Every once in a while a story comes along that restores my faith in mankind.
One such story occured recently in of all places, a college golf tournament.
Two young men from opposing schools were tied at the end of the final round and faced a playoff. The two collegiate golfers were vying for a spot in the NAIA National Championship.
The way in which this came about was that the winning team and the individual winner would be invited to compete in the nationals.
A young man by the name of Grant Whybark was a member of the winning team, so his spot in the nationals was secured. The other player was Seth Dorn, a senior from the opposing school, possibly playing in his last collegiate tournament.
What happened next was so unique in the world of sports that I felt compelled to pass this story along to my fellow sports fans.
As Grant stood over the tee of the first playoff hole, he glanced down the fairway and the proceeded to purposely drive the ball far off to the right and way out of bounds.
When he was asked why he did this he replied "We all know Seth and he's not only is a very good player, but a great person as well. He’s a senior and had never been to nationals. Somehow, it just wasn’t in my heart to try to knock him out. "It was one of those things where I couldn’t feel good taking something from him like this. My goal from the start was to get (to nationals) with my team. I had already done that."
In these days of the win at all cost attitude, it is very impressive to me to hear of a young guy that sacrificed personal glory to do something just because he felt it was the right thing to do.
Ya know what's funny, Aer.
ReplyDeleteWhen this story first came out, half the sports media was blasting him.
Guess we've lost our priorities, huh?
Reminds me of the tennis player who hit his serve into the stands after the linesman screwed his opponent.
ReplyDeleteToo bad these feel good stories only come along every year or so. Seems like most involve golfers.
Thank god there is still sportsmanship in sports sometimes. Good to see ya posting Aero!
ReplyDeleteI heard that too Rev. All I could do is shake my head and turn the channel.
ReplyDeleteHey Gene, I think a show of sportsmanship such as this is pretty special and I feel like it should't be as rare as it has been.
Hi K, I just couldn't let this go by without calling attention to such a jesture, even if it was scoffed at by some very jaded commentators.
Thanks guys!