Jamie Campbell did inspiring interview with cancer-fighting Jays fan
The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t having the season they envisioned, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t serve as a form of escape for fans dealing with stressful things in their lives.
While the team will not see postseason action for just the second time in the last five seasons, fans are still showing up to the Rogers Centre to cheer on their team, no matter the circumstances.
Sportsnet Blue Jays’ host Jamie Campbell gave fans watching on TV a chance to see what the team means to some, interviewing a young man from Strathroy, Ontario named Ethan Timmers who is currently fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“You and I are kind of kindred souls because we both have blood cancer,” Campbell said in the interview. “You and your family were driving here to go to a game on August 8 and you got a phone call, you had to turn around and go back to the London, Ontario area and you were diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”
Jamie Campbell (@SNETCampbell) sits down with Ethan Timmers, who opens up about his recent diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma and his love for baseball. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5wklvXZvG4
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 15, 2024
The two talked about the diagnosis and how Timmers’ treatment was going. It would have been easy to complain about the stress such a horrible disease puts on the body, but Timmers seemed more upset about missing school than anything.
“It’s been going alright, it kinda sucks the days that I have to go [for treatment] I always have to miss a couple days of school after,” Timmers said.
Campbell himself announced back in 2022 that he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and had been receiving treatment. Back in October of 2023, the veteran broadcaster had to take a leave from Sportsnet after treatments for “pre-skin cancer” left half his face red.
It’s unique for a kid growing up playing sports in Canada not to be all about hockey, all the time, but Timmers said that the sport of baseball, and the Blue Jays, have all his attention when it comes to sports.
It’s even more surprising when Campbell points out that Timmers’ grandfather Ken Houston played for the Calgary Flames in the 1970s and ’80s.
“It’s just my favourite thing to do and I would skip everything just to play baseball,” Timmers said.
Campbell made a point to reassure Timmers that he has a whole host of supporters rooting for him in his fight with cancer and gave him some words of encouragement from himself before ending the segment.
“You are a brave young man and there are hundreds of people who are watching this show supporting you, as am I,” Campbell said.
While it’s easy to get swept away in the ups and downs of professional sports, it’s moments like these that remind us what really matters in the grand scheme of things.