“We put a ball through a hoop for a living. This is real life.”
Kevin Love’s sentiment was felt throughout the Cavs roster on Wednesday, as the full team, plus head coach John Beilein and general manager Koby Altman, made the Cavs yearly holiday visit to Cleveland Clinic Children’s. As part of the annual Cavaliers Season of Giving, they went floor to floor and room to room, visiting the young patients and their families who are in the hospital during what should be a joyous time of year.
View snapshots from the event.
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“We may complain because the plane is late or we missed a jump shot or that the coach was tough on us in practice. It doesn’t have anything to do with what the young children and the parents are going through,” said Beilein. “If it (the visit) gives them five minutes of not thinking about any misfortune or challenges that they have, it’s all worth it.”
The team delivered Cavs-themed holiday gifts, and perhaps even more importantly, also delivered plenty of laughs and holiday cheer along the way.
“This is always a lot of fun, especially seeing the kids’ faces when we come in, they light up our faces,” said Love. “It gives us a lot of perspective.”
Having made several of these visits during his time in Cleveland, Love summed up the affect it has on the team:
“It’s a reminder to us that there’s things bigger than basketball that we can have a huge impact on.”