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— Thanks to author
CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER
by
It
had been a long night for Coach Tony Cloward and his
The
Cowboys were just 3-6 on the season and had already been eliminated from
contention for a state title. But they hoped to end the season on a high note
in front of the home fans in a game against the state tournament-bound Morgan
High Trojans.
The
first half was a hard-fought battle, and the Trojans held a slight 6-0 lead at
halftime. Morgan increased its lead to 12-0 early in the third quarter, but the
Cowboys fought back to bring the score to 12-6 entering the fourth quarter of
play. Two long drives by the Trojans
made the score 28-6 for Morgan, and as the seconds ticked away on the
scoreboard clock it became clear to everyone present that once again there
would not be a happy ending for the Cowboys.
Or
would there?
With
just a few minutes left in the Cowboys’ season, a feint chant could be heard
coming from the Grantsville student section.
At first it was difficult to hear exactly what they were chanting. It was “we want” somebody – but who? As more
and more students picked up the cheer, the message was clear: “We want Collin!”
Despite
the disappointment of the game and the season, Coach Cloward
couldn’t help but smile. Collin
Jefferies was a senior, and had been an asset to the Grantsville football
program for four years. But as team manager – not as a player. As a baby Collin had contracted spinal
meningitis, which left him deaf in one ear, partially deaf in the other,
partially paralyzed and mentally challenged.
He loved helping the coaches and the team behind the scenes, and Coach Cloward wanted to reward him for his hard work and
unyielding good attitude by allowing him to put on the pads and the Cowboy
uniform and sit on the bench with the team for that last game.
And
now his classmates wanted him to actually play.
Coach
Cloward hesitated at first – not so much because he
didn’t want Collin to play, but because he didn’t want him to get hurt. But the students were insistent – the chant
grew louder with each tick of the clock – and the look on Collin’s face told
him that whatever happened, it would be worth it.
“Collin
has been here all four years and hasn’t missed a single practice, meeting or
function of the team,” the coach said after the game. “He earned the right to get on the field.”
As
Collin strapped on his helmet and charged onto the field for the last few
minutes of the game the Grantsville crowd erupted in the loudest, most enthusiastic
cheers of the night. At first the Morgan
High fans didn’t understand why the home crowd was so excited and the Cowboy
players were so jubilantly energized when it was painfully clear that they were
going to lose so decisively. But one
look at the animated, partially paralyzed boy moving into the Cowboy huddle
told them that something special was happening.
If
this was a
What
the record doesn’t show is the Grantsville student body streaming onto the
field at the end of the game, most of them with tears streaming down their
faces, to carry Collin off on their shoulders, sincerely rejoicing as if he had
led them to the state championship. Nor
does it show the tears in the eyes of many of the Morgan High players, coaches
and fans, who understood that what was happening was more important than a
football game, and who embraced the moment – even reveled in it – with a
dignified show of sportsmanship and good will.
Nor does it show the picture of an extraordinary young man who was so
overwhelmingly joyful that he wore his football uniform home and would have
worn it to bed if his mother had allowed it – pads, helmet and all.
“It
has been like Christmas in October,” Collin’s mother said.
And who could ask for anything better than that – especially at the end of a long football season.
— ©
For more stories from Joseph, visit http://www.sfpnn.com/joseph_walker1.htm
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This and
every issue of SFPNN is dedicated to MISTY, a tiny angel who taught us to love
unconditionally and bask in the glory and joy of each moment.
For more information about Misty, please visit Misty’s
Miracle at: http://www.sfpnn.com/SoulMagic/Soul2001/sm040601.htm and our Reflections of a Zen Master / Fuzzy
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