The 2017 Kicking it with Cam! Celebrity Kickball Tournament is coming up this Friday as part of the 2017 Cam Newton Foundation Charity Weekend so I wanted to give you some info on the event and hopefully encourage you to attend if you’re in the Charlotte area and able to make it Uptown to Memorial Stadium.
First the whats:
- Kicking it with Cam – Friday, June 9th , 2017
- Memorial Stadium in Uptown Charlotte – 310 N Kings Drive
- Doors open at 12:30p
- $5 (cash only) general admission tickets available at the door
- Proceeds benefit the Cam Newton Foundation
Now the whys:
I was a volunteer for the tournament last year and I can tell you it’s definitely a great event for Carolina Panthers fans. First of all, the list of celebrity athletes is LOADED. Last year there were almost 20 kickball teams and each team had at least two celebrity players. Do the math and it equals…quite a few. And these aren’t B-list athletes either. The Panthers will be finishing up OTAs, so most of the players are there and are on teams. Off the top of my head I remember seeing Fozzy, KB, Greg Olsen, Tre Boston, Ted Ginn, Teddy Williams, Josh Norman, and Zach Sanchez all on teams last year.
Watching your favorite team’s players on the kickball field is quite entertaining. These guys want to win (and beat Cam’s team especially) and they get after it. There are plenty of homeruns, pegs with the ball, and several over-the- fence dives for outs where you’ll hear several people yelling the ESPN SportsCenter jingle. In addition to most of the Panthers roster in attendance, last year we got to see Gary Sheffield, Bo Jackson, Tim Tebow, Allen Iverson, Desean Jackson, Kurt Warner, and Clinton Portis, to name a few. Cam brings out the stars, and this year will be no different.
Now for the obligatory “it’s for a good cause” statement, and well, because it is. Cam’s “Charity Weekend” (Kicking it with Cam and the Kid’s Rock Gala – both this weekend) are his main sources of fundraising for his foundation. CNF focuses their programs on kids, promoting the mantra “Every1 Learns. Every1 Plays. Every1 Gives.” And I hope that you all will visit their site to learn more about their initiatives, but just in case let me break it down to you like this:
Remember the story about Cam visiting Elijah Hughes’ Halloween party and bringing the ice cream truck? Or Cam flying out to Auburn to visit 10-year-old Austin Deckard in the hospital? Or his annual “Santa Cam” event where he supplies local schools with backpacks of goods and Soup Kitchens with food? The upcoming “Charity Weekend” plays a major role in allowing him to have the resources to giveback. So come out – have a good time watching these stars play kickball – support CNF – and be proud knowing that every time you see a story of Cam making our community better that you had a little help in making it happen.
Photo: Instagram/ Cameron1Newton
Some miscellaneous info to make your experience better:
- If getting autographs or pictures is super important to you then I suggest you get there early. The stands at Memorial Stadium have quite a bit of room, but you need to really be in the front couple of rows to have a good chance to get the players’ attention. They will sign – I saw them do it quite a bit last year.
- Cam will bounce between Memorial Stadium and Independence Park across the street. If you head over to the park then you’ll be able to get super close to him. Pro Tip: he played his first game at the park last year
- It’s hot out there – be prepared. The weather doesn’t look too bad on Friday, but dress accordingly.
- There will be food and concessions, plus some tailgate-type games.
- The Championship game starts at 6:30pm and has featured Cam’s team in both of the previous years.
If you can’t make it, be sure to follow The Riot Report on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as we’ll be doing as much live streaming as they’ll allow tomorrow! We’ll see you out there!
