My buddy Don Crowther made an awesome video, about something inspirational that took place on a college softball field in Portland, Oregon recently.
But I have a bone to pick with him about his moral punchline. Here’s the video (you might want to get your kids to watch it with you) and you might need a box of tissues (it’s very touching.)
So watch the video, then read my thoughts (which I’ll post below the video.) Then keep scrolling to vote in my poll, and post your own feedback.
So… obviously this is a powerful video, and Don did a tremendous job. But I think he missed the mark on his moral conclusion. I don’t think it is all about how you feel at the end of the day. I think that lots of people get tripped up by relying too much on “how they feel.” And that a lot of people do really bad things because “it makes them feel good.” Am I right here?
OTOH, I don’t think I’ve got a pithy replacement ending for Don. I was thinking of something like:
“Winning is much more than the final score. It’s all about leaving the world a better place at the end of the day.”
What do you think? Scroll down to vote in my poll. Am I full of it? Or is Don? Then please post a comment to explain your vote, or give us your own pithy moral conclusion.
I like your ending better Barbara, but I think you both missed the mark.
At the end of the day, It’s all about how you make OTHERS feel.
I like your ending better Barbara, but I think you both missed the mark.
At the end of the day, It’s all about how you make OTHERS feel.
who cares about the punchline… you are all taking away from the story. Ruining it! Let everyone take it the way they want, you take it the way you want. It is done. Not everyone can be satisfied. If he went back and changed it for the sake of satisfying everyone he will have taken away from the initial act itself. Conclude for yourself what the moral is and leave it alone. You are causing a great injustice, pulling the point of interest away from the girls and what they did and what they accomplished in the hearts of so many that have heard their story.
I tihnk there should have been the option to vote for both. I don’t think there is really a need to vote on this. It is what it is. I have to ask anyone, did you ever promise yourself you would accomplish something in your life time? Goals? Maybe Sarah promised herself to get a home run before she graduated, and this was it. Yeah, she may have lost her home run on a technicality, but she didn’t, because of kind people, who looked at “the bigger picture”.
Michaels on May 5th stated, ” There will always be challenges in life to keep you from your goal.” This maybe true, but to TRY everyday so you can look yourself in the mirror, to know that you have NO REGRETS, makes life complete. I don’t know that Sarah will EXAMINE her self and her inadequecies. It was an accident, that you can’t take back. And as far as her thinking someone will always be around to pick her up is off the mark. Mallory and friend carrying her taught her a life lesson, and she may, from this experience, repay the favor to someone else in need. And as far as stumbling and having people carry you, and expect someone to carry you all of the time is not always true either. Should’t we be thankful that somedays there are people like Mallory that will pick you up and help carry the load, the burden or the pain? We’re all in this world together. I teach my kids to be tough (they are in football) but always to give other people grace when the time is appropriate. Sports is competitive, and so is life, be we don’t have to be rude, ignorant, unfeeling people about it either. I teach them to get back up, and dust themselves off, and life isn’t always fair. There is a golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated.
another thing is, the evil people that do things for their own gain, I don’t think watched the video and had a warm fuzzy feeling about it, let alone vote about it.
Im not trying to preach, but I do remember somoeone a LONG time ago, carrying a cross on his back, and fell and stumbled, and someone helped him up and helped him carry the cross to his death. I think even Christ was greatful that someone helped him with his burden.
Kudos to Mallory who was unselfish and kind to let a girl reach her goal. I am proud of her!Isn’t it nice to have people like Mallory who do go the extra mile and think of others? Life would be awful lonely to go through it alone with no one to lean on, or carry you through rough times. Even on a baseball field you can show your grace and caring, AND SPORTSMANSHIP! And by the way……..no one asked or updated………Is Sarah OK? Is her injury ging to give her problems permanently or will she heal nicely?
Thanks for listening everyone
Katie from Iowa
First off thought video was great. Coach and team that tried to decide how to win jerks asking for deserved lawsuit, team that carried her around true winners.
Don may not have worded the punchline as explicitly as he could have to convey his idea. Ideally, we feel good when we have done good. People in our society who do evil things and feel good about it are not those who society recognizes as the “norm.” Despite the fact that Mallory’s team “lost” the game, Mallory and her teammates WERE winners, because, as the old adage goes, “It’s not whether you win or lose, but HOW you played the game.” Everyone on the field AND in the stands won that day because of Mallory’s thoughtfulness, graciousness, and certainty of who she is and what she’s about. No follower, this girl!
I believe that you are both right and I feel that you should have also made that and option. I believe that if you fell good at what you do in your day that you do leave the world in a better way. So it isn’t being self centered to feel good about doing something good to make yourself feel better while helping someone else. I always feel good after doing something for another person. What those girls did to help the other one feel great and get what she deserved whether they had to make a sacrifice or not was totally awesome!
I believe that you are both right and I feel that you should have also made that and option. I believe that if you fell good at what you do in your day that you do leave the world in a better way. So it isn’t being self centered to feel good about doing something good to make yourself feel better while helping someone else. I always feel good after doing something for another person. What those girls did to help the other one feel great and get what she deserved whether they had to make a sacrifice or not was totally awesome!
Come on people. Get real! While everyone is sitting around the campfire singing cume ba ya and talking about how wonderful humanity is, the people in the world who are out to win “everything”, including your freedoms, will leave you wanting for scraps. The world is a harsh place and no amount of wishing otherwise is going to change it. Be prepared or be taken over.
I think it was inspirational. Many times-athletes get hurt and you don’t know the extent of the injury for a short while. Waiting those moments to determine what SHE wanted to do seems appropriate to me. How is it that we can’t recognize these moments as JUST PLAIN GOOD and not analyze them!!
Hats off to all involved in this game. I wish I had been there too!!
Thanks for the great video!!
I disagree vehemently that students go to school in fear that they will be shot due to being taught they are special. It is quite the opposite! Children who are taught they are nothing and are denied love and basic caring are those who seek attention at any level – even the level of a gun barrel. Children who are selfish and uncaring are the ones who have been taught they are “special”. They are the ones expecting a trophy for showing up at a game and must win at all costs. (I won’t even get into those children who must achieve out of fear of the consequences of failing from their parents.)
Parents have forgotten to teach valuable life lessons to their children. One of those lessons is in certain circumstances caring for others more than for one’s own glory. Technicalities, winning, selfish adults – none of that seemed to matter to Mallory. It seems to me Mallory did pick herself up, dust herself off and help Sara. One day, perhaps Sara will do the same for someone else. This is called humanity and it transcends any game. It is life. Mallory is a wonderful young woman who has been taught to see humanity. Sara is the beneficiary of a kindness she will, hopefully, spend a lifetime giving back. Perhaps if more parents were like Mallory’s, there would be fewer guns to be fearful about.
Life lessons may be learned in many ways.
I did not prefer your end line as this was to ne more about feelings than about winning or making the world a better place. It was a beautiful piece on how your heart went out to the little Sarah and more because Catherine DID something about it. That she lost was not the point at all. How many of us are moved enough to get into action? often we let go of the most important things and somehow…its not only how you feel but what you did with that feeling to make a difference.
Just to reply to John. In Australia winning is not everything for professional athletes. A classic example is Alan Border, captain of the Australian cricket team, a position of honour here and fiercely competed for. In his last game ever having won for his team with a huge innings (personal score), he walked off the field rather than beat Bradman’s average for career scores. (Bradman is a cricketer in the 1930′s greatly respected here who played with far less effective equipment). IN addition, you see fiercely competitive rugby league and union players hitting up at each other ( that’s American football without the padding) pulling up occasionally to protect either a teammate or an opposition player from career threatening injury. Winning lasts one day; respect lasts a lifetime.
While it is encouraging to see that Mallory and the un-named team mate have their priorities in order (being willing to sacrifice losing the game so that her ‘home run would count’).
I’m personally appalled that the coach would have allowed Sarah to lay on the field agonizing in pain while she cooked up some way to ‘make it count’.
Sarah’s coaches & team mates need to ask themselves: At the end of the day did WE do what was right?
I think the choices were somewhat limited. I believe it may be somewhere in the middle. I applaud what they did. As others said, I think it shows a great deal of character and compassion. If the ball is hit out, then it is a homerun. The fact the she blew her knee and couldn’t run would have negated the runs on a technicality. As an athlete, I would want to actually earn the win, not get the victory on a technicality.