BOOK REVIEW: KING OF CHEER by CAMERON HUGHES

You may not know the name, but you undoubtedly know the face.

The world’s first Professional Fan, Cameron Hughes of Ottawa, has released his autobiography entitled KING OF CHEER just in time for Christmas 2020. I’m sure you’ll agree that we can all use a laugh after what the world’s been through this year, and Cam provides more laughs than the dozens of t-shirts he launches into the crowds on a nightly basis during his crazed travels all over the continent. (20 NHL teams, 13 NBA teams, 20 WHL teams, 7 NLL teams, 3 CFL teams plus many more including the Olympics, Grey Cup and dozens upon dozens of minor pro leagues in hockey, football, baseball & more over a quarter century in the biz).

I’ve seen him perform at Saskatchewan Rush and Regina Pats games over the years and after being initially skeptical (count me as a traditionalist who long felt the focus should be on the game), Cam invariably broke me down with his gyrating dance moves and t-shirt twirling over his head! He was doing his thing in the aisle at SaskTel Centre last winter just 10 feet from me and I remember thinking, “That looks absolutely exhausting.”

Little did I know that within months we’d become good friends, swap cell numbers and find a kindred spirit as performers in this wonderful, dizzying, non-stop profession of sports entertainment.

Here are my takeaways from Hughes’ 243-page life story:

If you ever want to know what it’s like to have ADHD, this book will show you. It’s a zing-zing-zing collection of the wildest stories from Cameron’s performances in seemingly every sports venue in North America. I noticed very quickly that, as an ADHD-sufferer myself, I couldn’t daydream while reading this book because just like Cameron, his stories are non-stop! You can’t take your eyes off it which I think is a “book first” for me. The chapters are only 2-3 pages long.
Hughes spends a good deal of time setting the foundation for his life by detailing his upbringing in the Nation’s Capital. This includes being elementary school classmates with Justin Trudeau, suffering a tragic life-changing loss while in high school, four unsuccessful attempts at making the school basketball team, and shedding his fears to attempt his first performances at local games and his alma mater Bishop’s University. (He’s the first on record to wear a watermelon on his head, dating back to 1994.)
Cameron makes very clear the distinction between what he does, and the role of mascots. He is NOT a mascot, but has been sharing dressing rooms with them for decades and had the odd run-in!
I feel like I’m letting too much out of the bag. This winding and twisting life story includes hilarious scrapes with team staff when he tried to push the envelope, countless injuries to nearly every appendage, personal wins and losses, and how he wound up with a “residency” with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Another bonus: I’ve never been to far-flung sports locales like Shreveport, Laredo or Toledo but I badly want to go. Cameron takes us to all these places and includes stories of meetings with everyone from team owners to cab drivers to local livestock.
Along the way you’ll read about Cam’s fascinating encounters with the likes of Janet Gretzky, Novak Djokovic, Lebron James, Connor McDavid and dozens more sports stars.
When I received the book in the mail I voraciously tore through it in order to post this review as quickly as possible but as I got to the last few chapters, I got a pit in my stomach. I didn’t want it to end. Is there a better endorsement than that?