By all indications it appeared to be a typical Friday night Texas high school football game. The crowd had gathered on the field forming a victory line for the home team, Lions. At the opposite end fans had formed a double line stretching from the end zone to the forty yard line in support of the visiting team, as they burst through the banner sporting the encouraging words, “Go Tornados” in huge colorful letters.
The Tornados at 0 and 8 were facing a strong opponent in the mighty Lions with a record of 7 and 2. The game was hard fought, with hundreds of fans on both sides cheering with enthusiasm for their team to fight, score and win. Both teams cheerleaders were yelling their hearts out encouraging the fans to “get up and holler” as the boys trudged up and down the field. As the final seconds ticked down and the buzzer sounded that the game was over, the Tornados gave their coach a Gatorade bath; probably the first one in history for a coach who had just lost his 9th game of the season, 33-14.
With the game over the fans, bands and cheerleaders from both sides gathered around now 8 and 2 hometown Grapevine Faith Lions to head for home. On the visitor’s side 12 uniformed officers, handcuffs in hand, rounded up the 14 Tornado players for the return trip to the Gainesville State School maximum security correctional facility. As each player headed toward the bus he was handed a sack with a burger, fries, soda, candy, Bible and a letter from a Faith player. When the bus began its journey home the boys all moved to one side of the bus, hands pressed against the windows, staring at these people they’d never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.
But now the rest of the story…
Grapevine’s coach knew that every game Gainesville played was an away game with few or no fans.
So, before the game Grapevine’s coach had the idea “what if half of our fans for one night cheered for the other team sending them the message ‘you are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth!’”
Some were naturally confused, but when questioned by one of his players Coach Kris Hogan said, “Imagine if you didn’t have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.”
That’s why 14 young men stared in amazement at people who did not look at them as criminals as other teams had, but were instead cheering for them, chanting de-fense, de-fense and calling them by name; people whose own kids were on the other sideline.
Before the Tornados loaded onto the bus the two teams met in the middle of the field to pray. That’s when the Tornado quarterback, Isaiah, to the surprise of everyone, asked to lead the prayer.
“Lord, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how to say thank You, but I never would’ve known there was so many people in the world that cared about us.”
Before he boarded the bus the Gainesville coach grabbed Coach Hogan firmly by the shoulders and said, “You’ll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You’ll never, ever know.”
A group of boys, many of whom had been disowned by their families took the field with 7 year old shoulder pads and outdated helmets.
They left the field with the three greatest gifts the fans of the Grapevine Lions had to offer.
A renewed faith in people.
Hope for what tomorrow had to bring.
And the greatest gift of all on this cold November night…Love.
Adapted from a story by Rick Reilly, ESPN Magazine
Thanks Danny!
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