Although They Say There’s No Crying in Baseball…
There definitely are stories that will choke you up. ESPN E:60 often tells stories of overcoming great adversary that are truly touching. Tonight’s story is the most inspiring and moving that I have ever seen.
This evening E:60 followed the story of Pat Chawki, a member of the championship Grant High School Baseball team. Chawki suffers from Locked-In Syndrome. This terrifying and debilitating condition has left him severely disabled, but perfectly cognitive. The segment chronicled his struggle. Many of his former high school friends and baseball teammates had no idea that he was still alive, much less battling this terrible condition, until a fellow Grant High Schooler, Laurie Green, stepped it in and made it her mission to help him out.
It is just incredible how his teammates and friends have rallied around him. There is no way I can do justice to this story, it is just too powerful for me to describe in my own words. Please watch and hopefully you too will be in awe of this incredibly strong and brave man and his terrific friends and family. Pat is already making incredible strides surrounded by the love and support of loved ones. Watch the video above and visit the facebook page dedicated to him to find out how you can help and show your support.
A Time Before ESPN (say it isn’t so)
Due to an unfortunate oversight by my “friends” at TimeWarner, I was left last evening without cable or internet access. Now how is a girl supposed to watch the Yankees game? (Props to them for having a near flawless run since the All-Star break, 11-1 last night against the Mariners last night in case you too missed it. The picture above is a relic of the Yanks of old)
Lacking any form connection to my preferred method of tracking sports I got to thinking about life before ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, YES, SNY and even broadcast sports coverage. Obviously there were other outlets from which people could follow their favorite teams, but unless physically present I can only assume that sports during the early 20th century lacked the interactivity that we take for granted today. How could one possibly fully enjoy the thrill of a 11th inning walk-off or the devastation of a 4th inning slaughter without streaming coverage and highlights?
Perhaps the during these simpler times we had a bit more imagination, however I still can’t seem to wrap my head around this one. It clearly speaks to the passion and pleasure that sports derive even if one is only able to follow through newspaper and WOM (word-of-mouth for those not in a marketing field) that sports have survived and flourished throughout history. That energy has carried various sporting activities to the 21st century and beyond, but boy am I glad that I grew up in the cable era!
Update: Cable turned back on today. First order of business; SportsCenter.
