With the Tiger-Cats season seats already on sale for next, it seems sometimes like the football calendar never takes a day off. Since the final whistle blew on the 2008 Grey Cup, Ticats past and present have been giving back in the community all across TigerTown, doing their part to spread holiday cheer and provide inspiration to fans and friends of the team.
Mosca Joins Belli at Sick Kids Hospital
Angelo Mosca never lets an opportunity to tease Adriano Belli go to waste. When the Argos defender asked his fellow defensive lineman and Hall of Famer to join him at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in downtown Toronto for a cheque presentation, Mosca jumped at the chance to spend time with the kids and to get a few good shots in on Belli.
In time for the holidays, Belli, together with Argonauts fans, donated $5,000 cash, $5,000 worth of custom-made jersey’s, and a sleigh full of toys to the SickKids Foundation. The toys will be distributed by the hospital, and the custom jersey’s have been handed to more than 100 sick kids throughout the year.
When Mosca heard Belli was making a donation for every tackle, he quipped that this year’s contribution might not be very high. When Adriano asked Mosca and the other special guests like Damon Allen, Jeff Johnson, Andre Talbot, Chad Folk, and Mike “Pinball” Clemons, Mosca pointed out that they needed to be in the picture to help make the photo more aesthetically pleasing.
As he presented the hospital with the cheque, Adriano took the opportunity to poke fun at Mosca as well, saying that Angelo helped him get the toys at a discount, by tossing the toys out the backdoor of the toy store. While the pair poked fun at each other, it’s players like Mosca, who paved the way for the likes of Belli and Marwan Hage, lineman who use their personalities and resources to become philanthropists
During the 2008 season Belli donated a special SickKids suite at each of nine Argonauts home games. More than 60 kids and their families were able to watch Belli and his teammates take on the rest of the CFL live at Rogers Centre. To date, more than $12,000 has been raised by the Big Kiss Fund in cash and services in kind.
Tis The Season
The league’s best long snapper Matt Robichaud joined CHML and the Aldershot BIA on November 28th, as they lit up the Christmas Tree of Hope within the Lezley’s Chaps Restaurant parking lot. In its 4th year, this great annual event featured a visit from Santa & Mrs. Claus, along with an a cappella group leading Christmas carols, a children’s choir and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Matt and his buddy Stripes took part in the day and signed autographs as the crowd in attendance tried to keep warm in anticipation of the switch being flicked and the biggest Christmas tree in Aldershot being lit up for the holiday season.
Keep your eyes open wide in the community and you may just spot one of your favourite members of the Black and Gold in your neighborhood this off-season. And stay tuned to Ticats.ca to keep track of all the appearances and events taking place as we look forward to the New Year and the 2009 sea
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