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Aaron and Alvin Jones are happy to return home for a charity softball event

VaselineJune 28, 2024

0 4 minutes read

Aaron and Alvin Jones are happy to return home for a charity softball event

The star-studded lineup at the A&A All the Way Foundation Charity Softball Game, featuring both former UTEP stars and El Pasoans who have gone on to greatness, speaks volumes about the growing talent in Sun City.

A decade and a half ago, when Aaron and Alvin Jones became varsity athletes at Burges, El Paso wasn’t where it is today in that regard, but it did produce an NFL quarterback in Burges’ John Skelton, who played at Arizona. Cardinals. That was about the only local NFLer Aaron Jones saw firsthand and he remembers what that meant.

That begins to explain why he and his twin brother Alvin like to return to their hometown to host what has become an annual event. Thursday night was the third A&A all-star softball game, with more to come.

“Giving back to the community, being here for the youth – if you can see it, you can reach it, you can touch it,” Aaron said 90 minutes before taking to the field for the match that has been held since 2022. “I had that with John Skelton from Burges, I could see it, feel it, touch it. That was my way of seeing it.

“That’s what we’re here to do this weekend. It’s all about the youth, to show them these athletes that were playing sports. They may not be from El Paso, but they’re willing to give back to El Paso because it’s all about the youth. That’s important to me.”

Alvin said, “We want to show the kids that anything they want to do is achievable. This city means a lot to us. We want to keep giving back, keep bringing people in and show the kids that anything you want to do is possible.”

A prime example of this was 15-year-old Eastwood student Matthew Orona, who was wearing a brand new Aaron Jones Packers jersey.

“I like Aaron Jones, I’ve always looked up to him,” said Orona, who was one of about 2,000 fans at the game. “This means a lot, he came from a small town and was able to make it big in the NFL.”

By far the most popular jersey at Southwest University Park was Dallas Cowboy Micah Parsons’ No. 11 jersey, followed by Jones’ Packers jerseys. Only a handful of people wore the new gear, Jones’ No. 33 Vikings jersey. Aaron Jones moved from Green Bay to Minnesota in March.

Part of this led to the rather comical sight of Aaron Jones signing Dallas Cowboys gear for fans who surely realized he’s been a Cowboys killer throughout his career, despite Dallas being his favorite team growing up.

Fans in Parsons shirts were probably a little disappointed as he pulled out at the last minute after missing a flight in Lubbock.

“That’s okay, I wanted to see Micah Parsons, but it’s cool that I see Aaron Jones and everyone else,” said 13-year-old Adrian Gonzalez, one of the fans wearing a Parsons jersey.

Aside from Aaron and Alvin Jones, that left Tristen Newton to elicit the loudest cheers. He was called up by the Indiana Pacers about two hours before the game, and he pulled out a Pacers hat to show the crowd, who cheered highlights of him on the scoreboard.

“El Paso, I’m grateful,” he said.

Being back in El Paso always means a lot to the Joneses and his family. Aaron has now relocated to Minneapolis after being picked up by the Vikings this offseason, but he has always made his love for El Paso known, like when he scores touchdowns and flashes El Paso’s 915 area code for TV cameras.

“We’re excited to come back and give back to El Paso, to say El Paso is our home,” Aaron said. “I carry the pride of El Paso with me everywhere I go, I represent it on the football field. When I score, I put on the ‘915’. I really feel like El Paso is on this journey with me and I thank them for all the support and love.

“This is our way of giving back to the community, the sport of softball and the soccer camps.”

Most celebrities had an El Paso tie, but not all.

“The athletes who come here can see how the city of El Paso stands behind athletes,” Aaron Jones said. “They experience that El Paso atmosphere, that El Paso culture. People who come here always want to come back. They like El Paso.”

Local pro boxer Brandon White, of Alvin’s Team Vino, understood that long ago.

“I’m not originally from El Paso, but when I came here they welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “This is my home, it’s been my home for a while. It feels good to give something back, it feels great to be a part of this. There are a lot of us who play professional sports and the support we get here is second to none.”

John Bohannon, also a member of Team Vino, was new to El Paso when he came to play basketball at UTEP early last decade. Even though Dallas is now his home, it will always be special to him.

“El Paso is my second home, I have a son who lives here,” said Bohannon (his son is 9). “I always try to give back and I’m grateful to have this opportunity to participate in this competition. I will always love El Paso.”

While players were motivated to play this game for altruistic reasons, there was a game and they admitted they wanted to win. This is especially true for Alvin and Aaron, who had the normal amount of sibling rivalry growing up, but now as adults, they don’t get to play it out as much.

“It’s bragging rights all year long,” Aaron said. “We grew up competing against each other, now this is the only battle we have against each other. We work together, we do everything together, so it’s fun to compete.”

They showed it, running onto the field together at several points to argue opposing positions to the beleaguered umpires. Late in the evening, Aaron’s Team Showtyme staged a dramatic rally with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to win 15-13.

It looks like this series could include seven games, but that will be it until June next year.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

VaselineJune 28, 2024

0 4 minutes read

Vaseline

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