Keeping Score

An Interesting Video With a Life Lesson

by Gene | November 21, 2009

I was on espn.com today and was watching some videos and stumbled upon this one that was really interesting.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4620840

It’s a piece on a kid Matt Ziesel who plays football. He’s not just any kid though. He was born with down syndrome and has a love for sports. His team was losing 46-0 with 10 seconds left and the coach called a timeout and approached the opposing coach and explained he wanted to get Matt a touchdown and the coach agreed. Matt ran a 63-yard touchdown on his only action of the season.

The piece goes on to show some of the backlash the coach and family recieved, how it downgraded the kid since he didn’t score on his own. I don’t agree with these accusations.

What both coaches did, they should be applauded for. They gave a kid who is considered an outcast in society a chhance to be the star. Most kids with a mental disabilty aren’t given this chance.

Having a brother with autism, which is similar, I understand the families feelings. If my brother played football and the coaches let him score I would personally thank the coaches and I would celebrate that moment for the rest of my life.

I really recommend watching this piece. It’s only about 10 minutes and its well worth it.

Gene