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ESPN's Chris Connelly Talks Impact Of "My Wish" Following A Successful 12th Season

In a sports media world that can be marred with stories of athletes who have lost their way it is refreshing to sit back and watch the heartwarming features being done by ESPN’s “My Wish” series. Being presented for the first time by Dove Men+Care, “My Wish” released four new segments last week that aired during episodes of “SportsCenter.” Working together with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, ESPN gave viewers the chance to see 9-year-old Raymond Melgarejo meet Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, 18-year-old Gabrielle Jahn connect with NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, 11-year-old Lazaro “Ziggy” Monarrez hang out with the Dodgers and 16-year-old Jalan Sowell produce an ESPN feature. All features from this season of “My Wish” can be seen on ESPN.com. Chris Connelly, the host of “My Wish,” has been there for all 12 seasons in which 63 wishes have been granted. “We’re really grateful for the support that people have for what we do,” said Connelly. “We’ve done 12 seasons now and there are still a lot of other athletes we’ve loved to get involved with.” Connelly took time to chat with THE DAILY about the connection between the children and the athletes, the show’s impact and where they could go from here.

On the show’s impact: Just to see them get those moments of joy and exhilaration is thrilling for them, thrilling for their families and thrilling for us who watch. One of the things that we wanted to do was to show Make-A-Wish was not merely for children with terminal diagnosis, and it’s great that out of those 63 kids the vast majority are out there flourishing and having wonderful lives. The moments that they’ve had as part of their wishes have helped them to regain their confidence and their sense of selves. 

On the show’s logistics: I get the privilege of walking into the family’s home and sitting down with the mother or father or guardian and with the child, hearing their stories. But the wishes are really done with the producers and Make-A-Wish people. The cooperation we get from Make-A-Wish has been phenomenal in terms of providing these wishes and letting the families know what it’s going to be like.

On setting the scene for the viewers: Something that’s important is we want you to like these children before you know that they’re ill. We want to give you something to latch onto that you’ll appreciate and like about these kids before you feel sympathy for them because they’re sick. So, we show them being active or doing something they’re good at or expressing themselves in a creative way. Then we find out (their condition). For example, this year we have four children who really love the sport that they follow or participate in, and each one of them had to adapt to their setbacks and continue to stay involved in the sport that they cared about.

On preparing the children for their wish: The moment from when they find out they’re getting the wish to when they wind up meeting the team is a big moment for them. We suggest that sometimes they write things down that they want to ask or that they think about what they’d like to say just so they know what they’re doing when they get there. That’s a lot of fun. The anticipation can be as exciting as the actual meeting.

On the connection between the child and the athlete: People get to see a side of an athlete they don’t usually get to see. They get to see the athlete being compassionate and connecting with a child. One of the great lessons for me doing this series is how good so many athletes are with young children. I had no idea that was the case. Every year I see an elite athlete showing real grace, giving a child total attention and it just means the world. 

On athletes performing the wishes: Athletes want to top what athlete X did four years ago. They see these wishes and are eager to outdo them somehow. The Dodgers went all out. Clayton Kershaw talked to Ziggy before a start. I didn’t know Kershaw talked to anybody before a start. That’s really special. 

On the memories from this season: I was thrilled to meet Ziggy, I just thought he had it all going on. He’s such a live wire and so sharp. To talk to Gabby and to hear how she was determined to become a nurse despite the fact she was having all these setbacks with walking and all this medical involvement, that was inspiring. Raymond had a lot of tough times as well, but he loved football so much that he was willing to work behind the scenes with the leader of the league to be able to still be involved with football. And then Jalen is a wish we’ve never done before. To be around his energy and to see how he’d taken his disappointment and turned it into a positive by being able to coach and boost his teammates. To bring him on campus to Bristol and interact with people at ESPN -- that was a thrill we hadn’t had before. 

On potential future wishes: We’d love to do an international soccer wish again. I’m sure we’d love to do a Premier League wish or a La Liga wish. That would be fun. We do them in one week during the year rather than spread them out to have maximum impact. We feel like we draw attention to the idea more successfully. Basketball is a little hard for us because of the way the seasons work because we’re putting these things together just during playoffs, but it’d be great to get more involvement with our friends in the NBA. We’re eager to make that happen.

On integrating social media: We’ve started doing minute-long versions of the wishes that appear on Instagram. We did one for Raymond that was really effective and got hundreds of thousands of views. That’s a great growth for us. I want to do a live wish on social media next year the way that Make-A-Wish did Batkid a couple years ago (see here). I’d like to do a wish live without the child knowing until the reveal and then for you to be able to follow their wish on Twitter or on social media as it happens to see it all put together in a taped piece.

On staying in touch with the children: I always like hearing how some of these young children are doing, and they’re flourishing out there. They’re going out and doing great things.

On advancement in medicine: I’ve noticed how advanced medicine has gotten in 12 years. The medical advancements have been wonderful. There are places you can have operations now that you couldn’t in 2006. There are treatments for things now that you didn’t have in 2006. That’s very encouraging. 

Final thoughts: The thing that you come away with more than anything is the indomitability of these children, they’re not going to let these illnesses defeat them. You can discuss whether or not it’s a battle to fight illness. I know people sometimes say that’s the wrong metaphor but it’s a battle to maintain your interest in the rest of your life while you go through treatment for an illness. In that sense, these kids are definitely battlers. They want to get back on the field, stay connected to their friends and family. They want to get back into the sport they love. We’re grateful to be able to offer them a possibility to do that.

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