Every year Francis Howell North High School hosts a Pink Ribbon basketball game to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. Four out of the six basketball teams at FHN play a game that family and friends enjoy watching. Assistant varsity coach and science teacher at FHN, Dawn Hahn, has helped run the games since their start in 2008.  

“There is a bigger picture to this game,” Coach Hahn said. “We are showing support though something we love to do.”

On February 10, 2017, FHN will host the 10th pink ribbon basketball game. Not only is this game a big deal to the coaches and players who participate, but the family and friends that come to watch. Both boys and girls JV and varsity teams play fun filled games with meaning behind them.

“We have a reason along with playing,” Hahn said. “There is more of a big picture with this game. We are supporting more than just a basketball game.”

After school lets out on the Friday of the basketball game, the Lady Knights get together to decorate the gym for the pink ribbon game. Streamers and balloons are placed everywhere to show the spirit of the game. T-Shirts are also made by the basketball teams and sold so that everyone can have a souvenir from these very memorable games. Since Coach Hahn has always had a major role in the organization of the games, the Lady knights go above and beyond to help make the night perfect, and this will be senior Sam Alexander’s fourth pink ribbon game.

“We set up balloons and ribbons,” Alexander said. “We also order specialized t-shirts for the game.”

Not only is this game taking place to recognize everyone who is battling or battles breast cancer, but both Knights varsity teams recognize people specifically special to them. The teams make their own paper jerseys that they decorate and display a name of their choice to recognize a loved one of theirs. In between the girls and boys game time is set aside for all of the players to grab their jerseys and everyone shares a few moments and words together to show respect.

“I have a lot of family members to recognize,” Alexander said. “So along with the jerseys we make, I got a tattoo of a ribbon with all the different colors of cancers for my loved ones.”

The love and awareness the pink ribbon game shows is very special to FHN. Hahn described how this game has so much more meaning to it than any of the other games throughout the season. Money is collected during both of the varsity games and all of the proceeds are donated. To show additional spirit the varsity Lady Knights were even given a surprise by the Coach Hahn and Coach Thompson in 2015: pink ribbon jerseys.  

“My mother passed away from cancer,” Hahn said. “So, with a lot of help I started this game to support awareness but include basketball which my mother and I both loved.”

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