Good Sportsmanship Is Still Alive

The news is usually filled with bad news.  I mean, kids can’t even go to a junior high or high school sporting event without a fight breaking out or something bad happening.  So, when I hear an inspiring story that happened during a middle school basketball game, I get goose bumps and find myself smiling.

It was the last home game for Van Hoosen’s boy’s basketball team and it was important to let one player play.  That player’s name is Owen Groesser.  Groesser was unable to play because he has down syndrome so the coach hired him as the team’s manager instead.  Not only did Groesser help the coach with his duties but also practiced with the team everyday.  On the night of the last game, the coach talked with the coach of the opposing team and told him he wanted to let Groesser play.  They both agreed and in the last two minutes of the game, Groesser was able to come into the game. 

Oh, but that’s not even the best part of the story.  The players were all set-up so that Groesser was able to get the ball and shoot it.  The team called this play, “The Owen.”  Little did they know that Groesser would get the ball, take a step, shoot a 3-pointer and sink it in the basket!  The crowd went wild!  Not only did he do this once, but twice in the last two minutes of the game!  

As in any other game, it was caught on camera.  Groesser’s team, family and friends all thought that he deserved to be recognized.  Instead of just posting his video on YouTube, they started a campaign on Twitter called, #GetOwenOnSportsCenter.  Of course, ESPN saw it and had to air it.  It was a huge success and his highlights were shown on ESPN’s “SportsCenter’s” Top-10 highlights on January 23, 2013. 

It’s finally nice to see inspirational news!  It’s important to show that with hard work and dedication, you can do anything!  The last thing I want to point out is that this team showed the definition of good sportsmanship.  Not only with Groesser’s team and coach, but with the opposing team and coach.  I love seeing the younger generation still has it in them to do kind acts for other people.  Even if that means “giving” 6 points to the opposing team in order to let a player with a disability play his last game. 

This blog has nothing to do with professional or college sports, but sometimes those stories aren’t the most important ones at the end of the day.  This one has a good lesson to learn from it and I thought I’d share my views on it.  Just in case you haven’t seen the video of the game, I’ve posted that link below as well as the link of Groesser and his father on ESPN for a live interview.  I hope you enjoy!

Owen Is In The Game
ESPN Interview