Pearson puts in everything for Pink Game

Pearson made sure she did everything she could, because this night meant a lot.

“When I first found out I was doing the Pink Game, it was really emotional because my sister has cancer. And we just found out not too long ago that she’s terminal,” Pearson said. “So when I first took this on, I was super worried that I was going to let people down. But I had people come to me and say ‘no, we are helping you. We are doing this, and it doesn’t matter how much you raise, that’s not the point of the game.’

“The point of the game is doing something for somebody else, and helping people in need,” added Pearson. “I think for me, the most important thing was not only did I want to coach and have this night for my sister and for my family, but I wanted to show the girls that you can come together and you can do something.”

Pearson’s story certainly inspired her team to do just that.

“She is amazing,” Crusaders’ Grade 12 guard Gage Grassick said. “We went out there knowing that playing for her means playing for everyone. So it was really great to see that we not only did this for the community, but we did this for her.”

Grassick was part of the reveal at the end of the night, as seven Crusaders stood in a line holding a card with a number on it, and turned it around to show the crowd the number which eventually became $100,003. That almost wasn’t clear as Grassick, who was holding the second ‘0’ started jumping up and down and hugging everybody within an arms’ reach.

“Oh my goodness, words cannot describe,” Grassick said. “Once we revealed those numbers one by one, your heart just kept beating faster and faster. We put in so much work, the volunteer hours by so many people have been countless. It’s been so amazing. When that final hour was revealed, it was not a relief, but we did it. We put all our effort into it and came out with such a great reward.”

The Crusaders were blown away by how much everybody supported the cause.

“What’s going through my mind is how amazing this community is, because we could not have done this night without them,” Pearson said. “I think the only reason we raised as much as we did was because everybody in this community came together. We started getting it out there that we need help for something super important. I think everybody has been touched by this in one way or the other. Something I’ve learned throughout this process in this community is ‘all you have to do is ask’ and people just want to help.”

The game itself took a backseat to all of the important fundraising work and the emotional connections people had to the initiative, but even that went well for the Crusaders.

Both teams were neck-and-neck in the first half, with the Crusaders carrying a narrow 27-23 lead at the half, but were able to pull away in the third quarter and pad their double-digit lead in the fourth.

The St. Mary Marauders did their Pink Game last year, raising over $90,000 and passed the torch to the Crusaders. The Crusaders this year are doing the same to their opponents on Thursday, the Melfort Comets, who will host theirs next year and pass the torch on another team to keep the cycle and the tradition going.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

by Jeff D'Andrea

Pearson puts in everything for Pink Game

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