\"I was already in shock just knowing my natural parents had found me,\" said Mr. Mathieson, who called himself an avid pro football fan. \"But when Jim said he was the head coach of the New York Giants, that put me in cardiac arrest.\"

All Mr. Mathieson knew in his initial phone conversation with the Fassels on Sunday was that their names were Jim and Kitty. He was overjoyed to hear that they had been looking for him. He was thrilled to hear that they had married two years after his birth and had recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary. He was excited to hear that he had four siblings, and that they had known of him since last year and were eager to meet him.

But when he heard over the telephone that his father was Jim Fassel, he wrote it in big letters on a notepad and showed it to his wife, Kristi.

\"Oh, my God,\" she said.