NEW JERSEY COPS ■ FEBRUARY 2014
55
Battle of America’s Heroes
On Jan. 29, as part of the festivities for Super Bowl XLVIII, hundreds of people filled the Richard J. Codey Arena at South Mountain in West Orange to show their support for the men and
women who risked their lives for the benefit and freedom of the
American people.
The scrimmage between the Wounded Warriors Amputees
and the 9/11 First Responders was presented by Essex County,
the Military Benefit Association (MBA), Humana, Ron Jaworski’s
AFL Philadelphia Soul and by Seton Hall Prep, and was hosted by
NY Jets star Joe Klecko, NY Giants star and U.S. Naval Academy
graduate Phil McConkey and four-time Pittsburgh Steeler Super
Bowl champion and decorated Vietnam veteran Rocky Bleier.
“I did not expect it to be a physical hard-hitting game,” said
Essex County Sheriff’s Local 183 President Chris Tyminski, who
helped organize the event, “but people left bleeding. You would
think these guys that don’t have arms or legs would be limited,
but they were all tremendous athletes. There was no goofing
around. If you caught the ball, you better be prepared to get hit.”
In the end, the Wounded Warriors reigned victorious, and
approached Tyminski to thank him for putting on such a genuine
event.
“They came up to me after and told me that often, people playing against them treat the amputees like charity cases and go
easy. They said that this was the first time that people would hit
them and it was the best time they’ve ever had.”
Members of Tyminski’s team were restricted to 9/11 first
responders, “not just the young guys we could grab,” he emphasized.
The excitement of the day went beyond the actual game, as
Inserts, clockwise from left: The Village People sang their hits
during the halftime show; Wounded Warrior amputees about to
run a play; former professional wrestler Mick Foley and his sock