Wrestlers grant child's
wish
By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor
Someone brought up the time Green Bay Packers quarterback
Brett Favre had four fumbles and four interceptions in the same game.
"Hey!" 12-year-old Avery Bell said as he punched
the culprit in the arm.
Bell didn't want to hear anything of the sort because
Favre's his hero — the focal point of many posters in his gold
and green bedroom. Favre is also the reason why the cystic fibrosis-stricken
child made a wish — to go see the Packers play at Lambeau Field
in Green Bay, Wis.
Thanks to the Purdue wrestling team and the Dream
Factory, an organization similar to the highly renowned Make-a-Wish
Foundation, Bell will be able to make that wish come true.
Wednesday evening the wrestling team presented
Bell with three tickets to the Packers' home opener against Detroit
Sept. 9. Bell, who lives in Rensselaer, Ind., but stays at Home Hospital
in Lafayette when he gets extremely sick, will sit on the 30-yard line
in row 37 of Lambeau Field, alongside his parents, Chris and Robin.
"I like the Packers a lot," said Bell, who turns
13 the day after the game. "I watch 'em on TV any time I can."
The wrestling team, which will make Bell an honorary
team captain for the 2001-2002 season, gave Bell a $500 check for souvenirs,
plus it will pay for the trip to Green Bay. To pay the expenses, the
Boilers will have a fund-raiser during the Purdue Duals Dec. 16. The
Dream Factory, with 32 chapters in 17 states and national headquarters
in Louisville, Ky., will get any excess money to use for another child.
The presentation was more than six months in the
making and took place in the conference room in the basement of Mackey
Arena.
"Cool," Bell said as he accepted the tickets.
His father was much more moved.
"We've had a lot of people do stuff for us, but
this is great," Chris Bell said. "This takes the cake."
The wrestlers were happy to grant the wish for
Bell, who's been wrestling since he was 5 and who's attended Purdue
wrestling matches for several years.
"It's always good to grant someone's wish, especially
when they have a serious illness," said All-American Jake Vercelli.
"It's always nice to help someone."
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