Malinda Murray/bobcats.com Rufus Lynx helped raise funds at the 2008 Muscle Team Event.

On Thursday, May 15, the place to be was in the Panthers Den at Bank of America Stadium when former and current athletes and coaches joined forces with the Muscular Dystrophy Association to make up Muscle Team 2008.

Included on this year’s Muscle Team roster was former NBA great and Bobcats team ambassador Dell Curry. He joined the likes of Panthers players Thomas Davis and Jason Baker, former Panthers Mike Rucker, Mike Minter and Jeff Mitchell, NASCAR drivers Dale Jarrett and Kerry Earnhardt, tennis legend Jim Courier, professional boxer Calvin Brock, Charlotte 49ers Head Coach Bobby Lutz and Davidson’s Head Coach Bob McKillop to help the Muscular Dystrophy Association raise funds at their annual event.

As part of the festivities, each athlete or coach was paired with a child suffering with neuromuscular disease. Curry’s buddy for the evening was Alex, a 6th grader from Conover, NC who likes to play basketball and read books about sports.

I’m excited to be here,” remarked Curry as he talked about the event. “I have Alex that’s going to shadow me and we’re going to play some games and have some fun.”

“It’s great for the kids to get the opportunity to shadow a guy around, even an old guy like me, just to be able to feel and touch and realize we’re human beings just like them,” he added. “It’s just a day for them to come out and experience some of the players and talk to them about football and basketball. There are NASCAR drivers and just an assortment of different professional athletes they can mingle with and talk to and have fun.”

Everyone seemed to be having a good time as they dined on beef tenderloin, shrimp, mini hamburgers, rice and salad. Several games, including a Wii station that featured a basketball contest, were also set up for everyone to enjoy.

Curry and Alex made sure to hit the Wii station, testing their skills as they tried to sink basket after basket.

“I was at a golf event prior to this and I didn’t think I would have as much fun as golfing, but this beats it,” remarked Curry.

Lady Cats Kelsey and Maria along with Rufus were also in attendance, mixing and mingling and just making sure everyone was having fun.

“I’m really excited to be at the event tonight,” said Lady Cat Kelsey. “This is for a really great cause. It’s awesome to be able to help the Bobcats support the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Maria and I are having a great time. Rufus is somewhere around here having a great time with all the kids. We’re really enjoying it.”

The event was the perfect opportunity for the kids suffering from muscular dystrophy to meet some of their heroes.

Forest, a 12-year old boy in attendance was thrilled to be able to meet the athletes.

“It’s kind of cool to see them all and meet them and get their autographs,” he said with a smile on his face.

Forest had the chance to attend a Bobcats game last season and meet some of the players.

“It was awesome,” he remarked. “I liked it when it went to overtime. It was good because I got up and cheered. It was really fun.”

But it wasn’t just the kids who enjoyed meeting the athletes. Top business leaders from around Charlotte also joined in the excitement as they attended the event to help support the efforts of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“Having the athletes paired up with a child, makes the kids so happy that they get to meet these athletes,” explained Sarah Enten from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. “It’s a great way for them (the athletes) to connect with the kids and also for the community to come out here and see these athletes and mix and mingle with them which in turn, helps them come here to the event and raise money to send children to camp.”

Raising money to help send kids suffering from the disease to camp was the primary focus of Muscle Team event.

“It costs about $800 to send a child to camp,” Enten explained. “All these kids here tonight get to go to camp because of people coming out and supporting MDA. They get to go and spend time with their friends and hang out for a week at camp. For that week, it’s like Christmas for these kids. They get to be just like everybody else and swim and play. The firefighters come out and some of the athletes come out and spend more time with them. This event is just not here, it continues throughout the year.”

To help raise funds, a silent auction was available that included numerous sports-related memorabilia including an autographed Matt Carroll jersey, an autographed Emeka Okafor basketball and a meet-and-greet with a Bobcats player.

“The Charlotte Bobcats want to support everybody in the community of Charlotte. We want to make sure we reach out to our fans. We want to come out and do our part,” said Curry. “We want to come and give back to the community of Charlotte that supports us so much and so well.”