Hi, my name is Cathy, and I am a hockey fan...

I have lived in Southern Ohio my entire life - with the exception of the four years spent in college in Westerville. I am a wife and mother first and foremost. And although you know you should never ask a woman her age, I will tell you that I am the same age as a current roster player’s number (and no it isn’t Rusty Klesla though I feel that old at times.) I suppose I will be considered the kinder/gentler wing of the LTL writing staff – but make no mistake – no matter how I feel personally about their on ice performance, I will fight tooth and nail to defend the honor of “my boys in blue.” I suppose that makes me a “Mama Bear” to go with all the bunnies and cougars out there *wink*

But I digress… so long story short, my daughter Coryn was diagnosed in 2005 with leukemia. In the fall of 2008 she was invited to take part in a photo shoot with some of the players and became one of the team’s pediatric cancer “heroes.” Though we had attended several games prior to that point, I can’t claim to have been a hockey fan, I can’t really claim to have been a sports fan of any kind. You see I have always been one of those “artsy” types. I never participated in sports and I rarely even cheered for my own high school or college teams, let alone a professional team. I firmly believed all professional athletes were overpaid divas, and wanted no part in contributing to their inflated egos or wallets. And then on that October day, we walked into Nationwide Arena and I met some of these guys. And I was blown away. The rest is…shall we say…history.

As you can see, I come to CBJfandom from a different direction than many and thus I hope to offer a different perspective on life in and around our beloved Nationwide Arena. We are now partial PSL holders and have had the good fortune to have met many of the guys on the team. They have repeatedly defied every preconceived notion I had about professional athletes. We have been continually impressed and often astonished at their kindness and generosity. The friendships that my daughter has formed reach far beyond the walls of the ice rink. They are down to earth guys, good-hearted men, who just happen to also be professional athletes. Their good deeds off the ice often pass without fanfare, which in itself speaks volumes. They don't do it for the glory, not for the media attention and recognition. They do it simply because they want to… and that, in short, is why I became a hockey fan. Yes, they are professional athletes and their job is to show up every night and win games. But sometimes that doesn’t happen and sometimes fandom goes deeper than just the marks in the win/lose column. And yes, maybe there are other professional athletes in other sports who are just as good, just as kind, who use their money and celebrity for more good than for self indulgence – but unfortunately those aren’t the ones that make the news, and frankly I’ve never met any of them, so I don’t care.

I hope that in my contributions, I can bring you some of those stories that aren’t heard often enough. We know many of the families whose lives have been touched by this group of men and I hope they will allow me to share those stories with you too. And my “artsy” side always comes into play, and you will find that I firmly believe a picture can speak 1000 words. So I’ll let my photos do the talking from time to time.

So thank you LTL for the opportunity. Hope you all enjoy, and now... on with the show…