If you’ve ever been to a Halifax Mooseheads game the last few years, you may have come to know the team’s Assistant Equipment Manager Tyler Long.
Tyler, who has Down Syndrome, has become a huge part of the team and has become pretty popular with the fans.
When I introduce him on the bench at the Mooseheads home openers, Tyler gets about as much applause as the players when his name is said!
If you follow the Mooseheads on Facebook, you’ll see Tyler’s popular comment “BIG W TYLER” that he posts.
(Above: Tyler and Ian last Sunday pre-game.)
The W in BIG W TYLER, stands for Win, so in sports terms he comments as BIG W TYLER that has spawned a project for Special Olympics.
BIG W TYLER t-shirts are now being sold for $30.00 with $5.00 from each one going to Special Olympics, the front of the shirt features his autograph!
In just a few weeks $260.00 has been raised so far.
Tyler’s mom, Joanne Long, says:
“Anyone who knows Tyler knows he has used the saying ‘Big W Tyler’ for years. This past offseason my husband and I decided we needed to trademark the saying to protect both it and Tyler. In doing so we had to form a Non-Profit which we did, the Tyler Long Foundation was created. The t-shirts just naturally followed. Kayla MacFarlane has always supported Tyler and we wanted to support a local business, so I contacted her to see if she wanted to make them under the Crafting up a Storm name. She came up with the design, and before I could mention it to her, the donation to Special Olympics Nova Scotia from each shirt made. I absolutely love that she used Tyler’s actually signature for his name”
Kayla MacFarlane of Crafting Up a Storm says she’s thrilled to be involved in the project. She says:
“I’m beyond thankful Joanne gave me the opportunity to design and produce these t-shirts, it’s so exciting seeing something I made worn by so many people! I’ve always tried giving to whoever I can so when I had the idea to donate $5 from every shirt there was no other option and no place better than Special Olympics Nova Scotia, the donation is currently up to $260!”
(Above: Kayla drops off Ian’s purchased t-shirt to a Mooseheads game.)
To order yours click HERE.
The Herd host the Cape Breton Eagles Saturday for “90’s Night” so let’s hope for a BIG W for Tyler in Section 8.
-Ian (Halifax Mooseheads Public Address Announcer since 1997.)
(Credits: Ian Robinson photos)
