|
In Closing
You know, when this started, I was just planning on keeping the
ball for myself. When I decided to donate the ball to charity, some
people asked me, “why don’t you keep it for yourself?”
I had thought it through a great deal before I told anyone I was
going to donate it. So, I was firm in my decision when I began letting
others know. Now that I have a son of my own, I get “why not
give it your son?” More than anything, I guess what they are
really asking is, “[Jerry], you have put in so much time on
this, collecting all these signatures, why wouldn’t you keep
it for yourself?” Well, when it comes right down to it,
for me I will always have the memories of collecting the signatures.
A few of which I just shared with you. Growing up, my room was
full of autographed posters and sports memorabilia. Sure, this
football was definitely the best out of what I have. In the end
though, the money that it raises for the “Make-A-Wish”
Foundation® is going to do a far greater good than if it were
sitting on a shelf in my room or office.
When I was 8, as a result of my grandpa purchasing a day with
Chuck Knox, at the Kennedy High School auction, I got a chance
to meet Chuck Knox. He ended up coming over to our beach house
on the Hood Canal. When he was leaving, he said to me, “I
got a deal for you: two tickets to any Seahawks game you want
to go to next season, or you can come down on the sidelines for
any Seahawks game you want to go to next season” Well, it
was a pretty simple decision. I chose the sidelines.
The game I chose was the Monday Night Football game against the
Raiders in 1986. My grandpa and I went together, and I was able
to go out for the coin toss, meet both team's captains, ride around
the field in the helmet, and got pictures with players and Sea
Gals. The Seahawks won 36-0.
|
|
I chose the Make-A-Wish
Foundation® because it just made the most sense to me. Though
the circumstances were different, I have extremely fond memories
of that night. Having been able to go out for the coin toss, I feel
like I understand what it’s like for these kids that have
their wishes granted. That’s the long and the short of it.
I was 18 years old when my grandpa gave the ball to me for
my birthday. It truly has been my prized possession ever since.
My grandpa designed the ball in his sheet metal shop. He has been
in the sheet metal industry for over 50 years and is quite the
innovator. It was only natural that he design the ball. There
are a handful of others out there, however, they are only signed
by one or two people at the most. Usually, they would be signed
by head coaches like Tom Flores or Dennis Erickson.
I know a few others were made a couple years ago and signed by
Mike Holmgren. One of those balls was donated to the Highline
Hospital auction and raised $1,500, with just Mike Holmgren’s
autograph on it. The fact that others were donated to charity
in the past is probably the main reason I decided that it just
made the most sense to do the same with this one.
With that said, I always thought that there was a lot of blank
space on the ball and I always wanted to fill it up. When I was
younger I collected football cards. I chased Steve Largent out
to his car for a signature, and the walls of my room were full
of framed Seahawks memorabilia, signed by Steve Largent and other
big name Seahawks.
There is no other ball with the quantity, quality, caliber, or
completeness of Seahawks history, in regards to the figures that
signed them. |
