A story came back to the forefront yesterday that’s about three months old. PGA golfer Matt Kuchar, a fan favorite, had stiffed a local caddie in Mexico in November. After actually winning the tournament, Kuchar gave the caddie $5,000. The original agreement had been a flat rate of $3,000 so Kuchar thought he was already going beyond what he should. Of course, usually when a pro wins a tournament, the caddie tends to pocket at least 10%. Kuchar continues to claim he is in the right and won’t make amends. (We’ll see how that ends).
Let’s compare that situation to what I saw on social media and in person over the last few days. I had the pleasure of spending Thursday morning delivering Valentines Day surprises with local recording artist, Cupid. It should be noted, this is the third year Cupid has given his time, free of charge, to make the day of the four winners.
It started to hit me how cool this was going to be (it really is all about the little things), the day before when I was scrolling through my twitter feed. Shamarko Thomas, current Denver Bronco and former Syracuse Orange (because, of course), handed a long time Broncos fan an autographed football of the entire team. It takes less than a minute for the fan to start to break down.
It’s truly a blessing to put a smile on someone’s face when I seen him start to cry made me realize the small things can bring so much joy to someone’s heart grateful to be able to do that and I thank the lord everyday for that also grateful to be a part of the @broncos pic.twitter.com/fOjd2Ji7SN
— shamarko thomas (@shamarko21ya) February 13, 2019
And age has nothing to do with it. Yesterday a young Toronto fan asked Maple Leafs RW Mitch Marner to be her Valentine. Not only did Mitch toss her a puck, but instructed her to pose for a picture. Think she will ever forget that moment? EVER?!
.@Marner93 makes them come true. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/iZLTvuaZiv
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 15, 2019
Then Thursday morning we went to New Iberia, Youngsville, Broussard and Lafayette to deliver the four Valentines Day surprises. One of the winners, Kayla, was working at Meche’s in Youngsville, and wasn’t letting Cupid getaway without doing a little ‘Cupid Shuffle’. Look how much she is enjoying it. Guessing she’ll remember Valentines Day 2019 for a long time to come.
Our first @NEWCUPID Shuffle of the Day. Kayla from Youngsville winner from @Mustang1071FM #ValentinesDay pic.twitter.com/u6mwIKryLh
— David Schultz (@Dave1037TheGame) February 14, 2019
So although one of the bigger sports stories yesterday was a multi-millionaire pro golfer being extremely cheap (in what has much more real life implications), I’ll choose to see the good in the athletes and celebrities. I know money wasn’t involved in simple gestures, a football, a puck, a picture and a dance, but you can clearly see how much the interaction means. When it comes down to it, ‘it really is all about the little things.’