With all the headlines lately about teams running scores up (the girls B-ball team a year ago that won 100-0, the two football teams this year that made headlines for it, the school in Florida last year that played all the first stringers all the way in a 91-0 romp, etc), it’s nice to see something like this:
It’s sportsmanship like this that makes me feel good inside. And I bet young Matt felt like ike a million bucks when he crossed that goal line. Major kudos to the kids on the other team, and the opposing coach for his graciousness.
I completely agree vickie, i would have tackled the kid if i was on the other team. If he wants to play football, he should get tackled. what if that touchdown messes up that teams season. (Ok im not sure if scores are taken into account in american football but over here goal difference is taken into account in tie situations)
Im all for equal rights, but people with disabillities have more rights then people with out. for instance with your case in wall mart if i was doing a bad job at communicating with you i would be in the shits, but i bet that person didnt get into trouble at all. granted its not there fault the manager should have known. that should be the same for me. if im crap at communicating the manager should know. like ive been put on suspension in jobs before for messing up a phone order to a guy who had a thick french accent and i couldnt understand him. and that was my first offence like. wouldnt have happened if i had autism or something simular you know. its political correctness gone mad.
I disagree. I think that as long as they don’t patronise the kid (ie. he’s unaware/doesn’t feel bad) then it’s good. It shows that all the guys on the field are aware that there’s more to the world than winning some crappy football game and it makes someone with a pretty tough and miserable life really happy and proud for a moment. Sure, don’t put him on the field full time (Walmart), but if you can, give him his moment!
As for the running up the score, I agree…kind of…with Vickie. I agree that the players should play as hard as they can. But there’s a point that scoring just because you can becomes cruel. That’s why Little League Baseball came up with the Mercy Rule. All amateur sports should have one.
Oh, and MrMcAwesome? You would have hit a Down’s kid? Real nice. How would that have made anyone feel better about life in general or sports in specific?
Dude if he’s on the field hes fair game. If he wants to play a game shouldnt he experience the full game and not some condesending form of pitty. i think letting him score is a bigger insult to him and doing worse for him then making a tackle on him. he wants to be like everyone else, well everyone else gets tackled. letting him do that is just politically correct horse crap.
nemo you had me almost pissing myself from laughing so much. in my head i got a picture of this guy with brittle bones walking down the street and me just tackling him for no reason. lol. anyway to answer your question yes i would tackle them. come on he knows the risk. look im not this big prick who looks down on people with dissabilities. im the opposite. if the want to be treated the same then ill treat them the same. if they want to be treated special ill treat em special. when he laces up his boots and steps onto that pitch he wants to be treated the same. if i can catch him ill tackle him. if he runs into me ill dump tackle him. will i go any harder on him cos he has a dissability? no but i also wont go any lighter on him. and i do have experience with this.
when i wrestled back in the day, there was a guy who was paralyzed on his left side. he trained and trained and eventually he was able to hold his own in the ring. when he would wrestle with us most of the guys would go easy on him and hence would have a shit match. me and a few of the other guys would treat him the same, we would obviously work around his limitations but when it came to slamming damn it we would slammed him hard. and well our matches would be great and he always thanked us for it. that guy is one of my heros. his first day at the school he couldnt get into the ring with out help and by the time i finished up he gave one of the best german suplexes i have ever had the honour of taking. so yeah im not a bollox…… well i am but not about this
Awesome (I hate that I abbreviate to that): what if he does want to be treated special, but treated special on a football field? If he wants/needs some special treatment, is the trade off that it has to be on your terms?
Well i dont think its fair if he wants special treatmeant on a football team. if he wants that then play tag football or on a special team or something like that. like think of the kid who had to be cut for this guy to play. i know if i was cut because someone with special needs wanted my spot i would be supper pissed. well unless they were better then me
well shouldnt he experience the full game even if he looses. like there is no I in team. and when i played rugby i thought being tackled was half the fun like.
I would have to agree with you Nemo. It makes no difference if it’s real or not, in my opinion, he can only gain by this. We’re talking about a kid that participates in the “Non-contact” portions of practice.
Ziesel, just 5-3 and 105 pounds, participates in all non-contact drills in practice.
There has to be a reason for not allowing him to do full contact.
I have to ask, where does it harm anyone to let the kid do something he will probably never have the opportunity to do again. It’s something that he will be very happy over, and at 46-0 it has absolutely no impact on the game. I was really glad to see this. As a Down syndrome child, he probably didn’t even notice the opponents weren’t fully pursuing him. This was a good thing in my opinion.
And another thing, by letting him score, isnt that discriminating against every able bodied person who wants to score but isnt good enough? look if he wants to play let him play tag football or on a special team. the more i think about it the more im thinking if i was on the oposition team i wouldnt have just tackled the kid i would have tried to rip the ball or cause a fumble or something. exploiting a weakness. but then again i have a visious competative streak.
i think that letting him play in that game could do him more harm. what about in the next game when he doesnt get on because its close how will that make him feel? he scored in his first match, wouldnt that make him think that he should be on the team. what if he never gets another game because they are never in such a commanding lead. hes been told that he can do anything any other kid can do well any other kid who scores a touchdown would get a spot on the team the next week. so what is this kid suppose to think oh i scored a touchdown…. oh wait im on the bench again.
They let him feel like he’s scored when it doesn’t matter. It’s hardly the same, is it. You know full well that that ‘isn’t that discriminating’ crap is facetious.