Weaver worthy ‘Match Ignitor’ for Crew game against Union
Finn Weaver looked like he was at home when he took the field at Historic Crew Stadium.
Donning a personalized Crew jersey, the 8-year-old was given a soccer ball and free rein of the field. Weaver knew what to do, racing toward goal and putting it in the back of the net, repeating it again and again even as a slight drizzle fell.
Tiffanie Weaver was not surprised. That’s just how her son is.
“He usually watches the game, and then he’ll go out and pretend he’s playing in the backyard,” Tiffanie said. “He pretends to be a Crew player.”
Finn didn’t have to pretend Thursday.
Through NC4K, a Columbus-area organization that supports children fighting pediatric cancer, Finn, who is in remission for leukemia, was able to visit the Crew’s practice facilities for their training ahead of Saturday’s match against the Philadelphia Union and meet midfielder Julian Gressel, his host, along with the rest of the team.
And on Saturday, the Crew’s MLS Kick Childhood Cancer match and Finn’s 9th birthday, he will be at the center of the pregame festivities, serving as the team’s “Match Ignitor.” His duties will include pushing a plunger that sets off the pyrotechnics “officially” getting the game against Philadelphia started.
“It’s a special moment for us,” Tiffanie said. “This is just amazing for him, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. We’re just thrilled he’s able to do these things and that he’s healthy today
and we’re able to pull him out of school and do something fun like this as opposed to years ago when he was going to the hospital all the time.”
For the Weaver family, who live in Galena, days like Thursday were no guarantee.
Finn was diagnosed with B Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 5 in 2020, and underwent chemotherapy for nearly three years that included numerous hospital stays for fevers and treatments.
Finn is in remission and has been off treatment for 15 months. Tiffanie said Finn will reach his five-year survivorship in 2025.
“It puts a lot of things into perspective,” Ben Weaver, Finn’s father, said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to remember what is important. You’ve got your job and other things, family life and everything. But for me, you sit back and realize what we went through and kind of what we could have lost.”
Finn also has a rare genetic syndrome that affects his muscle tone and cognitive functioning, which makes it difficult, Tiffanie said, for him to play sports such as soccer compared to children his age. But as Finn gets stronger after ending his chemotherapy sessions, Tiffanie said her son has signed up for a youth soccer league along with golf lessons.
That’s part of the reason Ben calls him “a little warrior.”
“Very strong,” Ben said. “I just watched him get poked over and over again, not even flinching, crying, not complaining. It’s a lot of character.”
None of that poking and prodding seemed to be on Finn’s mind Thursday on the field at Historic Crew Stadium, scoring like his favorite player Cucho Hernandez does.
In Finn, Ben and Tiffanie said they see someone whose history with leukemia and his current genetic syndrome does not define him. He’s their son, a son who made treatment “look easy,” a son who embraces life, a son who never really watches cartoons, but instead gravitates to the Crew, Blue Jackets and Buckeyes.
And when Finn is at the center of attention Saturday night, hearing the roar of a sold-out crowd at Lower.com Field, Ben said he can’t think of someone more worthy.
“He’s the bravest kid I have ever seen,” Ben said. cgay@dispatch.com @_Colingay