Top RB stops 1 yard short of end zone to set up touching TD tribute for grieving teammate

Yahoo sports ^ | 10/16/12 | Cameron Smith

[WVKayaker]

When Michael Ferns was racing toward the end zone, the Clairsville (Ohio) St. Clairsville High star had nothing in front of him but green grass and glory. He was seemingly seconds away from scoring his 12th touchdown of the season and wrapping up a victory for St. Clairsville against area rival Richmond (Ohio) Edison High. ...

[CaptainMorgantown]

Fair enough, but please read the USAToday article that is linked from the yahoo article. It’s clear from the article that:
* It was a stunt planned by the St. Clairsville coach, not a spontaneous act by the senior player.
* It wasn’t the heroic winning touchdown. It was piling on a weaker opponent near the end of a 56-27 rout by St. Clairsville

There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. By all means, give the younger player a shot to play late in the game, and maybe score a touchdown. Football teams do that every day on every level and many wonderful memories are made that way. But simply giving the young player a fair shot would have made it about the young man. The goal of the stunt of stepping out of bounds was to draw attention to the coach and the school, at the expense of humiliating an opponent and devaluing the young man’s accomplishment. Because we are taking about a high school football game in Ohio on this thread, it is clear that the coach’s stunt was a success.

[fr_freak]

I’m going to be in the minority on this thread, but it seems to me that this was more a selfish act of poor sportsmanship by the coach of St. Clairsville to draw attention to himself against an overmatched opponent, than a spontaneous act of kindness.

I see what you're saying, and there is a lot of truth to that, but the opposing team is certainly aware by now, even if they weren't at the time, of why this team did what they did. I could see them being offended at first, but understanding it later. And, in a blowout game, stuff like this goes on. I remember playing high school basketball, and when we were far enough ahead, second and third stringers would come in, even some of the bumblers would get playing time. Would the opposing team be offended by that? No, because they knew they had lost already.

[bigdaddy45]

I kept looking at this thread to see when the Debbie downer would show up. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Geez, lighten up. They made the freshman run it in. No one gave him anything. They did a nice thing to help a kid, and the opposing team wasn’t impacted in any way. There’s no hot-dogging. Just a selfless act.

If you were in the stands, what would you have done? Booed?

[VMI70]

Bump

[null and void]

You don’t argue the fact of him being honored, only the way it was done.

Such things are always a judgment call. Perhaps the coach and player were clumsy or heavy handed in how they chose to do it, but I believe their hearts were in the right place.

[Strategerist]

I’m going to be unpopular on this thread.

Eh, I'm pretty used to that, so I'll join you. I think it's pretty terrible, meaningless, and exploitative.

I'll predict that this sort of gimmicky tribute stuff will soon get completely out of hand in high school sports, much like those odious roadside memorials to car crash victims have on our highways.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I’m with you. The whole affair is kind of syrupy and mawkish; the kind of thing you’d expect from a thoroughly emasculated society. They ought to have let him in on a couple of plays in a more-or-less meaningful situation; that would have given him (and maybe Dad looking down from Heaven) a better feeling than all the made-up opportunity in the world.

[butterdezillion]

If the issue was just football, then I might agree. And if it was just “about the young man”, I might agree. But this was about something bigger than either of those things. This was Sam carrying Frodo, when there was nothing else he could do to show his love. It doesn’t make it less of a thing because it was the coach’s idea. It doesn’t make it less because the touchdown wasn’t critical to the game’s outcome. The point was that the team wanted to show tenderness to this grieving young man, to show they were really with him. That’s bigger than the game, or than self-accomplishment. There’s nothing in the world bigger than love.

[FreedomNotSafety]

Does anyone think that if they were down by 6 points they would have pulled up short? Your answer will tell you all you need to know about this contrivance. Its up there with the “participation trophy”. I feel for the kid but this was not a “win one for the Gipper moment.

[P-Marlowe]

I’m going to be unpopular on this thread.

Boy did you ever drop a turd in the punchbowl.

[hoosierham]

I agree.

A meaningless “accomplishment”.

If the freshman had been given the ball in a regular play,great.If the first ball carrier had been tackled or forced out of bounds by the defending team ,and the freshman brought in then,still great. But the fact the first carrier COULD choose and DID choose to stop made the play a gimme.

Personally I once had someone “help”,unasked I might add, my achieving a Scout merit badge as a young teen. In doing that,they ROBBED me of the chance to accomplish it on my own merit and made THAT badge worthless to me. But everybody got to “wrap it up” quickly and go on to the next activity.

I believe such “help” is more about the helper than the recipient of the “help”.Like parents doing their children’s homework the child learns nothing of value.

[Pining_4_TX]

I agree with you. How did the other team feel being used as a prop in a show of sentiment? The coach and team could have showed support for their teammate in other ways. I think this showed disrespect for the opposing team and for the game.

[DoughtyOne]

You’re making a reference there, and for some reason I’m not picking up on it. Heeeellp. LOL

I agree that America is loaded with these types.

My wife was a volunteer director for a large medical center. She had hundreds of volunteers and a lot of high school students. She had some of the best kids. There were some flakes here and there, but for the most party these kids were awesome.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks MestaMachine. I agree. G-d blesses America, when Americans honor Him.

[DoughtyOne]

It may just be your 2c worth, but I think it’s worth at lest 5c.

I agree with your take on things.

[WVKayaker]

... and for some reason I’m not picking up on it. Heeeellp. LOL

We occupy America. We are the 99. Those idiot protesters are less than .00001%...

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you. We’re the 99%. Make sense. I knew it was probably simple, but it wasn’t registering.

[Delhi Rebels]

Another Ohio high school star heading north of the border to play for the good guys. Go Blue.

And go St. Clairsville High! Class act all around.

[WVKayaker]

I’m going to be unpopular on this thread. ...It was piling on a weaker opponent ... ...CMT

see what you're saying, and there is a lot of truth to that, but...- fr_freak

I'll add to the "but".

I see sports differently, I guess. Winning and losing are part of life, but life is more than football. I see this like the Marines who dictate "leave nobody behind". It is more about team building.

I see the inclusion of this incident in a different light, I guess. I doubt anybody on the other side said anything negative.

Our problems in this world come too much from selfishness. Me, me, me, ad infinitum! Many of the problems within our AMERICAN society are related to that fact.

BUT, if I wanted to employ somebody, I would prefer he worked with the team, and not just for himself.

High school football is for team building. That they play a game with winners and losers just shows the realities of life. Today's society stresses the team concept too far, though. A Fanatic is a guy wearing a cheesehead that can't talk about much else. It reveals much about them. It shows that they are trying to fill a void vicariously.

I don't get excited about pro sports. I just watch for entertainment and choose a side for fun. I watched the Broncos storm past the Chargers the other night, when they were so far behind that I went to bed and left the DVR running. I ended up watching the recording the next morn and was quite surprised that they pulled off the comeback...

While I can see your point, I'd rather let the youngster cross the goal line and feel good when his Pop just left this world. The runner who stopped may have been 'coached' but it was still an act of kindness to a hurting soul! Nobody lost anything since the game was already decided, but IMHO, most that were there gained a lot!

BUT, if you only want to think of yourself, you better be self-employed! Life is better when folk are working together...

[Shimmer1]

I acknowledge your minority points Captain, but I also see that mercy ruled here. I am glad he did it.