Winners and Losers
Appeared in the October 9, 2009 edition of The Cabinet
It goes without saying that Americans have established a culture of winning. We pride ourselves on everything from winning the last two world wars to having one of the most stable economic models in the history of the world.
It’s really not hard to see how we got to this point. The Roman gladiatorial games elevated winning and losing to the difference between life and death. Herbert Spencer argued that the strong (winners) live on in a world governed by survival of the fittest. The very fundamentals of capitalism propel winners to the highest ranks of society.
Naturally, this flows right into sports. Have you seen Friday Night Lights? Football coaches in the two largest class divisions in Texas make an average of $30,000 more than teachers. In the same vein, it doesn’t seem that Penn State is paying Joe Paterno an obscene salary to help his players find themselves or aid them with their math homework. There’s no question about it, from fantasy leagues to office Olympics, from high schools to the very pinnacle of professional sports, winning is king.
Somewhere near St. Joseph, Mo, Benton High School freshmen football coach Scott McCamy didn’t get the memo. Trailing late in a game against Maryville High School 46-0, long after most coaches would have tucked their tails between their legs and starting packing up the bus, Coach McCamy had something else in mind that would teach us all a lesson about values that we too very often ignore.
McCamy called a time-out, walked over to the Maryville coaches, and proposed an idea that would allow his team to score a touchdown while the Maryville defense essentially stood and watched. Without missing a beat, the Maryville coaches agreed. On the next snap, the Benton quarterback handed the ball off to running back Matt Ziesel, who sprinted 65 yards for an untouched score.
Confused yet? I was before I learned that Ziesel has Down Syndrome and was making his first appearance in a game this season. The YouTube video, originally posted so that Matt’s mother, not in attendance, could see the game, instantly went viral. Watching the video gives off a deep sense of satisfaction in realizing that that Matt's jubilant skip across the goal line was worth more than a shutout, the game itself, or “the integrity of the game of football”, as argued by some naysayers.
Obviously, the Maryville coaches saw something about this situation that justified violating football law that exalts a shutout to the pinnacle of defensive achievement. By letting Matt score, they achieved something greater.
Allowing the touchdown to happen was about more than just giving a handicapped student an opportunity to play. It’s about realizing that at the end of the day, there is far more to the game than what shows up on the scoreboard or box score. Without watching the last play, the Benton High School freshman team got trounced 46-6. Considering that one play, it may be the game of a lifetime for Coach McCamy, Matt, his teammates, and the Maryville players and coaches.
It is moments like this that convict me about my attitude toward winning. Excellence in sport is to be strived for, but selfless acts of sportsmanship such as this remind us that there must be something deeper and more transcendent than winning.
In a gracious interview by email, Coach McCamy writes, “You want to be competitive and you want to win. However, […] effort, sportsmanship, and commitment [are] more important [than] winning to me. Matt just wants to be part of the team. His commitment is there, his sportsmanship is there, his effort is there. His athletic ability, however, is limited and I don't want […] to risk injury, but he DESERVES to have a chance to play a sport that he loves. He contributes and gives so much to the team, the least we can do as a coaching staff is give him a little back.”
In Matt’s last game, it was arranged for him to make a tackle, giving him one tackle and one touchdown for the season. When score is merely a reflection of the game’s story, then in essence, athletes and coaches are the storytellers. With people like Coach McCamy and Matt Ziesel around, write on, guys, write on.
