Studies have shown the dramatic affects of happiness and joy on the recovery of sick children and people in general. Visiting a children's hospital may not seem like much for an athlete or celebrity to do, but it's amazing to see how the children react. Even in cases where there isn't much hope of recovery, the child's quality of life is significantly brightened by a visit from their heros.
My appreciation transcends team allegiance and even sport. I volunteer at a local children's hospital. I don't like the Utah Jazz team because I'm a fan of a rival but I love the Utah Jazz players for coming by the hospital to visit the kids. A few of the kids will give the Jazz players a hard time because they might be Laker or Nuggets fans but in the end, the child spends the day laughing and giggling because he got to interact with a professional athlete.
My hat's off to these players and anyone else that goes out of their way to make a sick child smile. God bless them.