Cooke "Throws" First Pitch at Altoona Curve Game

Altoona, PA is home to the Altoona Curve and a little over 50 miles (45 minutes) away from where I live.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend this game even though I had originally planned to, but luckily for me (and the blog), my friend Laura who lives near Altoona was there and kind enough to share her story and some pics!!

Hi HftL fans! I had a great opportunity Monday night to meet Matt Cooke, as he was doing an autograph session in my hometown during the AltoonaCurve game. I arrived at the ballpark at 6:00, ready to run to a spot in line. By the time, I got to the autograph line, I’d estimate there were about 900-1,000 people in front of me. The game started at 7:00 with Matt and his son Jackson throwing out the first pitch of the game by way of slapping a puck into a net.

Matt quickly made his way to his table to begin signing autographs for his scheduled 90-minute session. While waiting, I got out of line to go take pictures because I was afraid it would be dark by the time I got to the table, if I even got to the table at all due to the line.

As we were almost to the table, a security guy passed us and I asked if we would make it through the line considering Matt had already been signing for over 2 hours. The security guy replied, not to worry, that Matt had already agreed to sign for anyone who was in lineand waiting. He also said that he estimated there were about 1,500 people in line that night.

Finally, after a 3-hour wait, I made it to the table. Matt was so incredibly generous with his time, making sure to autograph each person’s item and pause to allow them to take pictures with him.

When the game ended a half an hour later, there was still a line of people waiting to get through to meet Matt. I’m not sure what time he finished autographing, but my best guess would be around 10:00 or even later.

Say what you want about him on the ice, but off the ice, he seems like a great,stand up guy!

Many thanks to Rob Eagan, the GM of the Altoona Curve, the rest of the Curve organization, and the Penguins organization to plan such a wonderful night for all of us fans in Altoona! Hopefully this opportunity will continue for many summers to come!

Cooke and his wife, Michelle
courtesy of Trib-Review

MANY THANKS to loyal follower, Laura H., for sharing her story and pictures with us!!

Also, for those of you who were unaware like I was, that Cookey's wife was seriously ill last season (and was near death), CLICK HERE to read Rob Rossi's article about his family's ordeal this past season around the same time he was going through the suspension ordeal for "illegal" hits.