Frozen Fenway

As you may have heard, the city of Boston has created their own tradition of the Winter Classic. Frozen Fenway has become a New Years tradition that continues into the first few weeks of the year. A hockey rink is set up in the middle of Fenway Park that hosts local youth, high school, and college hockey teams. Skating on Fenway is an opportunity of a lifetime and many local players were able to participate in it. Norwood High School and Revere High Schools were two of the few public high schools who were lucky enough to play on the ice. Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo was offered an hour of ice time and instead of taking it for himself he decided to donate it back to a town he was closely associated with. He offered the ice to Revere High School in their game against Norwood High School. When asked about his decision to give up the ice time he said, "It’s terrific to be able to give a public school this kind of opportunity...The kids were so excited when they found out they would be playing there." DeLeo also said he loved high school sports and thinks it is so important for students to stay involved with sports and other extra curricular activities through out high school. Not only did Revere High School and Norwood High School benefit from the enjoyment of playing on Fenway but a family in Norwood was helped out as well. In January 2010, Matt Brown of Norwood High School was seriously injured in one of his high school hockey games. He fractured two vertebrate in his neck and also suffered a bruised spinal cord, which has left him paralyzed from the chest down. After hearing Brown's story, DeLeo decided to make a personal donation to the Brown family to help pay for all of Matt's medical treatments and necessities. My family is lucky enough to know Matt as his dad and my dad were close friends in high school. Matt has not lost hope since his accident and events like Frozen Fenway inspire him to stay strong and positive.

Because this article was featured in the Boston Herald, it was written very appropriately to the Boston audience. There was no author listed on the article but they used logos and pathos. They stated all the facts about Frozen Fenway and the details about the event. They used pathos when describing DeLeo's decision to offer up his ice time and his personal donation to the Brown Family. I wish they had included a few quotes from the Brown family about the event because I know how grateful they must be for the donation. However, I liked how the author ended the article with the link to Matt's website (mattbrownnumber3.org) where you can read more on his story or make a donation to his fund. Events like Frozen Fenway truly do boost Matt's spirit and it would have been nice to hear what he has to say about it.

Speaker of House Robert A. DeLeo on tonight's Revere-Norwood Hockey Scrimmage

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/high_school/index.php/2012/01/09/speaker-of-the-house-robert-a-deleo-on-tonights-revere-norwood-hockey-scrimmage/