Creighton fans pack arena in pink for cancer awareness game

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Nearly 19,000 people packed CHI Health Center Arena Saturday night for a Creighton basketball game that was different from typical contests, with fans and players dressed in pink for a special cause.

The crowd of 18,650 fans represented the eighth largest home game attendance in Creighton men’s basketball history.

A sea of pink flooded the downtown arena as fans honored loved ones affected by cancer.

Patty Heaston attended the game to remember two family members.

“Our two sisters, Aunt Terri and Aunt Julie, died in the same year of cancer,” Heaston said.

Fans share personal cancer stories

Nicole Welch, a Creighton fan and medical student, wrote the name of a cancer patient she supports before the game.

“She’s actually only in her early 20s and has a really late stage breast cancer,” Welch said of Grace, the patient she honors. “Now that I’m in medical school, everything that I move through and think about, I’m always thinking about her.”

Olivia Smith, another Creighton fan, remembered a friend’s father who died from cancer.

“One of my friends’ father that died from cancer, like, a year ago,” Smith said.

Colleen Moore said the event brings together people with shared experiences.

“Pretty much everybody’s been touched by cancer,” Moore said.

Heaston said the game provided an opportunity for the community to come together.

“This is just a great night for everybody to get together and celebrate, you know, all our loved ones who had cancer,” Heaston said.