Really? Really.
It all started about a week and a half ago when we received a phone call from someone at our church (who we don't really know, but, honestly, everyone at our church knows about us). She had heard about an upcoming Badgers game and took it upon herself to contact the UW Athletic Department to see if she could get Anna invited to the game and somehow be involved in it.
At first Matt and I were not sure this was something we wanted to do. We don't go around seeking to be in the spotlight. In fact, most weekends we would rather hole up in our home or only interact with those who know us. Plus, we didn't know quite what was involved; the phrase "poster child" had been used at some point and we didn't know exactly what that meant. And finally, although we live in Madison, we know of plenty of others in this town who are bigger Badger fans than we are.
We also worry about how this kind of event might affect our kids in the long run, especially Anna. We work hard to help our kids understand that the world does NOT revolve around them. Perhaps you can understand why we were a little hesitant about having Anna present the game ball at a UW Men's Basketball Game.
In addition to the larger parenting concerns, we knew the game would be on a Sunday after church and Sunday School in a situation completely unfamiliar to any of our kids. Historically, certain members of our family don't do well in new, high-sensory environments.
But then we did a little research about the game itself. Here's a great article that explains the history behind this particular game: Gard vs. Gard Exhibition Way More Than Just Basketball. Basically, the coaches of the competing teams, who are also brothers, wanted to raise awareness of brain cancer due to their father's diagnosis and death from the disease last October. The game turned into the Brain Cancer Awareness Game, with high involvement from the Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
We also did some hard thinking. Whether or not we like to admit it, there are many things our family is not able to do together because of Anna's disability. This was something we could do together and we would probably make some good memories, too.
The Monday before the game we called the Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing and Promotions to let him know we would attend and Anna would participate in the presentation of the game ball. Our main tasks in preparation for the game were figuring out where we would park, finding some good, updated Badgers gear, and making sure Anna knew how to hold a basketball on her lap while wheeling herself around.
Then on Monday afternoon we received a call from the Child Life services at the hospital, offering us a set of four complimentary tickets to the game. We let them know they could pass those tickets along to another family since we were already involved in the game :)
Later in the week, we received an email from our contact in the athletic department with a draft of the PA announcement as well as this little gem, "Also, the Badgers head coach, Coach Gard heard that your family was attending the game. He extended an invite to meet up with him after the game by the locker room if you are interested for photos and autographs."
Really? Really.
On Sunday we managed to find a relatively decent parking space, got our tickets from will call, made it through security, and found our seats with a few minutes to spare.
We also learned that we were sitting close by another family who we have gotten to know through BCCN events, as well as Anna's school. Anna's P.E. teacher's daughter was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago and finished up her treatment just before Anna started third grade. It turns out they also received complimentary tickets to the game and were invited down to center court during half time.
Soon our escort for the day's events arrived and we left with her to make our way to the first level. We worked our way around and around the behind the scenes of the Kohl Center to get to just the right spot at just the right time.
And then, there was this,
and this,
Once we survived this portion of the day, we were escorted back to our seats to watch the game.
At this point we had the realization that our kids know very little about basketball.
Ethan: "The players don't fall down a lot. They must not get hurt like they do in football. Do they get hurt, Mom?"
Kate: "What was that sound for? Why did the buzzer go off again? How many points do they get for that basket? What about that one?"
Anna: "I bet the scores of basketball games are a lot higher than those of football games."
The kids also got a kick out of Ethan Happ, #22, because his name is Ethan, of course. Kate and Ethan were very conscious of when #22 came into the game.
Overall, the kids did great. Matt reminded me of our baseline expectation for days like this when he said towards the end of the day, "Hey! No one melted down!" That's a pretty sweet deal on a day like this.
The Pioneers of Platteville held their own for the first half and were only down by about 10 at halftime. But then the Badgers really took control. Our kids got to see plenty of three-pointers as well as a few dunks. Here's an article summarizing the game, with the coaches' reactions, too, in the video section: Men's Basketball Opening Emphasis.
After the game we waited for our escort to arrive once again and she led us down to the first floor and presented each kid with a signature basketball.
We realized when we passed the "No media beyond this point" sign that this was a pretty exclusive hallway. While we were waiting, we recognized a couple of Madison's other "medulloblastoma kids", one of whom was on P4 a lot when Anna was.
Then Coach Gard came out.
What a nice guy. He must have talked with Anna for at least five minutes, then with the rest of us for a bit longer. Good quotes from our kids during this time are as follows:
Coach Gard: So do you like the Badgers?
Anna: Well, we're more of Packers fans, but I like it when Bucky comes to my school.
Coach Gard: What sports to you like, Ethan?
Ethan: Um ... Bowling.
Finally he said something like, "I guess I'd better go talk to the media", but made sure to instruct the others on staff to direct the players to sign our basketballs and the programs/t-shirts of the other kids.
Then, one by one all (except one) of the UW Men's Basketball 2016-2017 players came out and signed the basketballs.
Really? Really.
Some of the guys chatted and were more friendly than others, but they were all very polite.
In the end, did we have a good time? Yep.
Do we think we deserved it? Nope.
Are there plenty of other kids who could have been in Anna's place? Yep.
Are we grateful for the opportunity we had? Of course.
Still, it's always humbling to remember what has brought us to this point and the lengths to which people will go to bring some extra joy into Anna's life.
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