{"id":678858,"date":"2026-05-19T03:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T03:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/678858\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T03:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T03:43:14","slug":"above-and-beyond-blue-bombers-hopeful-gives-new-life-to-six-year-old-stranger-local-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/678858\/","title":{"rendered":"Above and beyond: Blue Bombers\u2019 hopeful gives new life to six-year-old stranger | Local Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Tuscon, Ariz., Stevie Rocker, Jr., never thought he’d be playing college football in Montana or trying out for a pro team in Manitoba.<\/p>\n

Those are mere footnotes compared to the impact the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hopeful is having on a young boy in Argentina.<\/p>\n

Just over a year ago, the 23-year-old running back donated bone marrow to save the life of a kid he’s never met.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told I was helping a kid who had a really bad bone problem, and I’m pretty much his last hope,\u201d Rocker said in a chat with the Winnipeg Sun on Monday. \u201cIf nothing goes through, he’s going to have to live in a hospital for the rest of his life, which wasn’t very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocker had signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) at the University of Montana.<\/p>\n

It began with a simple swab of his cheek, putting him into a data base that connects him with potential matches. A blood test to find a true match was next.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety percent of people, when they do it they’re blood (stem cell) donations,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd blood donations for older people. So you expect that when you’re going in. But they were telling me, ‘You’re part of the 10 percent. You’re doing a bone-marrow donation.’\u201d<\/p>\n

That meant more of a surgical procedure, being put under instead of simply being hooked up to an IV.<\/p>\n

After completing reams of paper work and having more blood drawn, Rocker and his girlfriend flew to Kansas City, where he had more blood draws the day before hitting the operating table.<\/p>\n

Doctors were to drill into and extract the marrow from the hip bones at his lower back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were telling me it was a 30- to 45-minute procedure,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd it ended up being two-and-a-half hours. Because they didn’t know that I was an athlete, so my bone density is a little harder. So it took a lot longer for them to drill into the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocker will never forget the date: April 26.<\/p>\n

The pain \u2013 he compared it to being hit in the back without pads on \u2013 went away in a week or two.<\/p>\n

The feeling in his heart isn’t going anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kid’s six years old,\u201d Rocker said. \u201cHe hasn’t really had a chance to even see the world, have an opportunity to even live out his own dreams. I play football. I’ll deal with the back pain if it’s a chance to give this kid an opportunity to live, have a life, and not worry about having procedures and being in the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust an opportunity for him and his family to be together and get out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, the only thing Rocker knows about the boy is his age and that he’s from Argentina. He may eventually be told a little more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s all I’m hoping,\u201d he said. \u201cJust one day I can at least reach out just to know they’re doing alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting his donor recipient would be the ultimate.<\/p>\n

As for living his own dream, Rocker got that call four days before the Bombers opened rookie camp.<\/p>\n

He knew the Canadian game had bigger end zones with goal posts in the front and an extra man on the field, and that was about it.<\/p>\n

He was as naive about the country, in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was leaving Arizona, we were in the 90s already,\u201d he said. \u201cI come out here and I seen snow the first day of rookie camp. I’m like ‘What’s going on?’ Canada was something I always thought would be a visiting destination, not a place I’d end up living for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocker not only survived the three-day rookie camp, he hit Day 9 of main camp on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd here I am. It’s an awesome opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cJust feeling appreciated, knowing that somebody’s looking at you in a different light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaches will, of course, be looking to see how good the 6-foot-0, 220-pounder is as a running back, receiver, blocker and potential special-teams player.<\/p>\n

Hearing his back story, they’ll immediately get a handle on him as a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to fill our room with good people,\u201d head coach Mike O’Shea said. \u201cThat would obviously be the sign of being a great person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the origin of his willingness to go the extra mile to help someone he doesn’t even know, Rocker pointed to his upbringing in Tuscon.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just learn about being kind to people in general,\u201d is how he put it. \u201cGod always gives you an opportunity just to show the kind of person you are, regardless of how big or small. You never want to pass up that opportunity, because you never know how that’ll reach somebody else.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaying my story may reach out to somebody else that’s on the fence of wanting to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocker would love nothing more than to make this team and get to know Winnipeg a little better. He likes the little taste he’s had.<\/p>\n

If he’s cut, though, he’ll take some invaluable things with him, like lessons he’s already learned from star tailback Brady Oliveira, along with tips from other players and coaches.<\/p>\n

Something else he carries with him wherever he goes is a reminder of the selfless decision he made, an act he’ll hold closer to his heart than any football.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve got two little scars on my back,\u201d he said. \u201cI’ll have those forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n

\"stevie<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Running back Stevie Rocker, Jr., shown here on Monday, Day 9 of Blue Bombers training camp, underwent a bone-marrow transplant a year ago to prolong and improve the life of a six-year-old boy he\u2019s never met. Photo: James Carey Lauder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in Tuscon, Ariz., Stevie Rocker, Jr., never thought he’d be playing college football in Montana or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-678858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}