NFL Player Jon Dorenbos Performs Inspirational Magic Trick For ‘America’s Got Talent’ Finale

Jon Dorenbos, the Philadelphia Eagles’ long-snapper, wowed the America’s Got Talent judges with his inspirational finale performance Tuesday night.

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Dorenbos opted to go with a sleight-of-hand card trick for his last performance on the America’s Got Talent stage. To prepare for the trick, he had Heidi Klum, Mel B. and Howie Mandel write their names on three of the twos from the card deck. Dorenbos asked Simon Cowell to do something different, and write on his two the name of the person who means the most to him, who happens to be his son Eric.

While shuffling the deck of cards and removing each of the twos with ease, Dorenbos was reflective, telling the touching story of how he turned to magic in the first place.

“Magic saved my life. And there have been plenty of times when I was lost and I didn’t have the answers and I didn’t know where to go,” said Dorenbos, who had a difficult childhood. “So what did is I turned to magic, and it helped me find myself. It simply taught me, don’t hate, don’t blame and forgive.”

Dorenbos’ message to the judges and to the live crowd and those watching at home was, “We will find ourselves.”

Not only did Dorenbos find each one of the twos, but “Eric” – written in Simon Cowell’s hand – appeared on the blackboard off to the side of the stage.

“You talk the talk, you walk the walk,” Cowell told Dorenbos at the conclusion of his performance. “I think you’re someone who we’d be proud to say is the winner of America’s Got Talent.”

The winner of America’s Got Talent will be announced Wednesday night. The prize for the victor is $1 million and a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip.