Commanders "Treat" for Lansdowne Kids
By Tammi Marcoullier at 2:39 p.m., November 1, 2007 (4 comments)
Today we introduce our new Lansdowne correspondent Dave Nemetz. You may know him from his previous work under the pseudonym "Rabble Rouser" on the Lansdowne and Out in the Open blog where his Herculean efforts brought sunshine to issues in the community, often with interesting results and comments. Today Nemetz brings us a tale of trick-or-treating in Lansdowne.
Commanders "Treat" Lansdowne Kids on Halloween
On Halloween night, I witnessed an event confirming the good in professional athletes. Commanders running back Mike Sellers, along with his neighbor and teammate, Rock Cartwright, led about 20 neighborhood kids (with about 15 parents in tow) trick-or-treating around the River Oaks section of Lansdowne. In this section of about 120 houses live seven current Commanders players and one front office executive.
Sellers and Cartwright started out at about 6:30 p.m., and paraded their way around the neighborhood for an hour, stopping at the homes of John Jefferson (director of player development), linebackers Rocky McIntosh and Khari Campbell, cornerback Carlos Rogers, and quarterback Jason Campbell.
Tracy Hobiena, Cartwright's next-door neighbor, was recently asked by the players to help out by putting the group of kids together. "They love kids, so Mike and Rock really wanted to do something on Halloween. Everyone had a blast!" said Hobiena. Her son, Ethan, was dressed to the nines as a Commanders player, and was "on top of the world", she said.
The players were receptive to Sellers and Cartwright acting as "pied pipers" and leading the throng around. Rogers, fresh off of season-ending knee surgery, was waiting for the children on his front porch, crutches by his side. He talked with the kids, scooped a few up on his lap, signed autographs, and seemed to have a great time.
Even though Khari Campbell was about to get in his car when the swarm of trick-or-treaters arrived, he took the time to distribute candy before he left.
Jason Campbell had a previously scheduled speaking engagement at a church service, so he wasn't home, but his girlfriend was more than happy to hand out treats to the kids. Santana Moss, another resident of the neighborhood, was also spotted walking his kids around.
The event was filmed by Comcast SportsNet, and the plan is to show clips from the event on the pre-game show this Sunday at 10 a.m. Parents thought it was a nice gesture for these guys to come home from a hard practice and to do something special for the neighborhood kids.
