Local couple gives extra Maple Leafs ticket to homeless man in Toronto
Posted Feb 28, 2016 06:38:58 AM.
Last Updated Feb 28, 2016 10:55:29 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A local couple went to Thursday’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Air Canada Centre.
They had tickets in the green section and decided to upgrade their seats to the gold section. They didn’t want to sell the tickets so instead they gave them away.
They didn’t give the ticket to just anyone, instead, they made a difference in one man’s day.
While walking to the A-C-C, the couple saw a homeless man that was sitting outside in the cold. They went up to him and asked him if he’d ever been to a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game before and asked him if he’d like to go.
Michelle Gingrich tells us how the man reacted
“Just instantly, it just put a smile on his face and he just kept saying yes, yes I would love to.”
It was the man’s first ever sporting event, so naturally, Gingrich wanted to make sure that he was going to the right gate at the arena. The couple walked him to the right gate and made sure that he got into the arena.
Gingrich adds “he walked in with us and when we got inside we asked him if he wanted any snacks or something to drink and he said we had already done enough by giving him a ticket to the Maple Leafs game. Honestly, the smile on his face was just amazing. It was really nice and it felt really amazing just to make someone happy.”
It was the man’s first ever sporting event and he was able to witness the Maple Leafs win 3-1.
Gingrich says after the game they waited for him outside of the gate that he entered in but couldn’t find the man.
“We were waiting afterwards hoping to be able to see him and talk to him and ask him how it was. We didn’t see him come out. We really wanted to get his name and to see how he enjoyed the hockey game. Honestly, if anyone knows who he is or knows his name, we would love to know.”
The couple posted a photo to our sister station’s Facebook page, Country 106.7 and after that the story exploded. The post has over nineteen-hundred likes and has been shared over three-thousand times.
Gingrich says the amount of attention this story has received is shocking to her.
“We have been overwhelmed with comments, shares and likes and people asking for interviews. I really wasn’t expecting all of this and the story go viral they way that it did. It’s crazy, it’s nice though. I read a couple of the comments and people just saying how it’s opened their eyes and just to know that there is still people out there that do that. Maybe, this will open other people’s eyes and have them share the love. Just to even have a simple conversation with anybody, just something little can do something so big just to show interest and smile.”
It just shows that one simple act of kindness can make such a huge difference in someone’s day.
