I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’m fine with giving a disabled kid special treatment, but the fact that everyone made a show of trying to tackle the kid makes the whole thing seem dishonest. The prevailing public opinion seems to be that this is heartwarming. Am I reading too much into it?
I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. On the one hand, it was nice of the coach and the opposing team. On the other hand, it does seem kind of condescending.
*http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011740342_electronboy30m.html
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I’m fine with giving a dying kid special treatment, but the fact that everyone made a show of pretending there really was an evil villain trying to destroy the city makes the whole thing seem dishonest. The prevailing public opinion seems to be that this is heartwarming. Am I reading too much into it?*
Yeah, you’re reading too much into it. Just like what I wrote above- we (society) try to do nice things for those amongst us who unable to fulfill their wishes for various reasons beyond their control. The kid in your OP would have never been a successful football player in life because of his disability, so the kids on his team let him live out his dream for a night. What’s so bad about that?
Frankly I don’t see anything but goodness in this. His team was losing anyway, and sure everyone conspired to let him score a touchdown, but jeez, isn’t this just what adults do with small kids.
There’s a disproportionate level of intellect here that is similar to playing with kids and letting them score a goal. You know those parents against kids soccer games where the end result is 6 - 5 for the kids?
I let my daughter beat me at air hockey for years. I don’t think she ever knew I was throwing the game.
Yeah, I think you are. I thought it was a nice gesture and didn’t affect the outcome of the game one single bit. It’s not like his team was trying to cheat. Give the kid a moment in the spotlight. Especially if it’s OK with the other team, like it was in this case. He busts his butt just like the other guys on the team. Sometimes sportsmanship can mean more than the score. Football’s supposed to be about building character. Ike seems to have a lot of it and it rubbed off onto the players from both sides.
I’m fine with them letting him play even though he normally wouldn’t get a chance. Pulling a Rudy so to speak. I’d also be fine if they let him play and told him, “Hey, here’s your chance, we’re going to let you get a touchdown.”
I don’t feel good about the deceit. The dog-and-pony show where everyone makes it look like they’re trying to stop him. I dunno why, it just doesn’t sit well with me.
Does the same thing apply to the Make a Wish kid I linked to?
I can’t help but think of the movie Rudy.
At high school swim meets the crowd always cheers loudest when the handicapped kid or the chubby kid or the extra skinny kid finishes his event at 3 or 4 times the normal rate. I never know what to think. Good for him or her for doing the difficult task but it always feels vaguely condescending to me. Plus, the other kids in the race are required to stay in the water until everyone finishes and that can be a long time sometimes.
Same here. It’s nice to see that someone understands that football is a game, and the point of the game is to have fun.
How would it sit with the kid if the other team stood around and let him run to the goal line without making a show of trying to stop him? I think even he would have realized it wouldn’t seem like the real thing if they just let him score an “easy” touchdown without a couple of blockers in his path for him to evade. He was accustomed to token opposition in practice. Why not make the game situation seem like what he practiced? I don’t think any actual deceit was intended.
No, because I don’t believe the 13 year old kid walked away thinking he was a super-hero. It’s special treatment, which I’m fine with, but nobody was trying to deceive him.
That’s actually a great story, thanks for posting it.
NP.
I mean, I suppose it depends how disabled the kid in your OP is, but he may or may not have realized it was faked. Either way, I just watched the video for the first time and it’s adorable how all the players are cheering him on and pointing where he needs to go. What a good group of kids.
This cannot be denied.
That was a farce.
They should have taken those good intentions and given the kid a couple shots at running one up the middle whenever they ended up on the two yard line - blocking and opening up a hole with all their gusto, against real opposition. That wouldn’t be a mockery. And if he was able to succeed, no one could say it wasn’t earned. And if he couldn’t run one into the end zone, so what? He got in there and gave it his all in real live plays.
That Rudy gets the sack was icing on the cake for the audience. He spent the whole movie just trying to get on the field for a single play.
Wait. You really think the football players should have tackled the kid with Down’s? I can’t even imagine that headline. TEAM LET’S DISABLED KID PLAY, KNOCKS THE FUCKING SHIT OUT OF HIM.
I’ve coached flag football for many years now, and I’ve done this in the past from the offensive side and the defensive side. The intention is not necessarily to give the kid an unimpeded path to the endzone and make it easy. You’ve got to make it real for the kid. You can’t make it seem like the other team didn’t even try, or it’s not the same feeling of accomplishment for the runner. I can guarantee that there is nothing fake about the smiles on everyones faces, including the defenses.
In practice, the best way to ensure that it rings true is to have a big group of blockers clearing the way for the runner. The defense doesn’t have to fake making diving attempts at a tackle or anything else theatrical, they just don’t fight through the blocks.
If you show up to every practice and have a good attitude, I’ll try my darndest to give you that moment in the sun. If I can do it in the normal course of the game, outstanding. If I have to ask a favor of the other team to make it happen, you bet I will. I had a Dad tell me a year after one such occurrence that his son still talks about the play coach drew up that he took all the way for a touchdown. Made me feel right good it did, not because I think I did anything special, but that he has a happy memory where he got to succeed.
As somebody who is passionate about football and a fan of sport in general, I have to say, with the utmost respect: Who the fuck gives a fuck? The kid’s touchdown wasn’t “earned”? So? The only person this really impacts is the kid himself and I bet he was fucking thrilled. As somebody already said upthread, football is a game. A game people play for fun. It’s not Serious Business, no matter how much people try to make it out to be.
ETA: Shark you are awesome. But better not let on to the football police that you actually encourage kids to have fun with each other when they’re playing.
Exactly. (By the way, Shark, I think that what you’re doing is great.) When I play my 8-year-old son at chess, he knows that I’m better than him, but when I “make a mistake” and he takes advantage of it and wins, he is convinced that he has an “honest” victory.
Where was the disapproval when the same two teams got together and let the same kid do the same thing when he was playing with the JV team?
Personally, I think it’s great. Everyone deserves a SportsCenter moment once in their lives.
I had disabled kids on my team, but if he can’t play the game with the reasonable measure of safety all players have – well I can’t make that call from my internet high horse. Sometimes people in that position become team managers. Putting anyone on the field who isn’t qualified to be there - whether they’re a concussion victim or disabled - is either one of two things, dangerous or staged play-acting.
I don’t care if this was earned or not, and I don’t think any sport is sacred. This just strikes me as incredibly hollow - a farce. And if the kid buys it and is thrilled, somehow that’s even worse from where I sit because it highlights an abilities and intelligence gap that I’d prefer not to dwell on. I’m not comfortable with him being in the dark - along with the shared secret of “you did it, buddy”. Then there’s the idea that he will eventually find out it was a sham. That makes me nauseous to think about how he could react. If the kid is happy, I’m happy for him. I think this stunt was obviously well-intentioned, but I don’t care for it.