VANCOUVER — Professional athlete. Two-time National Basketball Association MVP. Movie producer. Professional soccer team owner. Professional soccer league owner. Philanthropist. All-around great guy.
Steve Nash didn't get to where he is by listening to most people. Good thing. The Phoenix Suns' guard may never have played hoops past high school if he had.
So it was fitting a few years back when the Victoria native opted to deep-six the Steve Nash Foundation's Charity Classic basketball game — brought to you only upon the terms dictated by the NBA — in favour of a more grassroots approach to charitable sporting endeavors.
Hence the creation of the Showdown in Chinatown in New York two years ago, and its byproduct the Showdown in Downtown to be played at David Lam Park on Sept. 19. The charity soccer match will feature Nash, some of his NBA pals as well as retired European and current professional soccer players in a game against the Vancouver Whitecaps residency team.
"We had a great run with the three Classics," Nash said via a conference call to hype the event as well as a Suns pre-season game against the Portland Trail Blazers at GM Place on Oct. 22. "I think the bottom line is . . . this is much more deliverable event."
But as much as the Showdowns are about Nash thumbing his nose at the bureaucratic red tape and logistical nightmares that came with putting on something of the charity classic's magnitude, the decision to go in a more altruistic direction was also a little selfish. Not that he can be blamed for wanting to see more proceeds going to the kids rather than bills.
"When you rent a building like GM Place and all the staff it entails, all the logistics can be overwhelming," said Nash, whose foundation is dedicated to assisting under served children in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life. "Plus there's a lot of stakeholders involved. It's kind of fun to have a level of freedom here."
Nash will receive an honorary doctorate of laws degree in a special convocation ceremony at the University of Victoria one day prior to hitting the pitch. The 35-year-old graduate of Santa Clara University grew up being inspired by watching the Vikes national championship hoops dynasty of the 1980s and legend even has it that he'd tape the door latches of the school's gym in order to sneak in after closing hours.
Nash offered a glimpse of his dry sense of humour when asked about what it meant to be so honoured.
"All the books and essays and contributions I've given to modern science, it's the least they could do," cracked the latest of a select list of athletes to be given honorary degrees, including Olympic-medallist rower Silken Laumann along with 1954 miracle-milers Sir Roger Bannister and John Landy.
"I don't want to sound like a jerk (but) I've been offered a lot of honorary degrees, but this is the only one I've accepted," he continued. "The University of Victoria has a special place in my heart, growing up in that gym and living so close to campus."
Unlike Nash's charity classic games, the exhibition between the Suns and Trail Blazers promises to be the most competitive basketball played in province in years. Phoenix played host to the Seattle SuperSonics at GM Place prior to the 2006-07 season, in what was the first NBA game in the building since the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001.
"It's just great news," said Lawrie Johns, manager of youth programs for Basketball BC and the caretaker of the nation-wide Steve Nash Youth Basketball League for the province. "It's been two years since our kids have been able to see their idol live and in-person. We've grown by about 4,000-5,000 in that time so those kids may have never had the chance to see Steve play."
Tickets for the Suns and Trial Blazers game will be available through Ticketmaster starting Saturday. Prices will range from $17 to $91 for bowl seats and a limited number of floor seats will be available with partial proceeds being donated to Nash's foundation. The Showdown in Downtown is a free event with all proceeds going directly to the foundation's BC Grants platform, which funds child-focused services across the province.
Outside his charitable endeavors, Nash is also a co-owner of the Whitecaps as well as a partner in the fledgling Women's Professional Soccer. He and his cousin also have a production company called Meathawk, which is currently working on a documentary about Terry Fox to be shown on ESPN.
No comments:
Post a Comment