Greatest Moments

Imagine living in a world where you can't understand everything around you. You don't know how to describe things, how to get your point across to people. You talk to loud, you don't have the best manners. You didn't learn how to talk until you were five years old, and now that you know how to, everything comes out all jumbled up. People sometimes stare and sometimes make fun of you....

You're Autistic.

Autism is a neurological disorder that affects one in every two hundred and fifty children. It impacts brain development in the areas of communication and social interaction.

My husband and I were watching the ESPY's today. The ESPY's are ESPN's version of the Oscars or the grammy's. They celebrate sports and athletes just like the others celebrate movie stars and celebrities.

Most of the plays and things they showed were amazing, almost superhuman. You couldn't believe that these plays were being made.

Then they went to the award of greatest moment.

I cried.

The nominees were Kobe Bryant and his game where he scored 81 points in one game. They showed the Chicago White Sox winning the World Series, as well as the Pittsburgh Steelers winning the Super Bowl. (NO, I didn't cry because it was the Steelers and not the Bucs!)

And then they showed a 17 year old boy playing basketball.

With Autism.

But he didn't play a whole season, or even a whole game.

He played four minutes.

The last Four minutes of a game on a championship team. He was the equipment manager on the team. He helped the coach set up for practices, helped with drills, and cleaned up afterwards. During games he kept water bottles filled and towels ready for the players. The last game before the championships, the coach let him suit up with no guarantee to play. They got ahead, and with four minutes left, the coach put him in the game.

His first shot didn't even hit the rim, the net, or the backboard.

But then a minute later, he shot a three pointer.

And made it.

And shot another, and made it, and another, and another, and another.

With two minutes left in the game he shot 20 points with a school record of 6 three pointers in a game.

The crowd went crazy, rushed him and threw him up on their shoulders. And for a couple of minutes, a boy that nobody every payed any attention to, got a couple minutes of glory.

And then the news heard about it. He was featured on ESPN, CBS, NBC. 35 different movie companies including Walt Disney have contacted him for movie rights. He met the President.

But without all that, just to see that boy get so excited about what he did. To see his face as his name was called over the loudspeaker as the winner of ESPY's Greatest Moment made me want to jump up and cheer for him.

It's good to see the underdog win.