Reigniting the BMFC

What a crazy month, huh? Well, it has been for us anyway. As of today, October 3rd, it's almost been a month to the day since Billy and I took that initial trip to Taylor Hospital. Of course it still seems like it was just yesterday, but the time that has passed since has felt more like months. At this point I hope that the initial shock of the news has subsided a little, but I know hearing something like that is never easy to swallow. Nevertheless, once word got out about Billy, it's been a whirlwind of love and support which has been nothing short of amazing. 

But I think at this point we can now turn the page onto a new chapter, a much more positive and uplifting one. With that, I'd like to take this opportunity to do something that deserves a little attention, something that has been quite dormant for some time. It's time to reignite what once was the Billy Mac Fan Club! But in order to do so, let me quickly take you back to the beginning...

The year was 2006 and Billy had been drafted right out of college to play for the MLL's Baltimore Bayhawks. It wasn't long before he became an everyday player and the mere fact that the home games were being played in Towson, Maryland-only a short hour and change away from our hometown of Phialdelphia-made the trip easy for my family and friends to go and watch him play.

I distinctly remember that for one game, my dad had gotten T-shirts printed up in support of Billy. They were simple, white cotton tee's with the words "Billy Mac Fan Club #33" in Bayhawk blue draped across the back. A few of my friends and I had gone to the game, sat in the Bud Light tent field side, and sported our newly minted BMFC #33 shirts thinking it would be fun to support the rookie. Almost immediately we were a hit. Several of Bill's former teammates from the University of Maryland who were in attendance wanted some. Unfortunately my dad had only printed up a limited few, but it was amazing to see so many people wanting to support and cheer for my brother even though he was only a few games into his MLL career.  

That following winter of 2007, Billy was drafted by the expansion Chicago Shamrox of the indoor National Lacrosse League. I quickly took a look at the schedule to see if and when Billy would be playing the Philadelphia Wings in Philly. Sure enough it was on the schedule, just once, but it was there. And then I began to think how awesome it would be to round up all who wanted to go, cheer on my brother, and create the phenomenon that would become known as the Billy Mac Fan Club. 

I sent out Facebook messages and E-vites, took requests and bought tickets. I hired buses to chauffeur us down, and with the help of Lime Sportswear, printed up new 'Billy Mac Fan Club' shirts. And low and behold, by the time the game started, Section 121 of the Wells Fargo Center was packed with nothing but Billy Mac Fan Clubbers. A phenomenon was born.

Over the next two years, Billy came to Philadelphia as an opponent, playing another year for the Shamrox then once again after being traded to the Toronto Rock in 2009. Each year the BMFC grew, and with each year we showed up louder, prouder, and represented the BMFC by the hundreds. And of course, each year, the Philly Phaithful gave us the ol' "hometown treatment", but we embraced it all and loved every minute of it.

At the time, I had to laugh at what was going on, really. Here I was just trying to show my brother some support by bringing family and friends down to the game and after just 3 short years, it had grown into this annual event with literally hundreds in attendance. Just a proud older brother I guess, witnessing his younger brother living a lacrosse players dream.

Fast forward to 2010 and the real dream came true as Bill was traded to his hometown Philadelphia Wings. Once again, the BMFC was in attendance but now it wasn't just the BMFC cheering him on. We had the entire stadium chanting his name. Fans started requesting shirts from me because they just wanted to be a part of what they had witnessed years before. The Philadelphia fans couldn't have treated my brother any better. They certainly showed their love tenfold and Billy was enamored by it all.  

But then 2012 came. Injuries and coaching changes hindered Billy from really playing at all, and for the first time in about 5 years the Billy Mac Fan Club wasn't able to make it. 2013 came and went with a similar story. 2014 was more of the same, although Billy did make an encore appearance in the season finale, scoring once and assisting on 3 goals. Sadly though, it seemed like the Billy Mac Fan Club was fading away. 

I guess you can say life sometimes bounces like a lacrosse ball, never knowing which way it'll ricochet next. If you would have told any of us what would happen 6 months from that last Wings game, this certainly wouldn't be what we would have envisioned. But as they say in Rome, "c'est la vie". 

My reasoning for sharing that story is because I had been itching to get the BMFC back on it's feet, hoping Bill could re-establish his lax playing days with the Wings and get to go down there and cheer for Billy one more time, but as the years passed, the cards never seemed to play out in his favor. And now with the Philadelphia Wings being sold to somewhere in Connecticut, it doesn't look like those days will be coming back. (The grim reality of a major sports franchise falling victim to low revenues, low ticket sales, or whatever the reason). But as one door closes, another one opens. And that's where the reigniting of the BMFC comes into play.  

So, what I plan to start and I hope that all others will follow is truly plain and simple. Going forward, I'd like to designate the hash tag: #BMFC33 as the battle cry for Bill getting better. Bill has seen your posts, read your messages, and at this point he's received a 'get well' wish from just about everyone he could possibly think of. And although it has been more than appreciative for all us to hear-especially Bill-it starts to emit a very somber, gloomy feeling, especially after seeing it 400 times. At this point, I hoping we can all start to change our outlooks and begin using words of encouragement on what promises to be a full recovery on Bill's part. 

(Jackson's note: I must apologize too if I had painted Bill's condition worse than it actually seemed to be. I know having a brain infection is a serious matter, and it is, but as the facts came in I tried to convey that this was not cancer, not a tumor, and is not terminal. To put it rather mildly, this was found to be an infection on his brain, he had surgery to help diagnosis it, and since the diagnosis, Bill will start to receive treatment to get better. From what I understand this is a very treatable infection and Bill is making leaps and bounds in the recovery process. Now, however serious it may be in the long run, nobody knows, but we all expect Bill to make a full recovery.)

So, to recap: The #BMFC33 hash tag will still represent all your love, your thoughts, and your prayers, but it will now incorporate much more encouraging thoughts: overcoming adversity, staying the course, seeing it through, fighting tough battles, but most of all, enjoying life and living it to the fullest. You could even find your own meaning, but whatever it may be, know that better days are ahead. Until next time. -JM