'Special to us.' Annual Reindeer Games in honor of Shelton lacrosse player set to deck the field Saturday
This year's event sold out with 55 teams registered to celebrate and honor Jimmy McGrath's legacy.
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Tis the season for the Reindeer Games—an annual 7-on-7 lacrosse tournament in Bridgeport played in honor or a Shelton athlete who lost his life.
It's the fifth year for the festivities, which raises money to support Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse, an organization and after-school program that's evolved beyond only athletics over the past 15 years.
“They have mentors. They're teaching kids computer skills, art skills, so it's more than just lacrosse. It's a great program,” said Kevin McGrath, whose son Jimmy McGrath volunteered with the organization before his death in 2022.
Lacrosse was a huge part of Jimmy McGrath’s life.
“He'd go down and help the kids of Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse with their stick skills and really learn the game of lacrosse because there's not a huge undertaking in Bridgeport,” Kevin McGrath explained. “He loved it, so this was one of those community service projects where we didn’t have to remind him, ‘Hey you have to be down at Puglio Field at this time.’ He was there.”
That's why the holiday event has been held in Jimmy McGrath’s memory ever since his death. The field gets decked out and teams dress in festive costumes for the friendly competition. There are no scoreboards or losers.
“It's just a fun event,” Kevin McGrath explained. “It's really to get fun back into the holiday season.”
That’s something which can be hard for the McGrath family. “Yeah,” said Kevin McGrath, getting emotional. “Yeah, the holidays are tough.”
The Reindeer Games, though, is a day of happiness.
“It's just good to see the kids get out there. And it is special to us because there's a lot of smiling faces coming in and leaving,” McGrath told News 12.
The event began with 18 teams in 2021, and this year is sold out with 55 teams from across Connecticut. That's hundreds of people embodying Jimmy McGrath’s spirit.
“We owe it him. We owe it to him to carry on the passion and the love that he had for others,” Kevin McGrath said.
The event will have local food vendors and music. There will also be a coat drive to benefit the Bridgeport Rescue Mission as well as a food and essentials drive to send to Jamaica. Don Wilson, who runs Bridgeport Youth Lacrosse, is originally from there, and has family and friends reeling from the recent hurricane’s destruction.
The Reindeer Games goes from 8 a.m. through 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Puglio Park in Bridgeport. The rain date is Sunday, Dec. 14.
