Heroes Unite! Fearless 43 Come Together For Superhero Training

BAM! POW! BOOM!

Those were just a few of the sounds coming from Subaru Park as Philadelphia Union’s Fearless 43 Class of 2023 displayed their incredible superhero skills to officially kick off the club’s Kick Childhood Cancer weekend.

Fearless 43 members were joined by their Super Siblings and parents to take part in five superhero themed games that created smiles and memorable moments for everyone in attendance. Up first was a test of leadership; the kids took control the Captain America shield, flinging it to take down targets. Next was super speed, with a mini-game focused on racking up the most amount of points in 20 seconds through a bean bag toss. All superheroes have amazing sight and that was put to the test in the ball pit where the Fearless 43 had to rescue missing civilians before heading over to an accuracy test where they had to toss objects through webs. The final test was that of strength with a brick wall standing between them and the finish line. It was no obstacle at all for the Fearless 43 as they smashed their way through.

“This year our theme is superheroes with the adidas pre-match top being Marvel themed, we wanted our kids to come out here as they are our little super heroes,” Allie Gentile, Director of Community Relations for the Philadelphia Union, said. “They got to go through some activities, punching brick walls and testing out their accuracy and once they did those they got to take home some awesome prizes.”

Prizes were aplenty for each member of the Fearless 43, receiving gift bags packed by the Philadelphia Union players' wives and girlfriends that included their superhero themed pajamas for gameday along with an adorable stuffed puppy from Subaru. The club’s partner also provided each participant with a care kit for more family moments and one of the softest blankets a superhero could collect.

Ryan’s Case for Smiles provided the their own amazing gift package for the Super Siblings of the Fearless 43 families along with superhero-themed pillow cases.

As families enjoyed balloon art, face painting, took photos in Philadelphia Union's custom Fearless 43 action figure box and enjoyed their dinners, the biggest surprise came. After all the superheroes had completed their training, the Kellan Ford Foundation joined the festivities. Surrounded by all of the families inside the Stadium Club, Kristin and Mike shared an amazing message and gift.

“We want to share something extra special with you all and welcome you all into our inaugural class of our holistic care grants,” Kristin Ford said. “One thing that Kellan did really well on was supportive therapy which is massage, yoga, acupressure, occupational therapy and physical therapy. After he received that, the kid shined and we found that not enough families are taking advantage of that so we have created our own kit boxes that you’ve picked up. Tonight we want to present each family with a $500 grant. We will work with you whether your child is off treatment or currently on treatment, we will find a local provider for you to continue or start the therapy of your choice which will help your child holistically battle cancer. From the bottom of my heart and a gift from our donors to each of you, please know that we hope this gesture will continue you on your journey.”

Philadelphia Union started Fearless 43 in 2019 with the number coming tied to the number of children diagnosed daily with cancer. For the last five years the Union have partnered with Kisses for Kyle to work with 43 childhood cancer patients in the greater Philadelphia area on a special project.

“Without the incredible work of Sharon Snyder we wouldn’t be able to make these experiences a reality,” Gentile said during the event. “We are really looking forward to the match on Saturday but tonight was a great kick off to our Kick Childhood Cancer efforts here at Subaru Park.”

All members of the Fearless 43 will be in attendance as the Boys in Blue do their own battle as they host Eastern Conference leaders, FC Cincinnati, on Saturday night. Fans will want to be in their seats during halftime as the club will the families as we look to Kick Childhood Cancer.

Below you can find the names and ages of our Fearless 43 Class of 2023.