Club Appreciation Award – Charlie Casebier; presented by Mat Kiefer
The Power wants to publicly take some time to remember Charlie “Chuck” Casebier. Charlie was an avid club supporter seen at every club function. Charlie traveled to Nationals and away games, and was a bright spot within the Power. Sports at a club level couldn’t exist without people like Charlie who donated a lot his time to support us. In 2011 Charlie was honored by the club for his outstanding contributions.
Charlie “Chuck” Casebier happened upon the Kansas City Power Australian Football Club in 2010. Since that moment, his commitment and dedication to the club and sport have paralleled and at many times surpassed that of the players themselves. Making trips to Des Moines, Iowa, and the 2012 USAFL National Championships in Mason, Ohio.
Chuck has been as much apart of the KC Power as any member past or present. With a very unassuming presence at the field, he was never the loudest fan but he never waivered in support. With a smile that stretched from his hometown in McLouth, Kansas to our game fields in Kansas City, he could be seen cherishing every kick, every hit, every goal of a KC Power match.
Paraphrasing an email following the 2011 Awards dinner, in which Charlie received the first ever Club Appreciation Award, he had this to say:
I haven’t had the wind knocked out of me since I played football in high school, and I am usually pretty good on my feet, but yesterday was so totally unexpected that I was speechless. I still am.
With Australian Rules football, my first exposure was at the professional level and I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it as a club sport. After watching my first Metro match in a driving rainstorm last year, I was pretty sure I was hooked. Since then I have become truly impressed with the passion, commitment and the integrity of the club and I am anxious to see it continue to flourish.
On the sidelines at the 2012 National Championships, he was as much a part of the team as he could, seemingly inching his way closer to the field ready to throw on a jersey and have a kick with his mates.
Charlie embodied what the sport and the Power stand for. To play for the love of the game, for our mates, for our fans, and now in Kansas City for Charlie.
The Kansas City Power’s 2013 Season to will be dedicated to Charlie “Chuck” Casebier.
Charlie L. Casebier
October 4, 1949 – April 2, 2013
