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Cam York’s Stick Has Been Returned to its Rightful Owner, Cam York
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Cam York is having a wild week. After scoring the game-winning and series-clinching goal in overtime against the Penguins on Wednesday night, the next few days must’ve been a whirlwind:
First, he pulled off an iconic Philly sports celly. Then there were press interviews. Then the nagging concern that he maybe accidentally killed a guy when he threw his stick into the stands. Then the relief of hearing that the guy was alive and well. Then watching the city of Philadelphia celebrate him as a hero. Then getting ready for the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes.
That’s a pretty good couple days for Yorkie. But, according to reports, he felt there was just one thing missing…
The hockey stick. He missed his hockey stick…
After the high emotions of the moment subsided, York realized that he’d like to have the legendary stick back to keep as a career memento. The concern, of course, would be – would the fan who caught the stick return it?
The answer… as I already mentioned in the headline… is yes:
“When my career is done with and over with, I wanna have some things to look back on and remember and cherish and this was obviously a special moment for me. [The fan who caught the stick is a] super nice guy, just met him. For him to just give it back for kind of nothing – I mean, I really appreciate that. That’s one of the best things about Philly fans is, you know, they love their players.”
This is a pretty nice story all around. I’m sure there are folks out there who might quibble with the return the fan got for the stick, but I actually think it was the perfect amount. I like that the fan didn’t just give the stick for nothing (this has always rubbed me the wrong way, when fans catch a milestone home run ball and give it back to the player without asking for something back – weird! Bootlicker behavior! You caught a lotto ticket, cash it in!). I also like that the guy didn’t ask for too much, or ask to have a catch with Cam York or something (always find it strange when home run ball catchers do this; why would anyone wanna have a catch with a stranger that badly?) This request easily could’ve fallen into that sort of weird guy territory –
“You want this stick back?… Here’s what I’m gonna need… $200,000… In unmarked bills… and, ah… You and me gotta be buddies now… Yeah, the deal is, I’m friends with Cam York now, and that’s the way it’s gotta be… We’re gonna have a stick pass, you and me… Once a week… And we’re gonna start texting, sending each other GIFs, all that sort of stuff… And you have to have your ‘Read’ receipts on so I can tell if you’re ignoring me…”
York got his stick back, the fan got some cool stuff, everyone acted normal – wins all around here.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)