Only The Lord Saves More

PRESS RELEASE

The 2012 Winter Classic was a dream come true for fans and players alike in the City of Brotherly Love. The alumni game, in particular, brought the young to a state of awe and the old to a state of great nostalgia. A handful of the original Broad Street Bullies including Bobby Clarke, Bob Kelly, and Bernie Parent, among many other Flyers greats, took their final strides onto the ice in front of more than 45,000 people in a sold-out Citizens Bank Park. We were all accustomed to seeing the arena covered in red, but on December 31st, 2011, the stadium was painted in orange and black in tribute to the men that once ruled the Spectrum. To much satisfaction of the 45,000 attendees and millions of viewers at home, the Flyers took home a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers.

A piece of that wonder and nostalgia, Bernie Parent’s painted Winter Classic mask has been auctioned off on NHL Auctions with a closing bid of $5,000, once again proving that these pieces of history are priceless and we will never forget that “Only the Lord Saves More than Bernie Parent.”

One hundred percent of the proceeds are going to Bernie’s favorite charity, the Bethesda Project: a caring family for Philadelphia’s homeless. The Bethesda Project strives to build communities that “affirm the dignity of the individual through the provision of well-maintained, safe, comfortable homes and communal spaces, provide the organizational and personal supports that encourage members to participate fully in the community’s life, and invite personal transformation within an overall continuum of care through well-designed and appropriately staffed programs that meet concrete needs.” This significant contribution to the Bethesda Project will surely help keep their mission intact. A big “Thank You” is in order for those who participated in the auction.