Stephens: CSU football's Elroy Masters makes hospitalized child's day

TUCSON, Ariz. — Junior has asthma.

He’s 2 years old and is in the hospital because he has trouble breathing. The same way his mom does. And his sister.

Inhaling the dry desert air usually isn’t a problem, but when the temperatures drop in southern Arizona, cold oxygen pumped into the lungs can trigger an asthma attack. It’s happened before, and he had to take a 50-mile ambulance ride from his home San Manuel to Tucson.

Junior’s latest visit to Tucson Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital thankfully wasn’t as serious. Allergies made him stuffy with a high fever so his mother, Yvonne, got concerned. And with how cold it’s been, it was worth a trip to the doctor.

Only problem? It was a Sunday. And Sundays at Junior’s house is reserved for watching football with dad. They’re fans of the Cardinals and Michael Vick, but instead of watching Arizona beat Green Bay 38-8 for its most decisive victory of the year, Junior was laying in a hospital bed watching cartoons with his older sister.

Missing the Cardinals wrap up a bye in the first round of the playoffs probably wouldn’t have felt worth it to Junior had he not seen through the doorway two football players who, to him, appeared to be giants.

“They’re so big,” he said.

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There stood CSU wide receivers Elroy Masters and Robert Ruiz. And CAM the Ram. Plus a handful of Colorado State University cheerleaders with Miss Tucson USA that Junior, even at the age of 2, was eager to point out his approval of their physical appearance. Suddenly, he was short of breath, but it wasn’t his asthma this time — he was just that excited.

“It means a lot that those players would take time out to spend with him,” Yvonne said. “He enjoyed that. He’s loved football forever because he watches it with his dad all the time. … There’s always a TV with a game on in our home.”

Players didn’t spend much time in Junior’s room. With a wing of the hospital to see, there were more kids to meet. Still, those few minutes with a handshake, a high five and a new CSU T-shirt were enough to brighten a 2-year-old’s day.

Sunday was about the kids, not the athletes, but for Masters, a redshirt sophomore from a couple of hours up the road in Peoria, it was a reminder of why he plays football.

Masters won’t play in Tuesday’s Arizona Bowl against Nevada. He hasn’t played since Oct. 17 against Air Force, before he broke the collarbone in his left shoulder. And as a sophomore receiver who was finally starting to show his potential behind a plethora of more veteran guys ahead of him on the depth chart, it’s fair to say this fall has been demoralizing. By his own admission, there’s been a long stretch of time where he didn’t know how he was going to survive watching from the sideline.

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Then Sunday happened.

“It was tough when I got hurt and started to realize it was going to be a season-ending injury, because all you can think about is how you can impact your team on the field,” Masters said. “But when you get opportunities like this and you realize that there are a lot of ways you can help the CSU football team, it opens your eyes.

“Events like these are great, because with their illnesses, they’re battling just like we do on the field to overcome. They might look up to us because we play football, but I look up to them with the way they fight; it’s humbling.”

Bowl games aren’t all about football. They’re a celebration of a successful season, a chance for players to treat themselves to free gifts, and a winter getaway for fans, sure, but bowls are also a chance for community service.

This year, it was a trip to a children’s hospital for CSU’s Masters, Ruiz, Blake Nowland, Eric Williams and George Maumau. A shoe drive in Las Vegas last year helped underprivileged kids keep their feet covered and 2013’s New Mexico Bowl was another children’s hospital.

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They require little effort. A couple of hours, tops, players would otherwise be playing pingpong or PlayStation in the hospitality suite. Instead, they’re showing kindness to a couple of dozen kids who need it and making a few fans in the process.

Junior won’t remember his chat with Masters 20 years from now. He’s 2. But for the next few weeks, there won’t be anything else he talks about, and with his eagerness to put on the CSU shirt his new favorite football player gave him, it might never come off.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.