Playing with Fire Podcast

Underdog Wins Game and Hearts

“The 17-year-old senior, who is autistic and usually sits on the bench in a white shirt and black tie, proceeded to hit six 3-point shots, finished with 20 points and was carried off the court on his teammates’ shoulders.”

A recent story from The Associated Press related how “Jason McElwain had done everything he was asked to do for the Greece Athena High School basketball team — keep the stats, run the clock, hand out water bottles.

McElwain, 5-foot-6, was considered too small to make the junior varsity, so he signed on as team manager. He took up the same role with the varsity, doing anything to stay near the sport he loves. Coach Jim Johnson was impressed with his dedication, and thought about suiting up McElwain for the home finale.

His performance was jaw-dropping: 20 points in four minutes, making 6-of-10 3-point shots. The crowd went wild. ‘It was as touching as any moment I have ever had in sports,’ Johnson told the Daily Messenger of Canandaigua.

McElwain didn’t begin speaking until he was 5. He lacked social skills but things got easier as he got older. He found many friends and made his way through school in this Rochester suburb, although many of his classes were limited to a half-dozen students. And he found basketball.

Even though McElwain was in uniform for the Feb. 15 game, there was no guarantee he would play — Athena was battling for a division title. The fans, however, came prepared. One section of students held up signs bearing his nickname “J-MAC” and cutouts of his face placed on Popsicle sticks. The Trojans opened a large lead against the team from the nearby Spencerport. With four minutes left, McElwain took the court to deafening cheers.

The ball came to him almost right away. His 3-point shot sailed completely off course, and the coach wondered if he made the wrong move. McElwain then missed a lay-up. On the next trip down the floor, McElwain got the ball again. This time he stroked a 3, all net. He was just warming up. On the next attempt, he got another 3-pointer. Then another, and another. In fact, he would have made one more 3, but his foot was on the line, so he had to settle for 2 points. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press).”

Seeing Jason, hearing his story, makes us acutely aware of the infinite blessings in our own lives and compels us to want to share what we have with him and others. We want to see the underdog win because we quickly come to care about, maybe actually love, him. We hope he can find the way to overcome what appear to be insurmountable obstacles. Jason’s triumph brings us great joy, a glimpse of the Divine, and inspires us to face whatever may come our way with perseverance, fortitude, patience and all the other virtues we are called to perfect in our daily lives. His performance is so dramatic that it shocks us into awareness and gives emphasis to what sport was intended to be, a means for developing virtue. Let’s hope the underdogs inherit the earth…and sport.