Stefan Xidas, a lifelong Cubs fan who has Down syndrome, sang the national anthem at Monday night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. The Cubs granted Xidas’ wish after he raised thousands for the Special Olympics.
“I’ve been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to sing the National Anthem at the Cubs game,” Xidas said.
Stefan Xidas raised over $18,000 through his GoFundMe page for Special Olympics, a longtime partner of the Chicago Cubs and Cubs Charities. Cubs Charities was proud to support Stefan and
Special Olympics by matching Stefan’s donation and fulfilling his wish to sing the national anthem at Wrigley Field.
Special Olympics is an amazing organization that hosts sports event all year round for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Over 5 million athletes participate in the events which are held in 172 countries across the world, often with over 100,000 events a year.
When the Cubs accepted the challenge, fifteen days later the GoFundMe campaign had more than doubled the target. As a result, the Cubs honored their side of the challenge and invited Stefan to sing the National Anthem in front of a stadium of more than 40,000 fans on September 10th, in their match against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.
As Stefan himself said “I wanted to thank everyone for their generous donations and support throughout my campaign to live out my dream of singing the National Anthem at a Cubs game. I’m excited to announce that because of all of you, my dream is going to come true”.
The dream didn’t stop there though. Tom went on to announce that the Cubs would also match the money raised by Stefan and in the end, a sum just over $23,000 was donated to the Special Olympics cause (though that figure may climb as Stefan is now at $20,000 with his fund).
One viewer summed the whole thing up perfectly: “Stefan, I NEVER comment on videos on here. You are an inspiration, my friend. And you rocked this nation’s national anthem in New Balance shoes no less. Nice work in your fundraising and showing us all how great humans should be.”
Though the Cubs lost to the Brewers on the night it looks like humanity was the overall winner. You need to check out the video below and judge for yourself
Source: madlyodd.com
