You chance to donate to an amazing cause continues.
Dave King’s Bright Side Night is rapidly approaching. You know, the night where, after receiving donations from readers like YOU, we send underprivileged kids to a Phoenix Suns game. This season it’s January 9, 2025, against the Atlanta Hawks. But it is something we’ve been doing at Bright Side for quite some time.
I was trying to think of words to convey the “what” and the “why”. What is it? Why is it important? In doing so, I searched the back channels of Bright Side of the Suns’ publishing application…and I found something…
I came across an article written by Dave King, the man for whom this special night is now posthumously named, recognizing his dedication to its creation. It was something he wrote but never published…just sitting there, untouched since November 21, 2016. As I read his words, it felt like I could hear his voice again. Dave had a distinctive writing style that we all cherished, and rediscovering this piece brought tears to my eyes.
So now, I present to you what Dave wrote 8 years ago as he was preparing to explain the importance of Bright Side Night to the community. For some reason, he never published it. But now his words can be read in reference to a night that now bears his name.
By now, you are getting tired of me pimping this thing I call Bright Side Night, where we are sending 1,000+ kids to their first, and maybe only, Phoenix Suns game on December 11, 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Every time you see one of these posts, you cringe and hesitate to even click on the link to open it.
“What day is it?” you ask yourself. “How friggin long until the game comes and goes and I don’t have to take this crap anymore? Another month? Gawd help me.”
You’ve either donated already or you’ve decided you’re not going to. Most of you fall into the latter group. I know.
Giving away your hard-earned money for something you can’t touch, feel or consume is a one-way ticket to NoThanks Land.
“Why the hell is Dave wasting my precious time on this stuff? Can’t I just commiserate with other Suns fans about the shitty Suns in peace?”
I’ll tell you why.
No, it’s not because I was an underprivileged child myself. I have no sob story to tell.
In fact, I was pretty privileged. Middle-class privileged anyway. A shockingly normal child of a “broken home” with enough spending money to do fun things. Peter Piper Pizza, anyone? Blessed with a pair of families (yay divorce and re-marriage!) to alternate living with and even vacation with from time to time. Through it all, I got to visit, drive-through or fly over most of the states in the union before I graduated college. And two birthdays and Christmases every year. Don’t forget that!
So it’s not that I had a terrible childhood.
It’s not like I was surrounded by underprivileged kids either, at least to my knowledge. My high school was, in retrospect, teeming with kids of all privilege – over and under. Some kids had fancy cars when they turned 16. Others, like me, walked or rode the bus every day in second-hand or off-brand clothes.
I never envied the rich kids. I never wondered which kids were more or less privileged than me. I never tried to classify anyone beyond nerd, geek, punker, rocker, stoner or jock. My friends could have been rich or poor and I wouldn’t have known it.
I wasn’t popular but I wasn’t unpopular either. I was the snarky kid who made people laugh. Even the teachers sometimes.
So why is it so important for me, whose own public-school-educated kids are now older than the kids I’m trying to help, to organize this giveback to underprivileged kids every year?
Because we can.
We are blessed to have 150,000 readers per month on this here blog, all here to consume the stories and podcasts my blogmates and I produce about the Suns.
I’ve gotten some perks out of it for myself. I get to commiserate with fellow Suns fans, attend Suns games, interview the front office, players and coaches, hear inside scoops, meet people who dedicate their careers to the team I love. Generally, immerse myself in all things Suns whenever I want.
So once again, I feel privileged. Blessed.
But not everyone has it as good as we do.
So why not use a great platform like this to give back to the community once in a while? We all love the Suns. Let’s share that love with kids who really need a pick-me-up in life!
Most families, just like mine, don’t have the available funds to take their kids to a Suns game as a Family Night Out. Even in these $16 seats, if you make that a foursome plus gas plus parking plus snacks… all of a sudden it’s a $100+ investment for three hours of entertainment.
That’s a lot of cash.
And that’s where Bright Side comes in.
Let’s give these kids a fun memory that will last forever, without making their parents blow a bunch of cash to do it.
All you have to do is donate $16. Of course, you can donate more, but even ONE TICKET brings one more ticket to the event.
Some of these tickets are going to chaperones, of course, so maybe some of the parent (the one that likes basketball!) can go along on our dime too.
That’s why I’m doing this.
And that’s why YOU should do it too.
Thanks so much to those of you who have already donated to this great cause. We’re getting oh so close to that magic 1,000 number!
But we have so far to go. This isn’t over. The Suns have reserved a lot more seats for us to donate!
Whoa. Like stepping into a time machine, right?
But Dave was right. So very right. Let’s leverage our shared passion for the Suns to make a tangible difference in the lives of children who might not otherwise have such experiences.
- Click this link to donate: Suns.com/Brightside
- No extra fees or charges.
- Click the ‘donate now’ and select the number of tickets you want to donate and how you’re going to pay*
- You will get a confirmation email directly from the Suns to confirm the purchase, then another customized follow-up email from Connor Sprague with Dave King’s Bright Side Night details and the next steps.
That’s it!
*outside the US? If you can’t use the Ticketmaster process, just contact our Suns’ rep directly. Name and number at the link above.