Touching moment

Rivrrat

xcapri79 wrote: »

You play sports to win.
That's the American way.
If you can't play find another activity, there are many things for kids to do.
They probably don't keep score either.
No wonder we are in the mess we are in.
Make everyone equal, everyone passes and no one fails.
Hmmm.

That was Snohomish HS vs Lake Stevens HS near Seattle. Lake Stevens was leading 35-0 (so much for not keeping score) When the Snohomish coach put Ike in with 10 secs to go in the game. Yeah, the two coaches arranged it should the opportunity arise, but what do you do with a downs syndrome kid that really wants to play? You stick him in when he can't damage the team and let him have his few seconds of glory.

So, by your standards, when I was coaching soccer I suppose I shouldnt've had my good players feed the lesser skilled players to try to get them a goal when we had a big lead. :rolleyes:

Rivrrat

You do realize he's a permanent member of the Snohomish HS football team, right?

His teamates consider him an inspiration because of his work ethic.

You should probably read up (or at least listen to his story on the radio) before you criticize the coach's actions.

cstmar01

never mind. X is not worth the time to waste anymore. Has to be the most negative person I have ever met on a forum if he really is not doing this to troll and cause a stir.

Oh well, I'm done with this, I really hope the problem can get taken care of because its gotten out of hand long ago.

inspiredsports

xcapri79 wrote: »

Those criticizing me are way off base. You don't need to mock a handicapped person with phony one time participation. You build their confiidence with real and continued participation. Sports is one of the few real things we have. It needs to be competitive at the appropriate level, promote fair play and be real for all.
Sorry the ends do not justify the means in this case. It seldom does.

I adore the handicapped. Here is an example of real participation that is truly touching.

The handicapped don't need one time phony pity, they need continued and genuine support.

You go from stating your true colors, to a red herrring about insurance, profess how you "adore the hadicapped", and then post links to the real posers who pull the one-time feel-good make-a-wish crap.

Can a CP member's stock value drop to below zero?

BIZILL

x, i hear ya about not blowing smoke up one's ****. and i see how you apply this logic to this particular situation. and i actually applaud you for not getting overly ugly in retort.

that having been said, your judgement does not supercede everyone else's. or should i say, your logic. do you think this kid is going to try out for the NFL because of this, what you would label, "stunt"? will he become depressed and hit the bottle (alcohol) when he learns that he didn't "really" score the TD?

one thing none of us here knows for a fact is whether or not this kid actually knows in his own heart that this was done as a favor, or if he did in fact better all the other kids and "earn" that TD. what if he did know it was done as a thank you to him for the inspiration he affords others on the team or the entire campus or deeper? then your argument is defunct.

i do see your argument for sure. but you are over-generalizing this particular incident. you don't know this kid's life nor those around him. your stance sort of reminds me of a jehovah's witness's. have you ever celebrated a birthday in your life? if not, come to AZ and i'll throw you one and even give you a hug. maybe you need one?

tonyb

inspiredsports wrote: »

Can a CP member's stock value drop to below zero?

I dunno....I'm sure I've been clocked at a negative 50 from time to time.:D

I am willing to give X a break here,after all,it is the internet and his explanations can be misconstrued, unlikely..but possible.

mrbigbluelight

Well, first off, a big thanks to Steveinaz for posting that video.
That was truly heartwarming, and hats off to the coaches and players who participated in that act of kindness.
They gave, not only to the young man with Downes Syndrome but to themselves and to the folks who were watching that game.

X-man, IMO, I don't believe you see what it is that they all gave, and what all was received. And that is a shame.

I've mentioned before this quote by far better people than me, that a society can be judged by how it treats its weakest members.

"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members."~Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973), My Several Worlds [1954].

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization."
~Samuel Johnson, Boswell: Life of Johnson

"The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities."~John E. E. Dalberg, Lord Acton, The History of Freedom in Antiquity, [1877].


"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Ghandi

"The greatness of America is in how it treats its weakest members: the elderly, the infirm, the handicapped, the underprivileged, the unborn." ~Bill Federer

"A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying,"
~Pope John Paul II



... and I normally hate it when people paste quotes from other people.

But how ANYONE can not see the good that was created that day is beyond me.

Thanks, again, to Mr. Steve for that video.

kawizx9r

Just watched the video; that's awesome that that kid got what he wanted and furthermore deserved.

Can only imagine what's being said by said-assclowns (who happen to be on my ignore list), but whatever. I'm sure if your kid had downs., the last thing you'd do is deprive them of such an experience.

messiah

kawizx9r wrote: »

Just watched the video; that's awesome that that kid got what he wanted and furthermore deserved.

Can only imagine what's being said by said-assclowns (who happen to be on my ignore list), but whatever. I'm sure if your kid had downs., the last thing you'd do is deprive them of such an experience.

Agreed, and thanks for posting this Steve, It's nice to be able to have something in the news every now and then that makes you smile. As for the assclown, I know he just isn't bright enough to get it. It's **** high school football. In other words, meaningless in the big picture. The majority of those players won't suit up in college, and the chances of any of them going pro are pretty damn slim. What they did was bigger than any of that though, and bigger than the game of football itself. They showed love and compassion to a fellow human being, and gave a guy an opportunity to do something he normally wouldn't be able to. Everyone on that field went home that day feeling like they accomplished something, and even the losing team was happy for the kid. It made my day to watch this and know that not everyone in the world is a self-centered heartless ****.

bobman1235

xcapri79 wrote: »

There is no need for anyone here to name call or get nasty as others have done.
When they do that, their argument is essentially reduced to nil.

As opposed to criticizing those who want to help the handicapped, that's totally fine.

Most youth sports teams have tryouts and set a minimum standard for performance. The number of players is limited by league rules. Not everyone can or should make the team if they are not competitive. Positions should be awarded on the basis of merit not short term compassion, popularity or political correctness.
"Well these kids aren't going to the NFL" argument is the red herring.
Using merit as a guideline is a guideline that is appropriate for the real world.

Yes it is, doofus. This isn't about making a competitive team. The kid in question is not bypassing the rules. He's obviously not a full-time part of the team. Do you honeslty think he's sitting on the sidelines EVERY GAME as a full member ofthe team? And that that is somehow unfair to those who tried out for the team properly? What kind of MONSTER would actually take that as a slight against their own accomplishment? A high school kid can see and accept the difference, and yet you, a purported adult cannot.

As I said, there are many other meaningful activities that a child can engage in off the team in a support role. Not having the challenged boy on the football team isn't being mean toward him, it is being honest to him and actually looking out for his greater good. No is often the best answer.

Try being fully honest to a truly retarded boy, and see how far it gets you. That's the nature of most mental disability, is the inability to really understand grander concepts about one's place in society. If you tell most people with developmental problems that they can't make a team, they're NEVER going to understand the complexities of competition, they're just going to feel bad about themselves. SO while in most children teaching them that kind of thing is helpful, for some with this type of problem it's just making their time on this Earth miserable for no good reason.

Insurance isn't a red herring, it is a big reality for youth sports.
Football is a much one of the most injury prone of the youth team sports, including ice hockey.

Having a mentally challenged as an active player puts this child at a much higher risk for serious injury than the non-challenged player. I would suggest that there may be some serious issues with respect to insurance by having this child on the team. Well it appears to be a feel good story for the moment, like one sees of Hollywood, that fact is the child is put into jeopardy when he plays or practices.

HE PLAYED ONE PLAY. AND EVERyONE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WASN'T GOING TO TACKLE HIM. He was in essence running down a field in full pads. If he was going ot get injured doing that, he was just as likely going to be injured walking down the street. Injury statistics for sports are based on repetitive motions (not applicable here, it's one play), full-contact (not applicable here), full-speed (not applicable here, everyone was jogging to let the kid run ahead). Honestly, how can you at least not see THIS difference, even if you're so obtuse about the others?

If he is an active member of the team, how is he supposed to engage in a real practice, since more time is spent in practices than in real games? Is it really fair to him to have him simply dress up and pretend to be a player.

Yes, because he (presumably, since I don't know the specifics of his case) does not have the capacity to understand the difference.

The clip featuring Joey Moss with Wayne Gretzky was sponsored by the Canadian Association for the Mentally Retarded. The Association, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers are far from posers as was suggested in another post.

I guarantee you that this game would be endorsed by any association for the mentally retarded that you could contact. You're posting videos of almost the SAME kind of thing, except because it's a) someone famous doing the "pandering" and b) endorsed by one organization you're ok with it.

To gaze into your thought process is to gaze into insanity itself.

Knucklehead

bobman1235 wrote: »

I guarantee you that this game would be endorsed by any association for the mentally retarded that you could contact. You're posting videos of almost the SAME kind of thing, except because it's a) someone famous doing the "pandering" and b) endorsed by one organization you're ok with it. To gaze into your thought process is to gaze into insanity itself.

Game Over...........................................

cstmar01

X why don't you just write a letter explaining your view point to the school and the child and see what reaction you get?

also did it occur that he has two older brothers that played football, and that his PARENTS also would have to let him play, so not sure how the insurance thing is really a factor seeing they KNOW full well something could happen and gave him permission to play still. As a parent you know that getting hurt can happen.

But seriously, I think you should write a letter, stating that the team should have never let this child on the team because of his handicap and that he is not fit to play because it takes away from the team being able to play to win. Seriously I want you to write this letter to the kid and say this.

If you really love and have this respect for mentally handicaped people I can bet you would never write it or say this to their face because you know you would face backlash. But saying it behind a keyboard is so much easier.

And stop crying because you got called a name, you knew FULL WELL that what you said would result in name calling because of your stance. NOW TAKE THE REAL WORLD POINT OF VIEW AND GET OVER IT!

Ricardo

Not sure what's worse. The one **** or all the others that feed him.

inspiredsports

Ricardo wrote: »

Not sure what's worse. The one **** or all the others that feed him.

The one ****.

bobman1235

Ricardo wrote: »

Not sure what's worse. The one **** or all the others that feed him.

Or the one who pops in to criticize all of them without adding anything? Maybe it's that guy.

Fongolio

And x probably tells his 3 year old there is no Santa Claus.

bsoko2

X must be real popular at Christmas parties.

steveinaz

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

Well, first off, a big thanks to Steveinaz for posting that video.

You are welcome brother. Nothing can squelch a beautiful moment like that. I pity anyone who finds a negative twist to those type of moments.

I'm 48, so take my comments/observations in reference to the time frame it would apply. I remember (as I'm sure anyone close to may age does) people being much kinder/sympathetic when I was a kid--young adult. If you heard of someones parents getting a divorce, you felt truly sad for them. It was almost handled like a death in the family. The same with people being diagnosed with serious diseases. Fast forward to the present--you'll likely not get any sympathy from anyone in either case. We're too busy worrying about "ME" to expend any effort/emotion for anyone else.

I hardly think this Country is getting "soft" in any form or fashion, and it's refreshing to see people set aside their own agenda to make someone else feel special for a moment.

ryanjoachim

Ricardo wrote: »

Not sure what's worse. The one **** or all the others that feed him.

I've always been of the mantra DFtT (Don't Feed the Trolls!).

But even I managed to get sucked into this for a few comments.

steveinaz

It's not about getting sucked into anything---that's just arm-chair quarterbacking. It's about not being run out of a thread topic because you happen to disagree with their opinion.

While I don't agree with Xcapri, he's got a right to an opinion. I feel bad for him in that he can't find joy in moments like this--due to his beliefs--but hey, that's his choice. I don't let it lessen the satisfaction I get from such moments.

fatchowmein

I love how some of the defensive players made great efforts to mis-tackle, contributing to the spirit of the moment.

steveinaz

Hats off to the great coaches, sport directors, team mates, schools, etc that allow kids like this to participate. Most would buckle at the thought of liability, and not have the balls to allow special kids to integrate in a meaningful way. I think it's a wonderful thing when a child can live as normal a life as possible, and there are fearless people dedicated to making it happen. People like this restore my faith in this great country.

God bless them all.

FTGV

X,I sense you to be a bit of a pessimistic sort of fellow no?

PSOVLSK

xcapri79 wrote: »

If this is a high school team, since when does a mentally challenged boy attend high school? There are special schools that cater to special needs children.

You know very little about public education. The law requires that EVERY child is provided a free and appropriate public education.

hearingimpared

xcapri79 wrote: »

This perhaps describes many in public office but not I.
Please this is not the place to launch a personal attack and I will not engage in such behaviour.

This thread is not about me, it is about a touching moment which I feel isn't so touching considering all the circumstances and deception involved.

I have offered good rational arguments pertaining to the role of organized youth sports, the respectful treatment of the mentally challenged and provided alternate examples which are truly touching and inspiring concerning the true respect and support that the mentally challenged deserve.

Hmmm this whole business with you reminds me of your warped view of the movie "Inglorious ****" by Quentin Tarantino. You scare me dude.

bsoko2

Good god, does this guy ever go away?????

hearingimpared

bsoko2 wrote: »

Good god, does this guy ever go away?????

Not as long as he has an audience.:rolleyes:

Polk user

xcapri79 wrote: »

It wasn't a happy story so I won't go further.

Hey I'm all in support of the Special Olympics. That is great for the challenged and disabled, but we need to keep all sports honest and fair for all.

I would normally comment on what I think of you but my wife just informed me she is having some womanly issues and she needs me to pick up a DOUCHEBAG for her.

With all of the hate and self interests in the world it is nice to see opposite teams come together for a good cause. I am sure the winning team would have loved to have kept their shutout so what they did makes it even more inspiring.

inspiredsports

xcapri79 wrote: »

No I'm very optimistic, but very realistic. I also look beyond the obvious to see the real truth of the matter and rest on logical skepticism and my conservative principles to guide me.

Probably should add unpopular to that, too.

PSOVLSK

xcapri79 wrote: »

All in the same high school that has the football team? Yes. Since when do mentally challenged special needs children attend the public high school? Since the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act...actually probably before then, but I don't feel like looking it up. You might not believe this, but a mentally challenged person is a human being. Am I the only one who questions this? Evidently.

For God's sake, the kid got one carry in one game. It's not like the team is being required to give him equal playing time. They're not even required to let him play (or suit up), but they're doing it out of compassion and respect for a fellow human being.