Teddy\u2019s mom, Sil Mazzini, gave him a choice for his 6th birthday: The family could go to Disney World or Legoland, or Sil could throw a party for his friends.<\/p>\n
Without hesitating, he chose having a party, and Mazzini started planning right away. She booked space for 40, 30 classmates plus parents, at the Peter Piper Pizza in Tuscon, sent out invitations in school, assembled goody bags and then waited for the big day, Oct. 21.<\/p>\n
But none of the guests showed up to the pizza parlor. It was just Mazzini, Teddy and the boy\u2019s father, who came in from out of town.<\/p>\n
Mazzini got one call from a parent saying they\u2019d have to cancel. But otherwise, she expected close to 32 guests. Nobody came.<\/p>\n
Teddy didn\u2019t really notice, Mazzini said in a phone interview. He was too busy playing arcade games with his dad. He won a bunch of tickets and redeemed them for a prize. He ate pizza. It was a good birthday. He went to school Monday in a great mood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t understand it,\u201d Mazzini said. \u201cIf that happened to an 11- or 12-year-old, it would be tough. But he\u2019s so young that he\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Mazzini was upset. She spent all this time and money on invitations and decorations and pizza. She bought enough cake for 40 guests.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a tiny fridge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A friend told her to snap a photo and post on Facebook to vent her anger. Then the post went viral.<\/p>\n
Two local television news stations wrote articles about Teddy\u2019s birthday. A local radio station wanted to throw him another party.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo thanks,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all pizza-ed out. No more pizzas.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then the Phoenix Suns saw the story floating around on Twitter and offered their own birthday greeting. \u201cHow about we celebrate with thousands at our place!\u201d the team tweeted. \u201cTickets to Wednesday\u2019s #SunsVSLakers game are all yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows what really happened, but at the end of the day we get to give a 6-year-old an extra special birthday experience and something he never forgets,\u201d the Suns president and chief executive, Jason Rowley, said in a phone interview. \u201cAs long as they don\u2019t show up in Lakers jerseys.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team gave Teddy four tickets to Friday\u2019s game at Talking Stick Resort Arena. He\u2019ll get time to hang out with players during the pregame shoot-around and a meet and greet with the Suns\u2019 Gorilla mascot, who shares Teddy\u2019s favorite food: pizza.<\/p>\n
(\u201cBet you thought we were going to say bananas, right? Actually, he likes them on his pizza,\u201d reads the Gorilla\u2019s official team bio, \u201cbut a lot of pizza restaurants don\u2019t have that particular topping.\u201d)<\/p>\n
Teddy is a big sports fan, his mother said. This will be his first trip to a major sporting event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got a professional sports team in your market, these are the kinds of things you want to be able to do,\u201d Rowley said. \u201cWho can really argue with a 6-year-old coming up to see a Suns-Lakers game?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Teddy\u2019s mom, Sil Mazzini, gave him a choice for his 6th birthday: The family could go to Disney World or Legoland, or Sil could throw a party… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n