Whew, what a weekend! We had sunshine, rain and wind; we had coaches, players and parents; we had fighters, survivors and angels; we had contests, UVU players and prizes; we had petitions, sponsors and posters; we had cheers, sighs and tears; we had tee shirts, bows and medals; we had Minions, Frankenstein and tutus; we had compassion, sportsmanship and love.
Congratulations to:
10u – 1st – Heat ’07, 2nd – Bat Busters
12u – 1st – Rampage, 2nd – Utah Thunder
14u – 1st – Freakz, 2nd – Edge
And while the games played on, our hearts were particularly tender this weekend. One of our favorite cuties – Rebekah Magill – passed away on September 5th. She was 8 years old. We have played for her the past five years and she had the same cancer as Nick, making her extra special to us. Team Avalanche ’05 dedicated themselves to honor her this year. We were so impressed by this team and their ability to collect their courage and represent Rebekah in a beautiful expression of love and support for the Magill family. Godspeed, little one – you will not be forgotten and will always be a part of our Wacky community.
A special thank you to Jennie & Dean Magnesen of Sound Warehouse for the new and super awesome Wacky flags; Mitch Hughes with Picture This Photography in supplying duplicate posters of our Captains/Cuties; Kyle Jones with Print Finishing Specialties for laminating our 80 posters at no cost; Jason Polstein with RIP-IT Sports for donating all the prizes for the Skills Contest – Jason has never met us – he heard about us from a friend of a friend of a friend and made the offer out of the blue to make a donation to our tournament; and to AdWear for designing the tee-shirts and Wacky Wear, making us all look gooooooooood! The willingness of all these people who, without hesitation, offer to make our tournament better with their generous donations – you are all appreciated beyond words.
We have volunteers extraordinaire! To those who could manage to help out for a couple of hours to those who helped out every single hour we were on the fields – thank you so very much! It definitely takes a village and we have one amazing, crazy, silly, strong, dependable and wacky village!
My fellow cancer mamas – thank you for sharing your children with us. They remain a steadfast example of what really matters most. I know coming to the fields can make you feel a bit vulnerable, yet you came out to play. I hope your interaction with all of us here at Wacky was fun and memorable!
But mostly, thank you to all the softball girls (coaches and parents) who have always understood what this tournament means. Your expressions on your shirts, socks and bows to the gifts of inclusion, favorite treats and sharing your dugout with a little one who is just trying to be a kid is absolutely precious and we are forever grateful! We know Nick is proud of you all, as are we.
With enormous love and gratitude,
Lori & Lee Brower
