Dwight Howard wasn’t just slapping high fives, handing out one hug after another, posing for pictures with babies and showing off his bowling prowess Sunday afternoon at Altamonte Bowling Lanes.
The superstar center was also fulfilling a promise to a new friend, and also making a lifetime of memories for a special segment of his fanbase.
Asked a month ago by 19-year-old Charbel “Big Bubba’’ El-Khoury, who suffers from Down’s Syndrome, if he would participate in the 2010 Bowl-A-Thon to benefit the Special Olympics of Seminole County, Howard pledged his attendance. Then, the first-team All-NBA star went out of his way to make it happen.
Howard flew back to Orlando from Houston, where he had just spent the previous five days working out three hours a day with legendary NBA center Hakeem Olajuwon on a variety of post moves. Rather than simply fly back to Atlanta as he planned, Howard instead returned to Orlando to partake in the event for the Special Olympics.
And he certainly didn’t disappoint, signing hundreds of autographs, slapping 7-foot high fives, rolling five strikes despite not having his own bowling balls and even serving as the emcee (spiced up, of course, with his many voices) for the post-event raffle.
“I just try to come out here and make them smile and have some fun,’’ said Howard, who was wearing a Bowl-A-Thon T-shirt and fresh off a down-the-middle strike roll. “Basketball is not the only thing that makes me who I am. I don’t just play basketball. I just try to do as many things like this away from the court as I can. I saw “Big Bubba’’ up here one day while I was bowling and he asked me to come, so I wanted to make sure that I was here.’’
And how could he say no? El-Khoury was decked out in a No. 12 Magic jersey that nearly reached his knees, Magic shorts and even a black shooting sleeve over his left arm – just like Howard himself. “Big Bubba,’’ as El-Khoury is affectionately referred to by all who know him, first asked Howard for a picture and then tickets to a Magic game. The ever-engaging Howard, a regular bowler with a high score of 274, obliged and quickly befriended the El-Khoury family.
Later came the request for Howard to participate in Sunday’s Bowl-A-Thon, which Special Olympics Outreach coach Nin El-Khoury wondered if he would ever have time to fit into his busy schedule. But there was Howard on Sunday afternoon, handing out hugs, posing for pictures and signing hundreds of T-shirts, Magic jerseys and even one Superman cape. And mostly he was about bringing smiles to the faces of several special needs athletes.
“When I sent that e-mail to Dwight, I figured I’d just see what happens. But when he responded and said he was coming, I was floored by it,” Nin El-Khoury said. “It’s amazing. Even when my brother first met Dwight and asked for tickets, Dwight said to e-mail him and I was like, `Sure, that’s not happening.’ But it really did happen for us. Dwight just loves my brother and he’s being his friend and that’s all Bubba really wants.”
“Big Bubba” was so excited at the prospect of bowling with his hero on Sunday that he awoke at 6 a.m. and dressed himself in Magic blue. But that excitement was nothing compared to the smiles and genuine joy that he exuded each frame that he and Howard bowled together on Sunday.
“Dwight just means the world to him. Every day he’s asking me, `Did Dwight e-mail back? Did Dwight e-mail back?’” Nin El-Khoury said. “It just means a lot to Bubba to watch his hero on TV and then to be able to actually call him a friend, too.”
Howard, who bowls weekly at Altamonte Bowling Lanes during the offseason, was in the pro shop recently purchasing a new ball when “Big Bubba’’ approached him about bowling in the event. While he would have preferred to have been playing in the NBA Finals on Sunday, Howard was determined that nothing was going to keep him from disappointing his new friend.
“When I first met Bubba he had a full Magic uniform on – from the jersey, the shorts, the arm sleeve and the shoes. He was ready to go. It was good seeing what a fan he was,” Howard said. “And once I saw him and he asked me, I told him I’d come and I kept that promise. I’m just happy seeing him here with everybody and having lots of fun.”
By John Denton
Orlando Magic
