THANK YOU!!

Fellow Crusaders, 

You do not need me to tell you that the two most powerful words in the English language are "Thank You". On that note, I want to express my sincere  gratitude to a number of people, including: 


1. The many dozens of loyal Crusader Football faithful who supported the inaugural Worcester Children's Ticket Fund initiative for the opening game vs UNH on August 30th. Approximately 1400 tickets were purchased and distributed to Worcester youth via a number of outlets. I commend and thank the HC administration, (especially Ed Augustus) and the Athletics Office under Dick Regan for launching this effort. 

The success of the program, however, would not have happened without the support of so many HC alumni, including a large number of people (too many to mention and many who care to remain anonymous) on this distribution. Suffice it to say, efforts such as these define the HCGLC's mission of "commitment to excellence in helping Holy Cross Football win on and off the field." Thank you!!

Thank you also to all those who came to the game on the 30th. Although the score was not what we wanted, the atmosphere and crowd of close to 13,000 under a picture perfect setting could only be properly compared to a Field of Dreams.

2. Thanks to Brendan Devlin '01 for his efforts once again in promoting the night games and HC Football via Fill Fitton Field.

3. Thanks to the honorees inducted into the Ring of Honor on August 30th. Bryan LeBlanc '98, (great nephew of honoree Ron Cahill '40), Pat McCarthy '63, and especially Jeff Wiley '89 all brought back many great memories while creating new ones as well with their fabulous remarks at the Ring of Honor reception. Thank you gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed the day as much as we all did.

4. Thank you to JD who produced the fabulous 2012 HC Football promo.

5. Under new business, I want to thank Chuck Doyle and Dan Walsh of Team Impact, a lead sponsor of the golf outing this past June, for bringing Holy Cross Football and Team Impact together. I am pleased to inform all those on this distribution that Holy Cross Football will be "adopting" a 13 year old boy from North Grafton, MA who is currently battling leukemia. Holy Cross Football has also "adopted" another local youth also fighting a serious illness via the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Kudos to everybody on the team and staff for bringing a little bit of light and happiness into the lives of these young children and their families.

6. Special thanks go out to Walter Roy '73 for spearheading a huge effort to increase the enthusiasm for a rousing Homecoming celebration on September 22 when our troops take on Dartmouth. Also that day, the then consensus number 1 team in the nation, that is, the undefeated 1987 Holy Cross team will be honored. I certainly hope that everybody from that era and many other eras will be on hand to congratulate those men and enjoy the festivities at large. Let's once again have a pre-game tailgate for all those from the '87 team and all other HC Football friends and alumni at the picnic area on the left field line. Will send out more details confirming this setup next week.

7. Last but certainly not least, I want to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to John Vesprani '87 who was amazing in grilling and chilling for so many Crusaders who feasted and imbibed both pre-game and post-game on the night of August 30th. Props also go out to Dick Mulligan for his support of this effort. What many may not know is that John very generously donated the residual proceeds of funds raised to the Gridiron Club. Here is a short 2-minute clip in which yours truly accepted the check from John and made a few brief remarks on behalf of the cause.

Thanks again to the entire Crusader Football family for making this all so special.

Beat Brown .... LET'S WIN!!

LD