A pediatric cancer warrior escorts a Syracuse Crunch player on opening night, Oct. 12, 2013. Photo by Darcy DiBiase.
Remember the Syracuse Crunch home opener, when players were escorted onto the ice by pediatric patients from Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital?
Taylor Baucom does.
She included footage of that night in the War Memorial in “The Crunch,” a short video that won first place in the sports category of the White House News Photographers Association’s “2014 Eyes of History” student video contest. Baucom is a Syracuse University graduate student in the Newhouse School’s Department of Multimedia Photography and Design. She is working toward a master’s degree in photography. Baucom earned her undergraduate degree in communications and psychology from Illinois College.
In the video she interviews Dan D’uva, who announces the hockey games. “That was a touching moment, not only for the cancer patients, but for the players and everybody in the building, all 6,200 of them, including this guy up in the broadcast booth,” D’uva says of opening night. “It was very special.”
Upstate supports the Crunch’s 20th anniversary season, and the Crunch supports children hospitalized at Golisano, with players taking turns making visits throughout the season.
D’uva goes on to talk about the team’s role in the Central New York community, in the video. “While these guys are getting paid for their time, they really don’t act like it. You don’t have the big league mentality, the superstars, the billboards, the endorsements,” he says. “It really is about the sport and about each other, and I think that comes from the leadership.”
More photos from the Crunch home opener
White House News Photographers ‘Eyes of History’ Student Video Contest: Sports
Syracuse University article about Baucom award
