Imagine waking up one morning to find out that you get to meet your favorite athlete. Imagine tossing a football with your NFL idol, or going up to bat with your favorite MLB team. Imagine how your whole life would change in that moment. Five wish kids not only imagined these things, they lived them, and now their stories are being shared on the eighth-annual ESPN “My Wish” series.
From NASCAR to tennis from the NFL to Major League Baseball, the sports-themed wishes granted by Make-A-Wish will begin airing Saturday, Aug. 17, on ESPN and will run through the week. The summer series profiles wishes as they come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Each segment takes viewers on an in-depth and often emotional journey into the children’s lives, medical conditions, their wish-reveals and the transformative wish experiences they have with their favorite athletes or teams.
Emmy Award-winning reporter Chris Connelly will again host with participation from the following wish granters: Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Redskins Quarterback Robert Griffin, III, NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne and tennis star Roger Federer.
“All of our wish kids and their stories are inspirational,” said David Williams, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish America. “We are pleased to once again have ESPN tell the transformational stories of five of them in a way few others can. We continually learn that wish experiences can make kids feel better, sometimes get better, and certainly can help them become ambitious for the future again.”
Each wish will be the subject of a SportsCenter feature segment beginning Saturday, Aug. 17, at 11 p.m. ET with a new piece premiering each day through Wednesday, Aug. 21. Each feature will also be available at ESPN.com following its original airdate.
