Jody Rice was born with cerebral palsy and never had the opportunity to participate in sports.
But the 46-year-old avid sports fan is well known as the No. 1 backer for many Victoria teams 鈥� dubbed superfan of the Victoria Shamrocks, Royals and Grizzlies and, in the past, the WHL Cougars, ECHL Salmon Kings and BCHL Salsa.
On Tuesday, Rice 鈥� with a big smile 鈥� was recognized as an official Shamrock, receiving a Mann Cup championship ring, just like the one players and staff of the Western Lacrosse Association team received for their efforts last summer.
The Shamrocks defeated Peterborough for the Canadian senior A championship.
Rice, who uses a wheelchair, can鈥檛 strap on skates or wield a lacrosse stick, but his voice is always heard, bellowing support for teams at The Q Centre or Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, or chastising the opposition 鈥� because that鈥檚 what being a superfan entails.
Shamrocks owner and president Jim Hartshorne and operations manager Jason Sperling presented the ring to the passionate fan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honour and I will never forget this,鈥� said Rice, who was born in Fredericton, N.B., in 1969 and moved to Victoria with parents Philip and Cavell in 1970. 鈥淭his team has had a long-standing tradition in the community and is committed to winning, more than any other team that I have supported 鈥� besides the Cougars of the early 鈥�80s, of course, and I haven鈥檛 forgotten those teams.
鈥淭his ring ranks right up there, probably the biggest honour I鈥檝e had since that 1978 baseball team; I still have that trophy and I hope that I have this ring 36 years from now.鈥� He was referring to a Fan of the Year trophy he was given at a time when older brother Rick played baseball for the Triangle organization in the Westshore.
His history with Hartshorne also goes way back.
鈥淛ody and I hit it off in 1980 when I owned the Cougars with Fraser [McColl],鈥� Hartshorne said of Rice. 鈥淗e was a massive fan then, hasn鈥檛 changed and is perhaps even more committed than ever. The team, the players, the coaching staff consider him to be, A, a Superfan and B, just such a resourceful guy, committed to us.
鈥淲hen you look at some of the things that he has to go through with his chair and his afflictions 鈥� it鈥檚 just such an inspiration to see what he does to support us, and it鈥檚 now been 40-plus years. It hasn鈥檛 been overnight or a flash in the pan. We were proud to help him out with the ring because he really wanted the ring and we are happy to have him as a fan.鈥�
Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes was also on hand for the presentation. Rice 鈥渕akes more practices than half the team,鈥� Heyes said with a chuckle. 鈥淔or Jim to do this 鈥� it鈥檚 just the right thing to do. He fits right in with the team and we just love having Jody around.鈥�
Rice 鈥� who also has a friendship with Royals owner Graham Lee 鈥� is an advocate for disabled people and is credited with helping create awareness for wheelchair accessibility in sports facilities.
Rice was in the dressing room when the Shamrocks celebrated their Mann Cup title and was聽a guest of the team and Juan de Fuca MLA John聽Horgan when the trophy was presented in the legislature in October.
