Chatham continues to give back to his hometown
By Barry Poe Journal sports writer | Posted: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Dick Collins, a longtime former Heelan educator and coach, slipped into the atrium of the Sioux City Convention Center where Matt Chatham of the New York Jets was holding a press conference on Friday afternoon.
"Nice to see my old paper boy has done well for himself," quipped Collins.
Yes, indeed. Chatham has come a long way since delivering The Sioux City Journal as a youngster, but the former North High standout, entering his ninth season in the National Football League, has never forgotten his roots.
That's just the kind of guy Matt Chatham is.
Chatham was in town to announce the formation of Soft Bowl I, a charity softball game set for Saturday, June 21 at Lewis and Clark Park, home of the American Association Sioux City Explorers.
"The concept behind this was to basically do some sort of event for Sioux City that would be comparable to a River-Cade or Saturday in the Park, an event that could be a recurring thing here for years," said Chatham. "It's not your average charity softball game. I wanted to do something that would bring back Siouxlanders who have gone on to better things."
Soft Bowl I will feature a team that will include current and former NFL players and other athletes who began their careers in Siouxland. The pros will go up against a team comprised of current players from the three Sioux City public schools.
The day, though, is far from just about softball.
It will also include live music, live auctions, in-game entertainment and a post-game autograph session. All proceeds equally benefit the activities departments from North, East and West high schools.
"One of my pet peeves is that they get into this business to be an educator and they get into coaching, and by and large, spend a lot of time fundraising." said Chatham, who played at the University of South Dakota. "So if we could create an event that was big enough and significant enough to supplement so that they could spend more time at what they're paid to do instead of being fundraisers, was a big reason for me doing this."
Chatham, of course, will play in the game. Former West High star Zeron Flemister, who played seven seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, has also committed.
The early roster for the pros also includes Russ Hochstein of the New England Patriots, a former teammate of Chatham's who played at Hartington (Neb.) Cedar Catholic High School and the University of Nebraska. East High graduate Curt Lessman, who starred at Northwest Missouri State and later signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, will also take part as will Tim Dwight, an Iowa City native who played with Chatham both at New England and New York.
Kate Gordon, a former North High and Marquette University soccer star, will try her luck at softball. Chatham said the roster will be filled with more current and former pros in the coming weeks and months.
"One of the things I've had issues with, and not in a negative way, is over the years, guys come from here and then they kind of branch out," said Chatham. "We're kind of in no-man's land up here as far as pro sports are concerned, kind of between Kansas City, Minneapolis and Chicago. We don't have our own identity.
"I wanted to come up with an idea to bring all these guys back. Give kids and families a chance to come out and see professional athletes up close.
"I understand how blessed I am to be in a situation like this. To be able to give back and be able to mingle with the regular kids from Sioux City, which I was one of at one point, and say (A) you can do this too, or (B) I'm just like you. We think it's important to come back and be a part of the community and not just be from the community."
Tickets are on sale now at the stadium box office at $20 for lower level boxes (red seats), $15 for upper level reserved (blue seats) and $10 for general admission (bleachers or barbeque deck). Tickets can also be purchased by calling the Explorers office at (712) 277-9467, or by ordering on line at www.xsbaseball.com.
More information on the event can also be obtained by logging on to the X's website.
"Nice to see my old paper boy has done well for himself," quipped Collins.
Yes, indeed. Chatham has come a long way since delivering The Sioux City Journal as a youngster, but the former North High standout, entering his ninth season in the National Football League, has never forgotten his roots.
That's just the kind of guy Matt Chatham is.
Chatham was in town to announce the formation of Soft Bowl I, a charity softball game set for Saturday, June 21 at Lewis and Clark Park, home of the American Association Sioux City Explorers.
"The concept behind this was to basically do some sort of event for Sioux City that would be comparable to a River-Cade or Saturday in the Park, an event that could be a recurring thing here for years," said Chatham. "It's not your average charity softball game. I wanted to do something that would bring back Siouxlanders who have gone on to better things."
Soft Bowl I will feature a team that will include current and former NFL players and other athletes who began their careers in Siouxland. The pros will go up against a team comprised of current players from the three Sioux City public schools.
The day, though, is far from just about softball.
It will also include live music, live auctions, in-game entertainment and a post-game autograph session. All proceeds equally benefit the activities departments from North, East and West high schools.
"One of my pet peeves is that they get into this business to be an educator and they get into coaching, and by and large, spend a lot of time fundraising." said Chatham, who played at the University of South Dakota. "So if we could create an event that was big enough and significant enough to supplement so that they could spend more time at what they're paid to do instead of being fundraisers, was a big reason for me doing this."
Chatham, of course, will play in the game. Former West High star Zeron Flemister, who played seven seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, has also committed.
The early roster for the pros also includes Russ Hochstein of the New England Patriots, a former teammate of Chatham's who played at Hartington (Neb.) Cedar Catholic High School and the University of Nebraska. East High graduate Curt Lessman, who starred at Northwest Missouri State and later signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, will also take part as will Tim Dwight, an Iowa City native who played with Chatham both at New England and New York.
Kate Gordon, a former North High and Marquette University soccer star, will try her luck at softball. Chatham said the roster will be filled with more current and former pros in the coming weeks and months.
"One of the things I've had issues with, and not in a negative way, is over the years, guys come from here and then they kind of branch out," said Chatham. "We're kind of in no-man's land up here as far as pro sports are concerned, kind of between Kansas City, Minneapolis and Chicago. We don't have our own identity.
"I wanted to come up with an idea to bring all these guys back. Give kids and families a chance to come out and see professional athletes up close.
"I understand how blessed I am to be in a situation like this. To be able to give back and be able to mingle with the regular kids from Sioux City, which I was one of at one point, and say (A) you can do this too, or (B) I'm just like you. We think it's important to come back and be a part of the community and not just be from the community."
Tickets are on sale now at the stadium box office at $20 for lower level boxes (red seats), $15 for upper level reserved (blue seats) and $10 for general admission (bleachers or barbeque deck). Tickets can also be purchased by calling the Explorers office at (712) 277-9467, or by ordering on line at www.xsbaseball.com.
More information on the event can also be obtained by logging on to the X's website.
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good job wrote on Apr 19, 2008 6:07 PM: