The Play of The Year - The Jake Porter Story

Sports Illustrated Online ^ | Wednesday November 13, 2002 9:35 AM | Rick Reilly

[r9etb]

Whats your problem?

Ayn Rand.

[Bikers4Bush]

Make Brak sing the spud song.

[Taliesan]

Whats your problem?

Ayn Rand.

LOL.

[Xenalyte]

Sing along!

[Taliesan]

Altruism, corrupting America's youth.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Whats your problem?

Ayn Rand.

:^) smirk

I wouldn't go that far.

[Bikers4Bush]

LOL!!!! "Oh baby, pass the butter."

You just made my day.

[Egregious Philbin]

You just made my day.

Don't you mean Brak just made your day? Get it right, buddy!

[Bikers4Bush]

True but Xenalyte posted it so she gets the credit.

[MoralSense]

I was wrong, it wasn't the AP. Here's the first part of the story as posted, on 11/1. You can see how much Reilly lifted:

An Act of Kindness in the Heartland
The Herald-Dispatch ^ | October 24, 2002 | James Walker

Posted on 11/01/2002 11:37 AM PST by XJarhead

Act of kindness speaks volumes about football’s spirit

By JAMES WALKER - Thursday quarterback

In an age when arrogance and "Sharpie" pens steal the national spotlight, it is often the smallest, most unnoticed acts of kindness that remind us that football is merely a game.

The story, which is destined to become legendary in Southern Ohio circles, starts in Waverly.

Northwest football coach Dave Frantz and Tigers’ coach Derek DeWitt shared a conversation the week leading up to the game.

But the two coaches weren’t discussing strategy, instead they were talking about a mentally-handicapped Northwest player by the name of Jake Porter.

Porter, a senior, has a disorder called "Chromosomal Fragile-X," which is the most common cause of inherited mental retardation.

Porter still shows up on time for practice every day and dresses in full gear during games, but he has yet to take an official snap in a football game.

Frantz wanted that streak to end last Friday.

"I told them (Waverly) ahead of time that he can’t take a hit or anything," Frantz said. "If the game’s not at stake on the last play, I wanted him to come in and take a knee."

[Alberta's Child]

Thanks for the ping, Sam. Great story.

I can't understand why anyone would complain about letting the kid score a touchdown in a game that had already been decided. When I was in high school our basketball team used to get thrashed (along with every other team in our conference) by an all-black team that turned out NCAA Division I players on a regular basis. The coach of that team would always sit his starters when the score got out of hand, and he was even decent enough to offer little tips to some of our players during the post-game handshake.

Funny how nobody complained when that other high school coach benched 18 players who had been caught drinking at a party -- the team lost, 63-0, in a conference playoff game, and everyone agreed that the coach had set an exemplary standard.

[blackie]

It's a real jerker, Sam...Thanks !!!

[TomB]

Here is a link to the local newspapers special section on Jake, it has the video:

The Jake Porter Story

What's amazing is the way he's been treated at that school:

-As a freshman, the homecoming queen got to choose her escort to the big dance. She picked Jake.

-Two years ago as a sophomore, star running back Doug Montavon took Porter under his wing, and the two quickly became good friends.

Porter was mentored by Montavon, who during his senior year set the single season rushing record for the Mohawks, and he ended up helping teach Porter how to tie his shoes and write his name in the process.

This story is renewing my faith in the younger generation and schools.

[ewing]

Wow this sounds like a movie in the making..

[twyn1]

Thanks for the link -- tears & smiles together for me -- what a sweet story -- it does show that there is hope for the teen-agers today -- I wish we'd see more of these stories in the media !

BTW -- I work with a group of teens at our church -- they help me out in the 2 yr.-old nursery and they are all kind and compassionate kids -- even the guys will pick up a crying toddler and pat them on the back (a bit awkwardly but they're tryin') or sing the Veggie-Tales songs with the little ones -- it's so heart warming to work with these kids

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the link. It makes the story even better.

[TomB]

What is suprising is that, around here, most high school football coaches couldn't be bothered with a kid like that hanging around the team. It speaks volumes to the character of the coaches, and also the kids who could have made his life on the team hell, but didn't.

[twyn1]

What you say is very true -- shows the kind of influence a genuinely kind and caring adult can have upon a group of teen-agers -- the fact that even the "bully" kids were changed because of what happened speaks volumes -- somebody oughta give both these coaches a medal !

[Victoria Delsoul]

Yeah, Jake Porter thinks his 49-yard run made for a comeback victory. He thinks he was the hero. He thinks that's why there were so many grins and streaks down people's faces.

Smart kid.

Hehe, great story Sam. Thanks so much.

[SAMWolf]

Glad you enjoyed it.