Pirates Make Special Visit on Trip to Miami
September 12, 2003 | Football
MIAMI, Fla. -- East Carolina University's football team took a quick detour on its way to the Orange Bowl Friday.
As part of their trip to take on No. 2 Miami this weekend, the Pirates stopped by the Edgar J. Hall Special Population Center in Hialeah, Fla., before going to their Friday walk-through practice.
In Hialeah, the players and coaches spent time interacting with the participants of the developmentally disabled participants of the city's therapeutic recreation centers. The Pirates played board games, table tennis, billiards, and air hockey with the children and some of the youngsters played toss with ECU quarterback Desmond Robinson in the facility's back yard.
"This is an opportunity for us to give back a little bit," ECU head coach John Thompson said. "It's a great privilege to play college football and to be a part of this. There's a whole lot more to education than just books and football, and we want to be a part of it. We've received a lot of blessings for doing this."
The Pirate travel party was greeted upon arrival with a special good luck cheer and hand-drawn welcome banners.
ECU is in town to take on the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl on Saturday night. The game, scheduled to kickoff at 7:04 p.m., will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
