I wrote a book for Barbour Publishing last summer called A Big Book of Sports Inspiration that hasn't been released yet. In the book, I chronicled dozens of inspirational sports stories. The recent events at Greece Athena High School in Rochester , N.Y. would have fit nicely in the book.
Jason McElwain, a 17 year-old, 5-foot-6 autistic senior, never had a chance to play basketball for Greece Athena. So, he became the team manager so he could be around the game he loves. He handed out water, wrote down stats, and became the team's biggest cheerleader.
As their final game approached, Coach Jim Johnson decided to let McElwain suit up but he didn't have any intensions of putting McElwain in the game. But with Greece Athena up big with four minutes to go, Coach Johnson decided to put McElwain in and the crowd went nuts. He missed his first two shots, and then he hit a three pointer. I don't know which is more moving, seeing him make the basket or the reaction of the crowd. They went ballistic.
Then McElwain hit another three pointer. After that, he couldn't be stopped. He scored 20 points in the final four minutes of the game and the crowd carried him off the court on their shoulders. I've seen the video several times and I get tears in my eyes every time. Watch it if you get a chance, but make sure you've got the sound turned up on your computer so you can hear the crowd's reaction.
[Hat tip to Sheila at The Sheila Variations for the video link]
