every once in a while, the world of sports takes a step back to, as the cliche goes, "put everything in perspective." sadly, this shuffling of priorities comes almost exclusively after the death of one of their own. certainly there were a few deaths this week, notable only to those who closely follow sports (or sports entertainment if you're a chris benoit fan), but the greater proverbial step back this week was taken by the worldwide leader in sports, espn, as it resurrected its "my wish" series this week.
for the uninitiated, "my wish" is a weeklong segment during which entertainment and sports programming network teams up with the make a wish foundation to deliver sports-related wishes to kids who have endured excruciating, heartbreaking, and life-altering battles with illness and adversity.
wish recipient number one was a kid, noa, from hawai'i that survived a liver transplant, a staph infection and gangrene....when he was 3 months old. since he can't play contact sports like football, he adopted basketball as his favorite sport and dwayne wade as his favorite player. true to the theme of the segment, ESPN delivered a full weekend with dwayne wade (complete with h.o.r.s.e. and 1-on-1 competitions) to noa to complete his dream.
ordinarily, i'm apathetic to contrived altruism (that's a bit oxymoronic, no?), such as much of the publicity stunts, er, philanthropy our celebrities do. but as a sports fan, i'm unable to resist the heartwarming stories the "my wish" program brings, since--for once in my life--i can actually relate to these kids on a fundamental level on account of our shared passion for sports and my own desire to live out some childhood dreams.
7 fulfilled wishes out of millions isn't a great percentage, but i commend ESPN for making the effort and giving a platform and a microphone to so many causes. it's great to see young people that have gone through so much get rewarded for their perseverance and determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. i just hope that no one i know will have the chance to be part of the program. that's my wish.
2 comments:
Great post! I know it's not the entirely the point but I'd like to believe D.Wade is beyond any stunts and truly cares about the lives he touches.
I too have a wish. I wish I could read a post about a young man on a mtbike trail crashing and perhaps that same young man sliding down a hill on his bike. Is that possible or did I hear the story incorrectly?
In the case of Mr. Benoit, let this be a lesson to any steroid abusers. (If the latest reports of a murder-suicide are true, that is.)
not sure i need a full post 3 weeks after the fact, but the short story goes as such: i bit it hard coming down a hill that had nothing but rocks on the trail. not even real dirt. just rocks. crashed super hard and made a stuntman roll, landing upright on my feet. moments later, GS decides to stop for some reason in a little gulch the trail ran through. i stopped behind him trying to figure out why he stopped. i stopped too close to the edge of the gulch, and my back tire (with minimal movement) began to slide downhill. i was totally clipped in and couldn't get unclipped because i'd only loosened the left clip--which i realized moments before my big crash.
so, as i tried to clip out, bike and body slid into a thorn patch on the side of the hill. that's the story. crashing sucks.
MTB friends have told me to skp Green Mtn. from now on and just hit the ski resorts, whose trails have tree roots and actual dirt.
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