8-year-old cancer survivor and others benefit from the Broncos ...

Football coaches often talk about playing with heart. The Boise State Broncos also emphasize living with heart.

The football team and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho on Saturday for the second straight year granted a cancer patient?s wish, providing an unforgettable experience. Binky Williamson, 8, of Forest Park, Ga., was a coach for the day on the Broncos? sideline.

Stephen Kinsey of San Antonio, Texas, was the first wish coach last year.

?Ambassadorship? is one of the blocks in the Broncos? goals pyramid.

?It?s just important for people to do things for others,? coach Chris Petersen said. ?It?s one of those things where you think you?re helping somebody else and most of the time you?re getting more back in return.?

The wishes are the most visible example of the Broncos? outreach, but it?s a year-round effort. Players are asked to perform two hours of community service per semester, but already this fall the team has contributed more than 400 hours (about four hours per player).

Linebackers coach Bob Gregory led a service trip to the Dominican Republic during spring break that involved football players Chris Potter and Jonathan Brown. Potter, a junior wide receiver, was named to the American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team earlier this year.

The football program is heavily involved in the athletic department?s annual Serving Up Wishes dinner, a benefit for Make-A-Wish that has generated more than $1.25 million for Idaho wishes in its nine-year run. Players also work with the St. Luke?s Children?s Hospital, Drug Free Idaho and Operation School Bell, and often visit local schools.

Next week, the Boise State president?s office will host a visit from stroke survivor Sam Frankel of Averill Park, N.Y. ? a high school student and longtime Broncos fan who hopes to attend college here. He has received a phone call from former Bronco Kyle Wilson, who now plays for the New York Jets.

Players say they embrace their status as ?role models? and are happy to give back.

?It is a really big deal to us. ... It?s something that hits you right when you come in, and it sticks with you till you?re done with this program and all the way through your life,?? senior defensive end Jarrell Root said.

Binky is the latest beneficiary of that approach.

He endured a 47-day hospital stay and seven-day drug-induced coma last year as he fought Burkitt?s lymphoma but recently hit the one-year mark cancer-free. His oncologist considers him cured.

Binky?s visit with the Broncos, his favorite team, included going to lunch with the wide receivers, attending practice and having his own locker in the locker room.

?It made me feel special,? he said.

Said his mother, Jonelle: ?He came out of his shell. He was happy. His exact words were, ?I feel like a celebrity.? ?

The whole family ? including Binky?s dad and two siblings ? took part in the trip. The Williamsons have family in Idaho, some of whom they hadn?t met, which made for a memorable Thanksgiving.

?They all want to move here now,? Jonelle said, surrounded by her blue-and-orange-clad family. ?Of course, after we go back (to Georgia) looking like this, we will have to.?

Chadd Cripe: 377-6398

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/11/27/1894825/broncos-making-goals-off-the-blue.html

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