi said, according to Fox 2.
With Super Bowl LVII kicking off on Feb. 12, the twins have compared themselves to the Kelce brothers, of whom Travis Kelse plays for the Chiefs and Jason Kelse for the Eagles.
“It’s kind of like the Kelce brothers, the two brothers, opposing sides. So it’s going to be fun and surreal at the same time because whoever loses, someone’s going to lose,” Tazumi said.
It will be the first time the Chiefs take on the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Although Tazumi and Patterson will be watching the game from their own homes, they have a $25 wager going over whose team will win.
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