NFL's O'Connor Names EP's Christmas Without Cancer 'My Cause'

The psychological makeup of many NFL players is like Christmas rock candy – hard on the outside and gooey inside.

So Beverly's Jay Standring was "in the know" as word came through that Pat O'Connor, his former freshman standout at St. Rita High School, was using his stature as an NFL player to benefit Christmas Without Cancer, support an aunt and hail his beloved South Side.

"Pat was an animal—he'd run through the wall for you; he's the first guy you'd want with you in a fight," Standring recalled. "And Pat is a very sweet and caring person – the nicest guy."

O'Connor, a defensive end with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will honor Christmas Without Cancer during the NFL's "My Cause My Cleats" campaign while also messaging symbolic support for his aunt Dottie Kirwan, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

O'Connor, 6-feet-4 and 270 pounds, reached the pinnacle of football with his outer toughness and aggressive play.

What pulls his heartstrings to his hometown community is family and "the stuff" in his heart and soul that makes him a man of compassion, as well as one of the great sports heroes to come out of Mount Greenwood and St. Rita.

"You can never go wrong being a good dude," O'Connor, 27, said by phone Friday after a light weightlifting session during the Bucs' bye week. "I definitely appreciate everything Christmas Without Cancer does to help families locally. Hopefully we can help raise awareness and bring along some others to donate.

"This Sunday, O'Connor's pre-game football cleats will be decorated for Christmas Without Cancer. He will warm up with the customized cleats as the Bucs prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings at noon. Tampa Bay is in the playoff hunt for a wild card spot with a 7-5 record during this 2020 pandemic year of surprises.

Pat and his dad, Jim O'Connor, were talking long distance one Thursday afternoon last summer. Their chat segued from concern for his aunt to Jim's support of Christmas Without Cancer during its "Queen of Hearts" fundraising efforts at St. James Place in Oak Lawn. Good friends with the owners, the Oleskiewicz family, Jim witnessed the weekly groundswell of support during the pandemic to help families faced with cancer.

"When my dad brought up the Christmas Without Cancer mission, it really piqued my interest," Pat said. "I'd been focused on my aunt, and so supporting both at the same time seemed like the better choice."

Father knows best.

"We talk every day," Jim said.

Pat was only a middle grader at Mount Greenwood Elementary School when Jim's buddies encouraged him to bring the aspiring young athlete to Oak Forest to play flag football with older kids his size and speed.

"Pat came off the field once after really having his bell rung," Jim recalled. "He gets to the sidelines and says, 'Did you see that hit?' and that's when we knew we had a football player – and a good kid."

Pat played at Saint Christina before heading to Saint Rita and then Eastern Michigan University. Again, his career was distinguished by his ability to perform beyond his years. Named a captain as a freshman, he helped transform a one-win Eagles program "where he could play immediately" into a Holiday Bowl team by senior year.

One can only imagine the pride and emotion St. Rita Coach Todd Kuska experienced when O'Connor and teammate Kenny Golladay of the Mustangs' 2012 class were drafted together to play for the Detroit Lions.

Before reporting to pro camp the two met up at St. Rita, where their talents were nurtured and their personalities shaped. Standring recalls seeing the two strolling around the halls of St. Rita "just having fun" right after they were drafted.

O'Connor and Golladay were "home" where it all started. Golladay, who attended Northern Illinois, is regarded as one of the Lions' top receiver.

Standring, a football standout himself at Leo High School in 1965 and a member of Notre Dame's 1970 Cotton Bowl team, said he "felt like a small fry" getting his photo taken with the two Mustangs.

Years earlier, when they were 14-year old freshmen, it was Standring's role to teach them fundamentals.

And along they way, O'Connor and his teammate Golladay learned about life and remembered their roots.

"I've got to get back to St. Rita to see everyone when the season's over," O'Connor said.

Christmas Without Cancer identifies need and then provides gifts and basic necessities to Chicagoland families with members stricken with cancer so to allow the beauty of Christmas to shine through while family members find comfort in their devotion to one another.

For more information, visit: www.christmaswithoutcancer.org