Orlando Magic broadcaster Joey Colon is usually filled with boundless energy. Hurricane Maria hit home for him as he tries to help Puerto Rico recover.
In the first half of every Orlando Magic broadcast, the camera inevitably pans to an isolated figure wearing a headset in some far reach of the stadium.
And whenever that camera finds him, he looks up, a smile lighting up his face, and points to the camera or does some other ridiculous motion to say hello to the fans at home watching on TV.
Of course, yucking it up on television for a few brief seconds is not Joey Colon’s main job. Colon is the Spanish radio broadcaster for the Magic, broadcasting all 82 Magic games alone on Salsa 98.1 in Orlando.
Colon is usually exactly how he is in that brief moment on television during every game. He is a handful of energy and always eager to help everyone smile.
But he has not been the same to start the year.
Colon is from Puerto Rico and members of his family still lives there. And so the devastation of Hurricane Maria hit very close to home for him. Uncomfortably and devastatingly close.
As Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel detailed, Colon had to worry about his family (please click this link) as he watched images on the news of water rushing into the areas where his family lived. Fortunately, he discovered they were safe. But it was a distressing 36 hours for the Magic broadcaster without communication with his immediate family.
That is the case still for many with family and loved ones still in Puerto Rico. The storm has passed, but the devastation to the island is beyond belief. After taking a shot from Hurricane Irma, which also swept its way into Florida, the island had to withstand the Category-4 force winds of Maria. There was nothing to do but ride it out. And recovery after the storm has been painstakingly slow.
As Robbins details, Colon worked in the hours leading up to Magic Media Day packing supplies to send to Puerto Rico. There is still a massive need for these items.
Orlando Magic
The events have certainly worn on him and Magic staff and players made sure he and his family were OK. He was not his normal self as he tried to get back to work.
Fortunately, his family is OK. But the recovery is still ongoing.
Longtime Magic fans will remember just how ingrained the Puerto Rican community is in Orlando. When the Magic acquired veteran journeyman guard Carlos Arroyo in 2006, fans flocked to the then-TD Waterhouse Centre to celebrate the Puerto Rican hero. The Magic sold out their next two games in an otherwise forgettable season.
They started selling Arroyo jerseys emblazoned with the Puerto Rican flag. Fans would wave the Puerto Rican flag at games every time he entered the game and scored.
This a part of the population very proud of their heritage and very ingrained in the Orlando community. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the Orlando metropolitan area has the second largest Puerto Rican population in the United States. Only New York has more.
And so Hurricane Maria certainly hits the Central Florida area as hard as anywhere in the country. And Florida has helped spearhead efforts to gather supplies to send to Puerto Rico.
As Robbins noted at the end of this article (which again you should read by clicking here), Colon is still making efforts to gather supplies for Hurricane Maria relief.
Colon and others will help collect Hurricane Maria relief items from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. this weekend at Sport Mazda at 9768 South Orange Blossom Trail and DominoUSA at 615 Herndon Avenue. They are looking to collect essential items such as batteries, flashlights, diapers, wet wipes, toiletries, mosquito repellant and garbage bags to help in the recovery effort.
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