Catholic Universe Bulletin

Sports

Stanley Cup visit helps Illinois parish raise more than $3,000
Michelle Martin
Catholic News Service
Palos Heights, Ill.
Mike Gapski has been a faithful parishioner at Incarnation Parish in Palos Heights for 20 years or so.
But he has been with the Chicago Blackhawks' hockey team longer.
So when the head athletic trainer for the champion Blackhawks got his day with the Stanley Cup June 30, he decided to share it not only with family and friends, but also with his parish family.
"Hockey put my kids through school," said Gapski, who rode into the Incarnation parking lot with the Stanley Cup on the back of a firetruck. He came from an ice arena about half a mile away where he had started the day by sharing the Stanley Cup with youth hockey players.

Gapski, his wife and their four children are fixtures at Sunday Mass at Incarnation, said the pastor, Father Ron Mass, unless Gapski is on the road with the team. Then the rest of the family comes without him. All of his children attended Incarnation; two are still there.
Word of the Stanley Cup's appearance spread quickly. One group of fans slept overnight in a van in the parish parking lot to be first in line to have their picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Others showed up by 7:30 a.m. for the event, which started at noon.

KAREN CALLAWAY, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD/CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Jamie Patno and his 11 month old son Oliver share a moment with the Stanley Cup at Incarnation Parish in Palos Heights, Ill., June 30. Trainer Mike Gapski of the Chicago Blackhawks brought the ice hockey trophy to his parish to raise money for its school scholarship fund. Fans paid $5 to touch the cup and have their pictures taken.

Those in line were given about five seconds each to pose and have their picture taken ‑‑ with their own cameras ‑‑ with the gleaming 35‑pound trophy, in exchange for a $5 donation. Proceeds went to the school scholarship fund, the Incarnation Athletic Association and the parish youth group.
Overall, the event raised a little more than $3,000, Father Mass said. There were about 500 pictures taken (many with more than one person), and the parish made about $500 from the sale of bottled water.
Police on the scene estimated that the crowd approached 2,000 people, corralled in a rope line on the lawn. They cheered when Gapski climbed onto the back of a flatbed truck to hoist the trophy as "Here Come the Hawks" and "Chelsea Dagger," the Blackhawks' goal song, played over the sound system.
In welcoming the Stanley Cup, Father Mass said some people might question the relationship between sports and faith, but he sees a connection.
"Throughout human history, sports have played an important role in our culture," he said. "They provide entertainment, but it's more than that. They unify people, they bring people together, they bridge the gap of ethnic and racial divides."
The Stanley Cup is perhaps the most beloved of sports trophies because it travels not only to the team that wins it every year, but with each member of the team for a day.
Gapski was the first member of the Blackhawks' organization to have the Stanley Cup after team president John McDonough, and he brought it to Incarnation exactly three weeks after Chicago won it.
For the fans who came out ‑‑ many of whom weren't alive the last time the Blackhawks won the title in 1961 ‑‑ the wait on a pleasant day at Incarnation was worth it. Once the Stanley Cup was brought inside for the photo shooting to begin, the line had to wait just a few minutes more, as a group of seniors got first dibs. Among them was Marlene Gapski, Mike's mother and a parishioner at St. Linus.
After having her picture taken with the trophy, Marlene Gapski put her arm around her son and said, "This is my biggest treasure."