Remembering Jack and Andy Hoffman

My memories of Jack and Andy.

Jack Hoffman with President Barack Obama. | Pete Souza, The White House

A lot has been written about Jack Hoffman since his passing on January 15th and a lot of tears shed. It is hard to come to grips with what we have all wished would be a happy ending and that Jack would beat this cancer and have a full life. From my perspective he did cram in a full life to the best of his ability over the past 12 years and the impressions that he left with us Husker fans and the rest of the nation will continue for the rest of our lifetimes.

I met Jack only once, and that was in 2013 at a Team Jack fundraiser in the same building where his funeral was held today. I was on the Through These Gates tour with Ryan and Irena Tweedy. He was eight years old then and was having fun in and out of the building with some of his friends. I was in the back portion of the building when Jack came in from playing outside and came over to me and sat on my lap and put his head on my chest. That is a moment I will never forget.

Another thing I will also never forget are the long phone calls I had with Andy Hoffman about what he was doing with Team Jack and life in general. Some were late at night after midnight Atkinson time. He never stopped looking for a cure. It started with selling T-shirts and he sold some of the first ones at our HuskerMax tailgate in Lincoln. Rex Burkhead stopped by at that tailgate to check on the sales.

Joe Hudson and I have been supporting Team Jack since the beginning. Joe has compiled a timeline since that Spring Game run. Here's that link.

My contribution has been on the marketing side posting links to Team Jack fundraisers and trading advertising for donations of sports memorabilia. I am going to continue that and send one of the few remaining "Husker Super Bowl Quarterback" autographed footballs signed by Dave Humm and Vince Ferragamo to Atkinson to be auctioned off at their next fundraising event. Dave Humm lost his battle with MS a few years ago and I am sure he would be pleased to see his signature help this organization. Vince has also been very active in supporting Special Olympics.

Dave Humm-Vince Ferragamo Husker Super Bowl Quarterback Football | Credit: David Max

Here's a request for Husker fans. Look through your Husker memorabilia and think about donating an item to Team Jack. Here is the address:

Team Jack Foundation, Inc.
c/o Lindsey Nemetz
47640 US Highway 20, Suite 2
PO Box 607
Atkinson, NE 68713

In lieu of memorabilia you can donate here.

My sincere condolences to Bri, Ava and Reese. As Andy said to Jack before the famous run - Don't stop until you hit the fence. Let's honor the memory of Andy and Jack by supporting the foundation named after him in search of the cure for pediatric brain cancer.

HuskerMax's Joe Hudson, left, with Andy Hoffman after participating in the 2015 Nebraska football 5K run to benefit research into pediatric brain cancer. | HuskerMax

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