HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON

HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON

 
 HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON
Chuck Margiotta is no longer with us -- physically -- but his spirit continues to drive many.
The fallen firefighter, one of hundreds of the Bravest's heroes who perished on September 11, 2001, was a fireman ... on and off the job.
He put out figurative fires as St. Rita's basketball director, soccer coach, and whenever the Meiers Corners parish needed a helping hand, whether it be to work the door or fix something in the gymnasium, Margiotta's name was called.
Soccer wasn't Chuck's initial love, being an All-Star lineman at Monsignor Farrell and then at Rhode Island.
But what parent on Staten Island isn't touched by the world's most popular sport? Margiotta wasn't touched, he was assaulted. He left footprints -- rather large ones -- on the St. Rita's program, ones that are yet to be filled.
Last month, around his 47th birth date, St. Rita's celebrated the man with, but what else, a soccer tournament, the second in his name.
"We have a lot going on with his name," says Chuck's brother Mike, who has seen a street named for him as well as the winter touch tackle league, a place where the brothers hanged their collective hats for a dozen years.
Frank and Lois Ruocco knew the Margiottas, and this soccer tourney was one way of payback.
"Chuck first coached my daughter Krystina (now a co-captain at St. Joseph Hill Academy) and he did it again with my son Mychael," Ruocco reported. "Of course, Chuck would have said my daughter's accomplishments were of his doing.
"I now coach Chuck's son, Charlie, and he and my son are best of friends. My son aggravated Chuck and now Charlie does that to me. I guess what goes around, comes around."
But, on a serious note, the Ruoccos are doing their part for perpetuation. The husband-and-wife tandem did the legwork -- Bill Miller and his YMCA staff helping out -- to make the second annual Lt. Chuck Margiotta Memorial Tournament a real kick.
Over 125 children -- imagine that in one building! -- participated, each receiving a t-shirt, a meal and a water bottle commemorating the event.
Billy Ryan, who goes back to his pee wee football days with Chuck, and councilman Mike McMahon, who played with Chuck at Farrell and has been supportive in keeping his name alive, stopped by to lend a helping hand.
"It was a great day for everyone," offered Ruocco. "The (St. Rita's soccer club) coaches and families did a wonderful job."
"Many people are there for us," admitted Margiotta. "It comes from the heart."

 SI Advance