Cam Atkinson’s ‘Grandma Marge’ gets some ice time
Marge Robben made her in-person debut at the Philadelphia Flyers home game in support of her grandson, NHL veteran and Greenwich native Cam Atkinson.
The Philadelphia Flyers tweeted a picture of Grandma Marge — as she’s now known by fans, too — on a Zamboni ice resurfacer, wearing a jersey and waving to the crowd at the game on Friday.
“I will never go on it again, though. I am an 87-year-old woman, and it was hard for me to get on the Zamboni and off, but it was very exciting,” said Robben, who lives in Stamford. “I just won’t do it again.”
Grandma Marge became social media famous after tweeting a selfie with her in Atkinson’s Philadelphia Flyers jersey. Atkinson did what any proud grandson would do and shared it with his more than 55,000 Twitter followers.
During a postgame interview, Atkinson said his grandmother has been a big supporter of his for a long time and said she had been looking forward to this day. “It was good to see the smile on her face,” he said.
Robben said there were about 50 of his family members at Friday’s game. Some came by car, train or plane.
“It was wonderful seeing Cam and him to see all of us supporting him on his big day,” she said.
The event came after Atkinson was traded to the Flyers this summer after 10 years with the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio.
Robben resides at the Edgehill retirement community in Stamford and said she will be watching the Flyers games on her television.
“I bought the NHL package so I wouldn’t miss a game. At my age, it is difficult to travel and getting on the train so I’ll be watching him from home, but will go when I can,” Robben said.