Brady Knight sits Thursday in her Lisbon Falls home wearing her ugly sweater and holding a signed copy of Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning record. Knight was surprised by Fallon with the ornate sweater on “The Tonight Show” and she plans to showcase it at school and holiday events. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Brady Knight, a 16-year-old from Lisbon Falls, recently collected an ornate, so-called ugly sweater directly from Jimmy Fallon, host of “The Tonight Show,” who was celebrating his yearly 12 Days of Ugly Sweaters.

In a video clip of Knight collecting the sweater — in front of the studio audience and millions of TV viewers — Knight appeared surprised. Stunned, even. There was nothing scripted about this affair. When Fallon called out Knight’s seat number — 265 — nobody was more awestruck than Knight herself. 

“When I heard that number come out of his mouth,” she said, “I was completely flabbergasted.”

And then, bantering with Fallon himself, Knight was asked to try on the sweater — an absurdly ornate thing with bands of multicolored ribbon shimmering under the studio lights. And she did, too.

Knight is a junior and cheerleader at Lisbon High School. For one reason or another, she has always wanted to see Fallon’s show filmed in New York.

“I’ve been wanting to go for absolutely the longest time,” she said. 

The last time she was in the big city, Knight was not yet 16, so she couldn’t apply for tickets to the show. She turned 16 in September, and became entitled to take a shot at getting a spot in Fallon’s audience. 

In November she applied to see a number of the shows that were coming up in December, hoping to get tickets for one of them. She crossed her fingers. She waited. 

“Two weeks prior to the taping,” she said, “I got an email saying that I got the ticket.” 

Brady Knight, a 16-year-old Lisbon Falls cheerleader, shows off her sweater Thursday that she received from Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” Surprised on air, she received the dazzlingly garish sweater from Fallon during his 12 Days of Ugly Sweaters. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Her dream fulfilled, Knight headed to New York with an uncle and two aunts, and when it came time for Fallon to pick the next lucky recipient of one of his ugly sweaters, Knight found herself in the lucky seat. 

She had her up-close brush with fame and the sweater was hers. 

The sweater is a gaudy thing by any measure; so ambitiously decorative that under the right lights it almost looks like a living thing. It sparkles and shines and in the middle of it, a defiant Santa stands with hands on his hips. The item even has a stiff, upraised collar in the back, like something that might be worn by a Christmas version of Count Dracula.

But the sweater came directly from Jimmy Fallon’s hands, so Knight expects she will keep it forever. The plan is to place it into a glass-front case like some people do with athletic jerseys. 

Yet, one doesn’t honor a true ugly sweater by placing it into a case and hanging it on a wall. Knight is wise enough to know that a sweater of such significance and garishness has to be worn at least once or twice. 

“I have a couple events I want to wear it to,” Knight said, “Like, I have school spirit week and then a couple Christmas parties.” 

Will her friends and classmates admire and envy Knight’s new sweater? Will they run away in horror? 

If Fallon’s audience reaction is any indication, things might be just fine. 

“Best sweater yet!” declared a whole bunch of “Tonight Show” fans on the program’s YouTube page. 

Knight’s mother, Lindsay, doesn’t care so much what the sweater looks like. She’s just happy for her daughter, who has wanted to see Fallon’s show live under the bright lights of the big city for as long as she can remember. 

“How everything came together and fell into place really has me feeling this is the ‘Christmas Story’ of the ages,” Lindsay said, “substituting the leg lamp for the ugly sweater!”