Blake

Blake is a 9 year old union fan whose family’s house was destroyed in a fire. A member got word of it and let us know that he lost a team signed Union jersey in the fire and was upset about it. We were asked if we could get him a signed jersey to replace the lost one. After brainstorming with the Sons of Ben Board, we decided we could do something a bit more special as well. Thanks to the Union and Mark Evans, we were able to get Blake a new jersey signed by the team and invited the Groff family to a Union match, where the Union donated the tickets and VIP parking pass. We invited the family to our tailgate where we presented Blake with his new signed jersey and some other surprises. We had a personalized jersey made for Blake. Blake’s dad helped us find out his shirt size and the number he wears for his youth soccer team, and we had his name printed on the back. Blake’s face lit up when he saw the jersey, but we weren’t done yet. We then informed him that he was the newest member of the Sons of Ben family, and welcomed him with his very own SoB membership card, pin, decal and 2014 scarf. Blake and his sister were invited to come to the capo stand around the 90thminute so they could meet a few Union players. A handful of players were nice enough to stop by and shake hands with Blake and his sister, including Zach Pfeffer, Ray Gaddis, Le Toux, Leo Fernandes and a couple others.