My friend Dan said it best when he texted me stating that every kid should have that kind of experience.
Basketball game tied with seven seconds to play. Brady's YMCA team had the ball. Brady (13 years old) drove down court. Five, four, three, two. Brady flips a shot that goes swish. Game over. See ya. My oldest child did make it just past half court when he was knocked to the floor by his excited teammates.
Now where is the video? Or the close-up photos? Sorry I can't do those things. His brother, Riley, called home to scream at his mother about his older brother winning a game. I called Grandpa Maloney and gave him play by play of the last seconds. I texted to whomever would listen.
It's a huge deal to win a game like that. It's something Brady should never forget.
Is sports the only place where it can happen? You can get a standing ovation for a being in play or for performing a music piece. But it isn't the same. Sports allows us this opportunity for the last-second shot or the game-winning homer.
Riley asked before the game if Brady won the game what would that get him. I said a coke. Instead, he opted for Dr. Pepper. We found a cool pizza place in DuPage County where we made pigs of ourselves eating pizza and wings.
When Brady got to baseball practice that night, a parent had already heard the news of the game-winning shot. That was a good day to be a parent.
I love the video clips of these boys who hit those last-second buzzer-beaters; some of them are just incredible. (Then I get to daydream about it being me and wondering how it would have felt to be treated like a hero by my classmates. Some dreams never die, even 40+ years later@)
ReplyDeleteI was there and can tell you it was a sensational play by Brady as he drove through the lane darting around defenders before he coolly laid in the winning shot at the buzzer. Brilliant. Just like Derrick Rose. The only thing more thrilling was to watch as his teammates tackled him to the floor in revelry. While he will remember this shot his whole life, I have a feeling it won't the last game winning play of his career.
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