There is nothing more fulfilling to me than getting a story idea and then seeing it come together and air on one of our newscasts. The other day, I got an email about a Pop Warner football team in Richmond. Since I generally don’t have time to go out and do stories, I passed the information on to Amber Lee. She is one of my favorite reporters at KTVU. Amber loved the idea and tonight her story was on the Ten O’Clock News. It was pretty cool. The Richmond Steelers have an 11-1 record this year. And now they have an opportunity to play in a national tournament in Florida. The problem is that dream may not come true. I’ll explain why in a moment. But first a little about these kids. They all come from low-income families. And lets just say they are dealing with things that most of us could never imagine. The little boy in the picture without his helmet, is 9 year-old Josias Bing. Two months ago his father was murdered in a drive-by shooting. Amber told me that Josias was very quiet. He told her his misses his dad. That they were very close. And that his dad would always take him fishing. Its heartbreaking. Unfortunately, gunfire and violence are nothing new to these kids. Even though they’re all between 8 and 11, they hear it all the time. To put that in perspective, I’m 56. I’ve never heard random gunfire. Ever. Amber asked the team’s quarterback Nehemiah Jacques: “What do you think when you hear the gunfire?” His answer was very simple and to the point. He said: “It means something bad has happened.” All of which makes football that much more important for these kids. It’s their safe haven. And you know what else. They’re really good. Amber couldn’t stop smiling when I asked her what it was like being around them. She said: “They’re so cute and adorable.” Most of them have probably never even been outside of Richmond. But now they have a chance to go to Florida for the tournament. And while theyre there, they may also get to go to Disney World. But to do that, they need to raise $20,000 by December 2nd. So far they’ve raised about $5,000. The team manager has set up a gofundme account. gofundme/gnj9zk I hope they get a chance to go. But whatever happens, no one can take away what they’re learning from football. They’re learning about hard work. They’re learning what it feels like to accomplish something. And they’re learning what it feels like to win as a team. And those are some pretty good life lessons. If you’d like to see Amber’s piece here’s the link: bit.ly/1yfaHAi When you see all the players I think you’ll agree. They are “really cute.” Go Steelers!
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 09:25:34 +0000
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