Red Wings Blog site Abel to Yzerman gives us something to feel good about. The story begins with a Red Wings fan named Guilherme, or "Herm" as the Wings fans have dubbed him. Herm's story is unique because he's a die hard Detroit Red Wings fan, but has never been to Joe Louis Arena to see a game in person. To take it one step further, he's never met another Red Wing fan in person. The reason for this is because Herm lives in Brazil.
Herm is the man behind the Portuguese blog Red Wings Brazil. Guilherme watches games on the internet and the rare occasions the Wings are on television in Brazil. Herm's long distance loyalty has been noticed by the legion of Red Wing fans dubbed 'the 19' and the masses have joined together to raise the funds required to fly Herm to Hockeytown U.S.A. for his first ever live Wings game on March 26th at home versus the Minnesota Wild.
In less than 30 hours 'the 19' have received donations of $1000 towards making this possible. Donations are still pouring in, and any money raised that isn't spent on getting Herm to Joe Louis arena for this game will be donated to the Red Wings Wish Club, who supports the Children's Hospital of Michigan.
Another Red Wings blog called "Snipe Snipe, Dangle Dangle" have posted an interview with Guilherme and have been kind enough to translate to English here, But it's not just the Detroit Red Wings fans that are jumping on board to help out this worthy cause. A Minnesota Wild blog called Wild Nation is also encouraging people to help Herm make the trip north to see his favorite player Darren Helm.
The Chief summed it up nicely;
The kid’s gonna see the Gordie statue. He’s gonna smell the stale beer aromas of Joe Louis Arena. He’s going to see the blur that is Darren Helm, all in person.Such a classy move by total strangers who happen to share the passion for the same hockey team. Maybe there is hope for civilization after all...
(If you'd like to donate, surf by A2Y here and click the donate button.)
