Jarome Iginla

What I look for in someone to make them a hero to me is what they do for other people and the world. I look at what kind of personality they have to see if it reflects my personality and my beliefs. Jarome is a hero to me because he is enthusiastic and encourages everyone around him, whether it is his teammates, his friends, his fans or his charities.

Jarome Iginla was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 1st (Canada Day!) of 1977. His father was Nigerian and his mother was white Canadian. His parents divorced when he was only 2. His grandfather was a major influence on him when he was growing up. He took him to many hockey games because neither of his parents could. When he was growing up, he was not a very good skater and, in fact, was a superb singer. He won many awards performing solos at the local music festivals. He first tried playing the position of goalie and was terrible and did not like it. He changed his position to forward and discovered he was pretty good at getting the puck in the net!

Iginla smiling during a game

Jarome plays for the Calgary Flames. He was drafted to the NHL in 1995 by the Dallas Stars. In 1996 he officially started as a pro player. He is currently the captain of the Calgary Flames, and he was named to that position in 2003. He is only the 2nd player of African descent to be named captain of an NHL team. However, Jarome does not like that to be the main emphasis of his game. Instead, he wants people to recognize his skills as a player - regardless of his colour - period!

Jarome scoring on Tampa Bay

Jarome supports many charities, including Cure for Cancer and KidSport. In 2004 he was awarded the NHL Foundation Award for Community Service, as well as the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in recognition of his humanitarian contributions. Every time he scores a goal, he donates $1000 to one of his many charities. In his hockey career he has donated over $304,000 to his charities of choice.

Jarome is a real team player. This makes him a hero to me. He would rather inspire his teammates than make plays on his own. There are so many good players in the world of hockey, but if you don't play as a team or unit, you will never win or feel as good about the game you have played. He is a very well rounded player. He played baseball before he played hockey, and he thought he might eventually go pro in that field. This shows me that Jarome is not a "regular" player. He does other things, and not all of them are specifically athletic. He is not embarrassed about the fact that he was a singer, which makes him a hero to me as well, since many athletes would never want it known that they like to sing!

Jarome Iginla

Jarome is my hero. I like the fact that every time he scores he donates money to his charities. I think he is cool in that he is not ashamed of the fact that he played baseball and likes to sing, and that he started hockey later in life. He is not ashamed that he came from a single parent, mixed race family. He was able to overcome the teasing that resulted in nick-naming him Iggy Flop. By working hard, he managed to change that name to Iggy Pop. Jarome knows his limitations and works with them. He works hard to improve himself, knowing that he will gain from the results at the end of the day. As he improves himself, not only will he gain, but so will we as his fans, and most importantly, so will the children of the community of Calgary!