Superhero Night No. 7: How did it make you feel?

By on July 13, 2025.

Source: Dominics journey with AML
Superhero Night No. 7: How did it make you feel?
 Numbers on a scoreboard aren’t the only way to win when it comes to Superhero Night. The better metric, in my mind, is how it made you feel.And oh, there were plenty of feelings Saturday night at Athletic Park.From reunions, smiles, and yes, the odd tear, the seventh edition of this special evening with the Medicine Hat Mavericks was one to remember.When I wrote last week’s blog post we had one first pitch lined up with Reid Hintz, an incredible young man who’s endured 12 major surgeries, has limited use of his hands, rides in a wheelchair, and inspires every person he’s around with his attitude.What I failed to consider was that game day sponsor EBT Chartered Professional Accountants also had a first pitch. And since Trish now works there (for the third time, as of January), they asked her and Dominic’s sister Samantha to handle the honours. Let’s be honest, Trish never intended to throw the ball. It was all Sam’s.Reid and Sam both did a great job, with Reid bringing out his brothers to help slingshot the ball to the catcher. Huge ovations. Who was chopping onions?With sunny weather and a hint of a breeze, it was a perfect night. Former first pitch thrower Katelyn returned to join us, as did so many other friends. The 501st Legion Badlands Garrison sent not one, not two… but five members from as far away as Calgary and Moose Jaw to entertain the crowd as Star Wars dark side characters. They’ve come to so many of our events over the years they’re practically family.The Mavericks went all-out with marketing, doing a photo shoot, a full story on their website, bringing in the Medicine Hat Skateboard Association to do face painting and their own superhero characters. Chat News Today ran a preview story too. No wonder 1,603 people came out to the park, tied for the team’s third-best attended game so far in 2025.We spread the word about Extra Life and how you too can make a difference for your local children’s hospital by gaming. We played some board games with friends and strangers. And of course, we cheered on the home team.It was a close game but the Mavs lost 6-4 to Moose Jaw. But there were other numbers worth mentioning. For the first time ever, the team chose to donate the 50/50 earnings to the hospital! The jackpot was close to $2,000. Limited edition Superman-inspired jerseys (which you can still purchase, by the way 😉) cost $94.50 including tax, with $30 of that automatically donated as well. Some folks just paid $100 and said make it $35.50. Our donation box showed $350 by the end of the night on its own.And then there were the metrics you can’t really measure. Team owner Greg Morrison got to the game late because he was busy helping coach a local junior baseball team to a provincial title! Best of luck to the squad headed to Kingston, Ont. for nationals. Morrison noted that the atmosphere at Athletic Park, even though he got there in the late innings, was “electric.”So many people who don’t usually come to Mavericks games came Saturday because it’s a unique event and a good cause. So many of them said something along the lines of “gee, we should come here more often, this is a good time!” This team supports the community, and it shows. Superhero Night generally marks the start of our charity season, and we couldn’t have asked for a better kickoff.Big news for game dayWhen we put out the call for a potential first pitch thrower we also asked if anyone had a lead for our public 25-hour game day Nov. 1-2.A lot of folks replied, but one offer stood out.Our big charity game day will take place this year at SixOneSix Entertainment in downtown Medicine Hat! Owner Ken has long supported us, from online auction donations to game day donations when we invariably come through to throw some axes and play VR at his business. But this time we’ll spend the entire game day there, with the public able to join us and raise money for the children’s hospital during regular business hours.We are so thankful for the support. Clear you schedule for Nov. 1 so you can come down! We’ll have mini-tournaments, challenge stations, giveaways, and much more.Online auction sooner than we thinkOur other big event is the annual online auction. It’ll run Sept. 26-28 through our Facebook page, and we’ve already got a handful of items donated. If you or a business you know wants to do something, please reach out via email at donations@dominicstrong.com or by messaging Trish or I. Deadline for donations is Sept. 19.

2
-1