I've seen a lot of inspiring sporting events over the years.
As a kid, I remember watching Walter Payton break Jim Brown's rushing yards record on an overcast October afternoon in Chicago in 1984.
A year later, I cheered on Payton and the '85 Bears in one of the most historic seasons recorded by any team in any sport at any time. As a teenager, it was Michael Jordan and his plethora of game-winning shots that inspired me and the Chicago Bulls' six championships.
I also had some "inspiring moments" of my own.
As a cross country runner in high school, I took second place in the entire city of Chicago in my senior year as our team won a conference title and finished the year ranked seventh in the state of Illinois.
Most recently, as a semi-mature adult, I sat teary-eyed in my living room thinking of my grandfather as the Chicago White Sox won a world series title in 2005.
None of those moments compare to what I saw a handful of 10-year-olds do last Saturday evening at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex.
Moments after hearing that their head coach, Bryan Davis, had passed away, the coaches and players of the Blytheville 10-year-old all-star team were faced with the decision to play or not to play their 6 p.m. game against the NEA Venom all-stars.
It seemed pretty obvious. Without their head coach and two players, why play the game? No one would have blamed them for not playing. No one would have been upset. Everyone would understand.
The coaches and players decided to play. They took to the field in honor of their coach. They took to the field to help lift the burden of their two teammates suffering the loss of a father. They took to the field in only a way that young kids could do it.
They were too young to realize the amount of courage it took to do what they did. If they were older, they probably would have thought about it too much and decided not to play. There's a line in the classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." It goes, "Youth is wasted on the wrong people."
Not on Saturday, it wasn't. An innocent and youthful perspective is just what was needed in moment full of adult problems. Those kids went out and did what they knew how to do: play a game.
Much praise should be given to Blytheville's opponent as well. The Venom all-stars helped make the moment even more memorable with their sportsmanship and class. After Blytheville's 7-4 win, both teams met at the pitcher's mound for a moment of prayer.
Once again, kids reminded us adults that there is so much more to these games than winning and losing. So many more lessons are learned on the playing field than just hitting the cutoff man and staying down on a ground ball.
Young Tanner and C.J., who were understandably absent from Saturday's game, will have a wonderful lasting memory of what it truly means to be a teammate and what it means to be there for a friend when they really need it.
The courage of their teammates probably gave Tanner and C.J. the courage to come out with their family and friends and play admirably in Sunday's game.
So to the Blytheville 10-year-old all-stars -- J.C. Stark, Vancell Lucas, Landon Potter, Cade Carter, Jydarian Young, Jordan Lewis, Jacob Pruett, Spencer Handley, Waylon Kuykendall, Darion Bester, Tanner Davis, C.J. Simmons and coaches Joe Stark and Paul Handley -- you did so much more than just win a game on Saturday.
You gave us all a lesson in courage. You made more than just Blytheville proud. You made your coach proud and helped strengthen one another. There were no medals passed out after the game.
Nobody took home a trophy. But the lessons you taught and the memories you created are more than worth their weight in gold.
afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com