Take time to enjoy the beauty of sports

With volleyball and football playoff games dotting the schedules, and with every game now being "do or die," it becomes easy for fervent fans to get caught up in "we would have won if we did this" and "how come the coach didn't do this." You've voiced your support for your favorite team and athletes all season long, and you don't want it to end just yet. That's understandable.

If you're in a place where perhaps your favorite team did not get as far as you would have liked, or if you need to relax a bit before heading off to tonight's game, I found a couple videos I highly recommend if you want to enjoy the indescribable beauty of sports, and of the high schoolers who sometimes play them.

I watched these when trying to find examples for this column, and am not ashamed to admit I fought back tears while watching both. While there maybe "no crying in baseball," even the most hard-core sports enthusiast will find these uplifting.

Do an online search for "Jason McElwain autistic basketball player," and "Matt Ziesel's touchdown run." Oh yeah, make sure there are some Kleenex nearby. I'm not going to go into great detail about either one, because you really need to watch them and listen to them to gain a full appreciation. What happens in both videos captures the essence of good gamesmanship, and serves as a reminder that it isn't always about whether you win or lose, it's about getting the chance to play the game.

The nice thing about these videos and others out there like them, is that as the memory of these particular games and special athletes dims, new ones are added. New opportunities arise every season where special athletes, who given the competitive nature of sports would never have been in the spotlight, get the opportunity to bask in their warm glow.

There will always be sports, and sports will always have winners and losers, but with kids wanting to share the fun and excitement of their favorite sports, the "winners" will not always have to be defined as the team who comes out with the highest score.

Craig Purcell is sports editor of Tri-County Newspapers. Contact him at 824-1036 or sports@tcnpress.com.