Since he joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Jim Patton noticed that his little brother has been more on the reserved side.
"It's hard to get him out to want to do things," Patton said. "Tonight, he opened up and was talking to players, and I couldn't get him off the fowling board."
For the first Community Tuesday event of October, the Colts partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana for an afternoon at Fowling Warehouse in downtown Indianapolis. Fowling is a pastime combining football and bowling where competitors attempt to knock down pins by throwing a football.
Big Brothers Big Sisters connects caring adults with a youth mentee, allowing adults to spend a few hours a month with a little or a youth in the community to make a difference in their life.
Tuesday afternoon, kids were not only joined by their mentors, but also several Colts players. DeForest Buckner, Seth McGowan, Mitchell Melton, Eli Pancol and West Weeks spent the hour facing off against the pairs that attended.
"It's really great to see the players interacting with our youth because it sparks joy in them," BBBS program events and partnerships manager Dominique Morefield said. "It really shows them that anything is possible and it reminds them to keep going."
For several, fowling was a new game to play, and they stepped onto the board as rookies. Buckner has a smaller setup in his home, and he deemed himself the MVP among his teammates for the afternoon.
Buckner has been in Indianapolis since 2020, and giving back to the community and giving back to the community that has supported him the last six years has been a top priority.
"They only see us on Sundays or on the TV, and think we're sometimes superheroes or people they can't even talk to," Buckner said Tuesday. "Being able to relate with them and talk to them is big. It goes a long way."
