Feel good story for the day

[Galaril]

High school football player with Downs Syndrome scores a TD.

Down syndrome football player scores TD in Washington game - Prep Rally - Highschool* - Yahoo! Sports

[CleBrownsfan]

AWESOME!

[Kodos]

Nice to know that there are still people around who have good hearts.

[tyketime]

I saw this last night, and thought this was phenomenal.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Nice to know that there are still people around who have good hearts.

Originally Posted by tyketime

I saw this last night, and thought this was phenomenal.

I agree. It gives me hope for humanity in general that there are a group kids out there like that opposing team on defense. The parents of those kids should be very proud and rightly so.

[Schmidty]

That was nice.

[MizzouRah]

Very cool!

[stevew]

Didn't we have this thread last year? And think of me however you like, but this is disrespectful to the game. Shameful pandering by those involved.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by stevew

Didn't we have this thread last year? And think of me however you like, but this is disrespectful to the game. Shameful pandering by those involved.

C'mon, stevew, what's wrong with making a kid feel like a million bucks at the expense of..............taking a knee to kill out the clock?

[stevew]

HS rivals work together to help Down Syndrome kid realize dream..... - Front Office Football Central

[I. J. Reilly]

Originally Posted by stevew

Didn't we have this thread last year? And think of me however you like, but this is disrespectful to the game. Shameful pandering by those involved.

Please tell me that you aren’t actually trying to establish moral superiority with your “respect for the game.” That would just be sad.

[boberot]

As if "the game" is some altar to be knelt at. Like it hasn't been disparaged by a million fucking god-awful things.

God forbid you give a kid a moment he'll cherish for the rest of his life.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I think, based on previous threads here, it is pretty firmly established that some people think this the best thing ever, some the worst, and never the twain shall meet.

[stevew]

Ping Abe

[larrymcg421]

Making a dream come true for a kid with Downs Syndrome > Respect to the sport.

[johnnyshaka]

I missed out on that last thread so I'd like to toss my two cents in on the subject.

A very good friend of mine has two sons, the oldest of which has Down Syndrome. My friend and I coached his youngest son's Little League team for 3 years while the oldest son was our bat boy for each and every game and practice. He was also the biggest cheerleader we had as he was always giving the kids high fives on their way into the dugout...win or lose.

The best part of the games was always afterwards when we would put the oldest one up at the plate and have him run the bases. We'd put him in the box with a bat (a whiffle bat as he tended to throw his bat and we didn't want anybody getting hurt) toss the ball his way and whether he connected or not he'd take off running. He never hit one bag on his way around but always made sure he hit home plate.

You couldn't wipe the smile from his face and his laugh was contagious as the kids on the team, along with several parents, couldn't help but enjoy the moment along with him. The amazing thing about it, though, was even though we probably did this with him 100 times over our 3-year coaching stint, he laughed just as hard and smiled just as big each and every time he made it to home plate.

Granted, we didn't do this during a game, but considering that the final few seconds of a blowout usually means they'll be kneeling and shaking hands before the final whistle blows anyway, so there really is no difference in my book.

To this day, as a 25 year old young man, he still gives me a high five every time I see him.

[Neon_Chaos]

Some things in life are definitely worth more than a football game.

I'm glad that they were able to give a kid with such a debilitating disease a memory he will cherish forever.

[Schmidty]

I'm always kind of blown-away when I hear people talk about this kind of thing in a negative way. Having empathy and compassion for our fellow man takes precedence over any kind of "integrity" of a game. KEY WORD: GAME.

If you can look at a story like this and not feel happy, positive and full of good will, there's something broken inside of you, and I feel sorry for you. If you want someone to talk to (since you probably need to), PM me.

[stevew]

Heel alert.

High School Football Player in Wheelchair Scores Touchdown -- Back Porch FanHouse

Wheel chair TDs now?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by stevew

Heel alert.

High School Football Player in Wheelchair Scores Touchdown -- Back Porch FanHouse

Wheel chair TDs now?

What is this, Glee?

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by stevew

Heel alert.

High School Football Player in Wheelchair Scores Touchdown -- Back Porch FanHouse

Wheel chair TDs now?

The kid had Cerebral Palsy. It just so happened he was in a wheelchair.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Making a dream come true for a kid with Downs Syndrome > Respect to the sport.

This. Multiplied by about 2 billion.

Some HS kids allowing a friend to make a dream come true?

In a world where we have steroids, HS recruiting, guys who make 100 million comparing themselves to slaves just to mention a few things, I'm perfectly OK with teams making dreams come true for people.

Respect for the game? Last I checked, none of these games were being impacted by the result of the TD. These things aren't happening in state title games. I'll read a story like this every day and smile.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by stevew

Heel alert.

High School Football Player in Wheelchair Scores Touchdown -- Back Porch FanHouse

Wheel chair TDs now?

Not to threadjack here, but this reference brought to mind a "reader mail" that Peter King published yesterday in his MMQB Tuesday Edition:

"In your MMQB October 11 article, you state that money raised for the Wounded Warriors organization will benefit "wheelchair-bound veterans." This type of language is outdated and inappropriate. It implies dependence and inability. These men and women are not wheelchair bound, they are wheelchair users. They get out of their chairs to sleep in beds, drive cars, sit on couches, ride roller coasters, etc. Certainly you wouldn't describe an able-bodied individual as "shoe bound" just because shoes make mobility easier. As a person with the power to reach millions of readers each week, you have the ability to help eliminate this type of discriminatory language.''

Is it just me, or is this ridiculously hypersenstive? I mean, I understand her point, but isn't this a tad excessive - discriminatory?! Did anyone reading that phrase really understand or believe that people who "use" wheelchairs sleep in them, or sit all day in them, or are permanently attached to them? This is yet another example of people looking for reasons to be offended, IMO.

King raised money for veterans in wheelchairs and all this person can do is complain about the term "wheelchair bound"? And the worst part is, King printed it and accepted it as a valid criticism.

I guess I would be fine with this if the military started calling roadside bombs "mobility disenablers."

[Lathum]

It is hypersensitive, but that is the world we live in.

[Sun Tzu]

I'm with Ksyrup on this one. I'm not a fan of hypersensitivity. To me it sounds more like the person who wrote in has some personal issues he needs to sort out for himself, rather than laying them on other people.

[molson]

"Wheelchair user" sounds like someone who uses a wheelchair just for fun.

I like the "down sydrome kid scores a TD" stories but I hope it doesn't become a huge national trend. It has to be the right kid. I think somewhere kids with special needs who just want to work and actually be a part of the team (through cheerleading, equipment/water stuff), are being patronized and forced into these situations so everyone else can feel good about themselves.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I'm with Ksyrup on this one. I'm not a fan of hypersensitivity. To me it sounds more like the person who wrote in has some personal issues he needs to sort out for himself, rather than laying them on other people.

Yep.

[Subby]

It's Down syndrome, for what it's worth (although I have seen the 's' in syndrome capitalized in magazine and journal article titles).

I wish I was a better advocate for kids with Ds particularly since my ten year-old son has trisomy 21 (the most common form of Ds). I will say that I would trade a million touchdowns for him to be treated as a human being by everyone with whom he comes in contact. Despite his limitations he is a person with feelings and emotions and desires just like all of us. He wants to be treated like a person, not a mascot. He wants to be a member of society.

If you ever see him, his name is Ben Shue. Introduce yourself. Strike up a conversation. Much better than the touchdown.

Of course that little pain in the ass probably wouldn't agree with me, but he's 10. What does he know?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Subby

It's Down syndrome, for what it's worth (although I have seen the 's' in syndrome capitalized in magazine and journal article titles).

I wish I was a better advocate for kids with Ds particularly since my ten year-old son has trisomy 21 (the most common form of Ds). I will say that I would trade a million touchdowns for him to be treated as a human being by everyone with whom he comes in contact. Despite his limitations he is a person with feelings and emotions and desires just like all of us. He wants to be treated like a person, not a mascot. He wants to be a member of society.

If you ever see him, his name is Ben Shue. Introduce yourself. Strike up a conversation. Much better than the touchdown.

Of course that little pain in the ass probably wouldn't agree with me, but he's 10. What does he know?

Say hi to Ben Shue for me. I used to have some people with Down syndrome working for me as part of a special program when I was working down in Massachusetts. They were sorting recycled paper on a sorting line and yeah, they are the sweetest, and were some of the coolest people I've ever met. I have fond memories of one name Tommy who had tears in his eyes the day I left the plant to come back to Canada. Tommy far 30-something and quite functionnal. He would come to my office and chat it up every once in a while but understood when I told him that I needed to work on my stuff.

Sadly, I have no clue what has happened to him since we left.

FM

[Pumpy Tudors]

I had a talk with my wife last night about these kids scoring touchdowns, and we both came to the same conclusion after some discussion. It was a good conversation.