As you know, I have been on many teams, and have been part of every event each team has put on for a charitable cause. There have been many different themes and fund raisers. Maybe the biggest was in Philly, the annual Wives Carnival that has been done for years. My wife, Tracy, was very involved and was co- chair for several years. It has become the largest one day grossing event in pro sports! And for one day of our season, the players are asked to do different activities and sign autographs for the thousands in attendance. Over one million dollars annually is generated from the Carnival.
With the Evening with Pirates coming up, many people, including the players are getting primed for the big fund raiser to benefit the Portland Pirates Foundation and Maine Children's Cancer Program. This event is only made possible by the many generous charitable donations of those in attendance. And, as always, many thanks go out to all who take part and organize.
What I would like to tell you about is the work the players do during the season. One of the most important roles of athletes are to act as role models around the community. Not because they are important, but because many athletes are public figures and people like meeting and talking to them. Of course, in the major markets, where the big league teams are located, the players are much more in thwe public eye and for that reason recognizable. TV and media outlets make everything about players as grand and as public as can be. In Portland, we are lucky to have two teams that are very high level professional teams. The intimate size of the city certainly helps the prominence of each team here. And for this reason, most everyone in the area know the Pirates and the Sea Dogs.
Now, back to what I was getting at before. People love sports and of course, fans have favorite players. I have been pleasantly surprised at the increasingly large fan base in Portland. the fans know their players and are very supportive. Our players have been very active in the community in various capacities this season, and I'm sure in past seasons as well. Before I returned as a player, I watched as our guys made visits to the hospitals, local schools, buisnesses around town, fan club and season ticket holders events, local youth hockey clinics and many radio and TV appearances. Let me tell you, as a first year pro, these appearances were definitely fun and, well, made you feel somewhat like a celebrity. And, despite the many lame complaints, the guys are very enthusiastic and receptive and get a warm feeling after each appearance. It is amazing how excited kids get and how many of their little faces light up when a player walks in with his jersey on and the children associate each guy with the Pirates. And even in the grimmest times, in a cancer ward or with other sick patients, the interaction with people can be very rewarding. When I have walked away from a day like this, I can't help but feel that the people I have talked to have touched me much more than I them.
Tracy and I have attended some childrens and adult wards of sick patients, and I can tell the last thing some of the people want to do is have visitors during their treatments, but on the flipside, some of the patients are begging for visitors and leaving to move on to another room can create a feeling of guilt. A few people we have met along the way have remained friends and kept in contact with us. And a few have passed on. But, in each case, I can tell you the little effort we made to accomodate their wishes left a lasting impression in our minds. The most vivid of those came during a summer when Tracy and I were living in New Jersey. I, a member of the Devils, attended a place called Camp Sunshine, filled with youngsters afflicted by cancer. Some terminal, some on the road to recovery. All, though, longing for attention. The tireless counselors and nurses that worked there had many great stories about each camper for us. I played a game of street hockey with an ethnic mix of children, but in ten minutes or so, the whole lot of them joined in the game. Kids with missing limbs from their sickness, some in wheel chairs and many with limited energy participated in the day. And by the end, I had bodies hanging all over me filled with laughter. I left Camp Sunshine with mixed emotions, wondering what was to become of many of the kids there. As we learned later, some happy endings and some sad. The craziest thing about the whole day, as we were driving home, the Devils had been trying to contact me all day to inform me that I had been traded to the Whalers! A small footnote to our days events...
In the end, this is what it is all about. Maybe, out of the dozen patients or school kids, or players on a youth team, you may reach out to one and make a connection and then you realize hockey may not be the most important thing in the world...
So, I felt that I should let you know a different side of our players, one that is far from the brutes you see on the ice. A group of compassionate young guys, who spend some of their days making a difference in the community.One thing that I learned from my parents is that giving back really feels great!
Weino

E-mail this entry to a friend