This Cubs Fan With Down Syndrome

Sang The National Anthem at Wrigley

                       And It’s Amazing

Do you.     .     .     ?

I usually get a huge lump in my throat when I hear the National Anthem.     .     .

followed very closely by tears in my eyes;

It just gets me

and I kind of really like being

G          O          T          T          E          N.             .             .

but this rendition did both at the same time and a little more:

After raising more than $37,000 for Special Olympics Illinois, Cubs fan Stefan Xidas, who has Down syndrome, had his wish granted last Monday night before the Cubs game against the Milwaukee Brewers. In front of a crowd of roughly 38,000 fans, he finally got the chance to sing the national anthem at Wrigley Field. And it was just a touching moment for Stefan and for everyone involved.

“It’s    the    best    moment    I    could    ever    imagine,”

Stefan said before he took the field to sing the anthem in front of the crowd.

How did Stefan get this opportunity? It started last month when his two childhood friends, Tommy Molitor and John Rosinski, helped him create a GoFundMe page to collect donations for Special Olympics Illinois.

He wrote a letter  to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts on the fundraising page, Xidas who is 30 years old wrote:

I’d  like  to  make  a  deal  with  Tom  Ricketts, the  owner  of the  Chicago  Cubs. If  I’m  able  to  raise  $5,000  for  the Special  Olympics  Organization,  Tom  Ricketts  will  let  me  sing  the  National  Anthem  at  a  Cubs  game.

What an amazing moment.          .          .

This is not a political statement about standing/kneeling, bowing, or saluting during the National Anthem so much as it is about

DEALING      FOR      A      MOMENT

that  creates  unforgettable

O  T  H  E  R

M O M E N T S.          .          .

a tsunami like ripple

that causes other rippled

tsunamis

that beat upon other shores

for attention.          .          .

not for a temporary gain or a twinkling of fame

but for a perpetual moment.          .          .

and  on

THAT  NOTE,

Thank you, Stefan.
T       H       A       N       K          Y       O       U