New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, left, with Army veteran Matt Jabaut, a Lewiston native, at American Legion Post 17 in Portland. Maye surprised Jabaut with a pair of tickets to this year’s Super Bowl, which will be played Feb. 9 in New Orleans. Photo courtesy of USAA

As a Lewiston native, being a New England Patriots fan comes with the territory for U.S. Army veteran Matt Jabaut. So meeting Patriots quarterback Drake Maye this week was a surreal experience.

Jabaut was in Portland for an interview with the American Legion at Post 17 on Jan. 8 when he was surprised by Maye, who recently competed his rookie season with the Patriots. Maye presented Jabaut with two tickets to this year’s Super Bowl, which will take place on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. Jabot will be recognized at the game as part of USAA’s Salute to Service. He will get the chance to spend time with Maye again at the game in the Salute to Service lounge.

 

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“It’s a huge honor, (because) growing up in Lewiston, I never thought I’d be where I am today in any way, shape or form,” Jabaut said. “So, it’s really an awesome experience to help promote all the awesome stuff our organizations do, and just represent Maine and Lewiston in the best way possible on the national stage.”

The plan was facilitated by financial services company USAA (United Services Automobile Association), which partners with veteran service organizations such as The American Legion. This year, USAA partnered with NFL players, including Maye, through the NFL’s Salute to Service Partner program, surprising military veterans with tickets to the Super Bowl.

“I had no idea it was coming,” Jabaut said. “It wasn’t even something that was on the radar, it’s something that a program (and) that our organizations do, to recognize people (who have) given volunteer service, and can be good representatives of organizations.”

After their initial meeting, Jabaut showed Maye around the legion hall and then they went outside to pass a football around, bringing Jabaut back to his days as a tight end for the Lewiston Blue Devils.

“I had to let a few people know that I didn’t drop a single pass, just to make sure that they knew,” Jabaut said. “Not many people get to catch a pass from an NFL quarterback, really fun to go do that, and then he was awesome and signed the ball for me and gave it to me after, so that’s a pretty cool little memento to have a signed ball that you actually played pass with a quarterback.”

Maye said the experience was rewarding for him, noting his personal connections to the military.

“It was awesome and a lot of fun getting to surprise Sgt. Matt Jabaut in Portland, Maine, with the news that we were sending him and his fiancé to the Super Bowl,” Maye said in a press release. “Knowing my grandfather served, I have so much respect and gratitude for the men and women who’ve served our country, like Staff Sgt. Jabaut. I’m so excited to have teamed up with USAA and the American Legion to gift Matt this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again in New Orleans.”

Jabaut is a member of American Legion Post 202 in Topsham. He has been an active member for the last 10 years and has served as commander for Post 202. He was the state commander from 2019-21 and has served a number of national roles with the American Legion.

Jabaut is involved with many initiatives through American Legion, like suicide prevention, Americanism and working with children through different sports-based and educational programs.

He served in the Army from 1997-2005 as a combat medic, earning the rank of Sergeant and an Expert Field medical badge. He led medical evacuation and treatment squads, and served as a Retention EEP and UPL Non-Commission Officer to support activities across reenlistment, diversity and inclusion and substance abuse prevention. He completed a combat tour in 2002-03 to Kuwait and Iraq, and served as an instructor at the Joint Medical Training Center in Fort Lewis, Washington.

Helping others is something Jabaut planned on building his life around since graduating from Lewiston Technical Center’s CNA program. That led him to work in retirement and nursing homes in high school before joining the military.

“Helping and taking care of other people was something that I was into, and then obviously I joined the Army as a medic to do that,” Jabaut said. “I had a couple injuries here and there that didn’t allow me to do the physical aspects of the Army and the medical stuff anymore, so that’s what got me a desk job in the Army.”

Through the Veterans Affairs office, he was able to get a degree in human resources.

He plans to bring his fiancé, Navy veteran Caroline Yarmala, to the game. The two met 12 years ago at a bar in Brunswick.

Jabaut doesn’t have a rooting interest in the Super Bowl, since the Patriots failed to make the playoffs. He said a couple co-workers are Philadelphia Eagles fans and would like to see them face the Buffalo Bills, who have struggled for so long to win a title.