Instead, they were being reunited with their son, home on leave after deployment in Afghanistan.
Bill and Michelle Landi were part of the "Be the Thunder" bit designed to fire up the crowd, but what they didn't know was that they would get a little help.
Alexander Buettell, a Navy FMF Corpsman, emerged from the tunnel and got one of the biggest mom-hugs of all-time.
Buettell, who served in support of NATO forces and was in charge of the trauma unit and casualty extraction in Afghanistan for the past nine months, is home for a short leave and wanted to surprise the folks.
By the size of the hugs Buetell got, it is safe to say they were surprised.
