McCoy Enjoys Sight Of “Wow” Factor
May 3rd, 2014
Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Even the crustiest Bucs fan would be warmed by the sight of a young girl exclaiming, “Wow!” after putting on her first-ever pair of glasses before hundreds of her classmates waving Bucs flags and cheering.
Clear vision is a gift Gerald McCoy and the Glazer Family Foundation bestowed on 29 kids yesterday in Oldsmar.
Joe watched as McCoy ran through the Forest Lakes Elementary School cafeteria high-fiving students at an assembly honoring the 5,000th pair of prescription glasses donated by the foundation locally.
McCoy addressed the youngsters on the value of education and corrective vision, and McCoy did his best to make sure nobody wearing glasses felt like “a nerd.”
In typical McCoy style, his speech included plenty of fun and laughs with audience participation.
The Glazer program heads out to schools across the Bay area with fancy technology in a mobile, kid-friendly vehicle to test students’ vision. A medical team identifies problems and free prescription glasses are made and donated quickly. Nearly all recipients are young students who were either unaware they had vision issues or who hadn’t had them addressed. Sixty schools were targeted over the past year.
Eyeglasses are part of who McCoy is. He wears contact lenses on the football field, but off the field he’s a thick-glasses kind of guy. When McCoy gave his famous draft-day bear hug to Roger Goodell on national television in 2010, McCoy was bespectacled. And he’s quick to say getting glasses improved his life.
Yesterday’s event was extra special for McCoy. He has delivered glasses to schools and addressed students several times, but yesterday he left bearing gifts.
“They all gave me cards telling me thank you,” said McCoy, who always treasures giving of the gift of sight.
“It’s when the kids put their glasses on. And most of them, it doesn’t matter where you’re at, most of them go, ‘Wowwww!’ Because they’re like, ‘I didn’t know I could see this good.'”
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:19 am
Great story joe . It’s nice to read about things like this .
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:30 am
Gerald McCoy is a great young man. What a worthy program. Congrats!
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:33 am
very proud McCoy is a buc! let’s make sure he’s always one!
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:33 am
McCoy is such a class act. We are so blessed to have him. Glazers too.
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:37 am
Great article Joe. Always nice to hear good news. I’ll bet Suh is not doing these things in Detroit.
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:45 am
Stuff like this is why Brooks, Dunn, and Alstott are some of my favorite Bucs. For athletes, it is easy to showcase their talent on the field, but it is what they do out in the community that sets some apart. McCoy is a true asset to the community – not just to the Bucs.
May 3rd, 2014 at 11:33 am
A true Buccaneer Man!!!
May 3rd, 2014 at 11:36 am
One of the true good guys in the NFL. He is a team player and awesome in the community. Gotta lock him up for the long term.
May 3rd, 2014 at 1:08 pm
Good read joe thank you.
May 3rd, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Even if he never reaches the professional heights of Sapp, he is ten times the man. What an asset to the community and the rare NFL star worthy of admiration.
May 3rd, 2014 at 3:56 pm
Kudos to McCoy and the Bucs organization. Giving to disadvantaged young people is the Godly thing to do.
May 3rd, 2014 at 10:11 pm
Great cause. Great guy.
Thanks 93.
May 4th, 2014 at 5:36 am
Gerald McCoy is as great off the field, as he is on the field. You can can just tell that he came from a great family. He makes them, and this community- proud of Him
Vincent Jackson is also an outstanding man, as well as a player.
Guess who’s jerseys I’ll be buying.
God Bless these guys, for actually being someone kids can look up to.
This has really become a team that you care about.
That wasn’t true during the Jeremy Stevens, Aqib Talib, Tanard Jackson Days.
Proud of the organization and Players for making a “Lasting Change”
It’ll pay off at the ticket counters.