[Brown:] The Seattle Seahawks face the Carolina Panthers this Sunday in the NFL playoffs. But the Seahawks wouldn't have made it this far if it hadn't been for the bad luck of the Minnesota Vikings. Their kicker, Blair Walsh, missed a 27-yard field goal last week ending their hopes of a super bowl title. As the insults started flying from upset Viking fans, one first grade teacher in Minnesota saw this as a chance to teach her students a lesson in empathy. So she asked them to write letters to Walsh.
[Unidentified Male:] Dear Blair, I feel bad for you.
[Unidentified Female:] You are so, so good at football.
[Unidentified Male:] Keep on trying. We love you so much.
[Unidentified Female:] I know you can do it. You can win the game.
[Unidentified Male:] You are the best. And maybe you need to practice. Love Cody.
[Brown:] That was absolutely adorable. Local story about those letters went viral and Walsh was so touched he decided to pay a visit.
[Blair Walsh, Kicker, Minnesota Vikings:] Thank you very much for all the letters you wrote and the cards. It is a very, very touching to me. It says a lot about you guys that you were willing to do that and to say such nice things. And that cheered me up a lot. And the fact you guys would do that for me, somebody you never met, somebody you don't know, that's huge. And it can help in certain times like these.
[Brown:] All right. So joining us now live from her classroom in Blaine, Minnesota, is first grade teacher Judie Offerdahl. Thank you so much for coming on. I see your students very hard at work there in the background. First off, what inspired you to do this and make this a lesson of empathy for your students?
[Judie Offerdahl, First Grade Teacher, Northpoint Elementary:] Well, we had been talking about empathy all year. It's something that we focus on. And on Friday we had football Friday. And a lot of my students are Vikings fans. And when I saw Blair miss that field goal, I knew that not only would he feel horrible but the kids would just be crushed. And I just thought we've been writing letters, we've been talking about empathy. What a great teachable moment right now to put in to affect our target of when someone is hurting you can make a difference.
[Brown:] Absolutely. And also that, you know, mistakes happen. We all make mistakes in life. What was your reaction when you heard that Blair Walsh would be coming in to thank the kids in person? What was it like for you and for them?
[Offerdahl:] Well, I was just overly excited for them. It was not anything that we even expected. We just really wanted him to get the letters and know that we had written things that might make him feel better and let him know that we had support. So when we learned that he was coming and then found out he made an exception to change his plans around, just so he could visit us, it was definitely phenomenal.
[Brown:] Well, we saw a little clip there, but tell us what he was like. You know, after going through this experience and not making the field goal and then he comes in and talk to your students, what was he like?
[Offerdahl:] He just seems like such a great guy, just very genuine and everything that he does it seems like he is just a great role model for kids. One thing that we really took to heart was the fact that he did say, you know, I'm accountable for what I'm doing. And this is what I'm going to do to make it better. I'm going to work and persist. And this is a defining this is not a defining moment for me. It's something that I know that I'm going to work past. And I think that's such a great lesson for kids also.
[Brown:] Yes, sometimes out of failure comes success. So in this case do you think the lesson worked? Do you think your students have a better understanding of what empathy is?
[Offerdahl:] Most definitely. I think that they do such a great job of that anyway. Kids in my opinion are just inherently kind. And when you give them opportunities to show their kindness, they really step up to the plate. So yes, definitely, I think this is an experience that will last and they will take with them.
[Brown:] I think we could all learn from those kids. I just want them to wave if they can hear me. Hi, kids, before we have to go. I don't know if they can. Wave to the camera. All right, guys. We actually have to go. But, Judie, I really appreciate you talking with us. Thank you so much. And I'll see you later. That does it for me. "The LEAD" with Jim Sciutto starts right now.
[Jake Tapper, Cnn Chief Washington Correspondent:] Thanks, Pam. To paraphrase field of dreams, is this heaven? No, it's Iowa, where I just sat down with Donald trump. "The LEAD" starts right now. Opening a rift as wide as Niagara Falls, the gloves come off between New York's Donald Trump and Canadian born Ted Cruz. I will ask the GOP front runner whether he came out of last night's debate even more powerful. They were told to act happy, brand new potentially aggravating details on the capture of ten U.S. sailors and the making of an Iranian propaganda video that followed. It turns out everything wasn't as hunky-Dori as it seemed. Plus, the Sean Penn interview about his interview with a sociopath drug lord on the run. Why he says it was not about himself at all?