Making Forgetting Unforgettable

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball

BY: Donna Ruiz, VP Human Resources, Sacramento Kings

The beauty of memory is that it still sees beauty when beauty has faded.
~Paul Boese


In the NBA, amazing things happen every day. LeBron James gets a triple-double whenever he wants, Dwayne Wade dunks over seven-footers like it's going out of style, and Tim Duncan hits turn-around jumpers with three to four guys guarding him every night. The league truly is filled with gifted athletes who do incredible things seven days a week.

But in the years I've worked in the NBA, I find the greatest memories are built on providing unique experiences for special fans. For some fans, coming to the game isn't just about the amazing performances by the world's most talented athletes. Those are just the bonuses. For some, coming to the game is about exhilaration, elation and the ability to forget about life's daily realities.

For a young father with a ten-year-old son, coming to a Sacramento Kings game meant forgetting about cancer, life, and even death.

I received a call from a colleague telling me about her friend, Kevin, a forty-one-year-old man who was in the final stages of lung cancer. He was a long-time Kings season ticket holder who had been unable to attend games for a while because of his illness. My colleague said that Kevin wished he could attend just one more Kings game with his son Zach before he passed away. So she asked if there was a way to get him tickets in seats that would accommodate his wheelchair, wife, son, father, cousin and hospice caregiver.

These simple requests are things the Kings owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof, always want to accommodate. I immediately contacted the strategic people in our organization who could make this happen. The evening that was provided for this family was an incredibly heartwarming experience for everyone involved. Although many observers may have believed the family members were the benefactors of this special evening, in reality, it was the people providing the experience who felt the greatest blessing.

Kevin's family was met at the VIP entrance, escorted into the building and through the player's tunnel to their special courtside seats. Zach was wide-eyed and beyond excited at the special treatment he and his family received. Little did he know that the courtside seats were just the beginning of his family's memorable evening.

During the first quarter, the family was visited by Big Mike, the Kings emcee, and Slamson, the Kings mascot, who delivered a special Kings prize pack with Kings hats and jerseys. Throughout the game, the family was treated like royalty. The smiles from Kevin, Zach, Kevin's wife, father and cousin were priceless. It was clear to everyone that a special memory was being made for this family.

After the game the family was escorted to the area outside the Kings locker room. Before long, Kings players came out to say hello. Kevin Martin was first, then came Ron Artest and members of the coaching staff. Each time someone came to say hello, Zach's eyes opened wider and wider. Before he knew it, Zach and his dad were being escorted into the locker room to meet the entire team.

Each player spent a few minutes talking to Kevin and Zach and everyone signed Zach's hat. The look of joy on this boy's face and the look of satisfaction on his dad's face was one of the most moving and memorable moments that the people making this experience possible had ever experienced. Kevin's wife, Chris, pulled us aside to express her heartfelt gratitude. She explained that the organization had provided so much more than tickets to a basketball game; it had provided a wonderful, positive lasting memory for her son to share with his father and for her to share with the two of them together. By the time the family left the arena, there was nary a dry eye among the people who helped provide this experience for this special family.

Ten days after this memorable evening, Kevin passed away. As friends and family gathered at the house, Zach made sure everyone saw his Kings autographed hat and listened to him detail the night when he and his dad were special Kings VIP guests.

For one night, a father forgot about his cancer. A son forgot about his future without a dad. And everyone who made it happen realized how blessed we are to provide unforgettable memories based on forgetting, even if only for a while.

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