KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Royals fan famous for belly-dancing, recently shot during an attempted burglary, is getting a gift from another superfan.
Pictures show Jimmy Faseler in better spirits as he continues his recovery from the shooting.
“He’s doing phenomenal. He’s made remarkable progress,” his boss Jim Subers said.
On Tuesday Faseler hopes to be out of the hospital, and come Opening Day at Kauffman Stadium next Monday, he will have a special seat thanks to Craig Rookstool.
Royals fans know Rookstool as the man behind the Moosemobile.
Rookstool and Faseler have a lot in common: both love their Royals, both love Kansas City and both love reaching out to help at-risk kids.
After hearing that Faseler got shot, Rookstool wanted to do something special for him, so he bought almost a dozen handicapped seats at the entire left deck at Kauffman Stadium, allowing Faseler, his therapist and many other die-hard Royals fans to go to Opening Day.
“A guy that gives like that just flips my trigger. I really can identify with a guy that gives and is selfless and is humorous; he’s hilarious, he’s really a funny guy,” Rookstool said.
The possibility of getting out of the hospital in time for Opening Day has motivated Faseler according to Subers.
“He’s just really excited, in fact, we used Opening Day kind of as a motivation with Jimmy to encourage him in his recovery. So when this happened it was pretty serendipitous, or it answered a prayer. Everyone loves Jimmy,” he said.
The Royals play the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day, first pitch is set for 3:10 p.m.
