As part of our continuing series "On the Road," Steve Hartman meets the Olivet Eagles, a middle school football team who took a fledgling player under their wing and executed what may be the most successful play of all time.
I really appreciated how the wide receiver was crying while discussing how something like that affected him. We used to be told to not cry and man up as kids; so, it's really refreshing and promising to have young minds like his be open with their feelings. It's very healthy and that type of positive behavior spreads.
Almost every football player I've encountered has a nice cry when they lose their last game. My senior year, the opposing team drove the length of the field and scored with :00 seconds on the clock to pull within one. They went for two and won the game. We all cried. Our coaches cried. I lost my last baseball game in the 12th inning, giving up the winning run after pitching 6 scoreless inning and going 4 for 5. I had a nice cry after that one. But hey, that's just my experience.
Dave bulik jr Agreed! I bet that boy is a fine young man now, and will continue to be an outstanding friend, son, father, coworker, etc, because of the empathy that he so obviously expressed with those tears. He seems to have undergone a bit of a transformation, and I believe that those finer instincts that have awakened in him will guide him to a decent, human, moral path in life.
***** Internet my friend... Internet is sharing so much important information to all of us, no matter age, sexuality or race. We see the result of well used information, an spontaneous awareness to what REALLY REALLY matters in life. To be happy... And by loving and by receiving love we reach it faster and easier. Sounds hippie and cheesy but it matches harmoniously with the structure of our mind.
Allowing a student with special needs to be a big part of a football game is priceless!! Those players really demonstrated what it means to be true men! Justice Miller really spoke well, no matter how hard it was for him to tell the story. Within these players, they learned to value and love one another and mature greatly!! Great gentlemen!! Well done!!
I am a father and a middle school classroom teacher, and this is amazing to me! Justice and Keith and all the boys learned a lot, so much more than anything I can 'teach' or facilitate as a teacher using traditional curricular material. Thank you for enriching so many people, guys!
We don't come across such amazing displays of teamwork, compassion and selflessness every day. Thanks for setting such a great example and you've got our vote as the football Play of the Year! We're excited to have the entire team at a game this year!
Those are the men this sick world needs.Thank you guys for sweeten my old and sour heart.I wish you all the best in your life's. I wish all good people in this world are okay (unfortunately,the virus isn't selective),greetings from Portugal,Carpe Diem.
@@jojotoosmooth8913 you cant teach em or else they will get mad and call you a rapist until your entire life is ruined and you have to register as a sex offender. Then you live out your days on the street with no home and no job.
Allowing a student with special needs to be a big part of a football game is priceless!! Those players really demonstrated what it means to be true men! Justice Miller really spoke well, no matter how hard it was for him to tell the story. Within these players, they learned to value and love one another and mature greatly!! Great gentlemen!! Well done!!
What makes this piece so good is not just the fact that Keith got his touchdown, but rather the effect that it had on all the other guys. Justice being profiled at the end was so sweet and sincere.
I had to watch this twice. It was so precious, and the boy's tear streaming down his sweet face,at the end of the video, showed he learned an invaluable lesson.
It would be nice to see the Good being a bit more evident than the Bad though. I understand that to have Positive there has to be Negative or Light & Dark. The Planet really needs mankind to show it's good side to promote healing.There are far too many instances of Mankind showing it's Bad side at the moment.
God Bless those boys. This really touched my heart. I have a special needs son and so many do not realize the blessing they are in our lives. How they remind us to be kind and thoughtful of others.
When I was a student, my high school did something similar for a couple of special ed boys on the football team. We even had a special needs girl get elected for Homecoming Princess one year, too! I was always so proud of my high school and the student body for their inclusion of those kids. I've worked with special ed students for over the past decade now and seeing stories like this just warm my heart and bring joyful tears to my eyes 💜💜
It's not just the nice thing they did that makes this special, it's the reaction of the player at the very end of the clip. Go ahead. I dare you not to cry.
I live just a few miles from this little town, and this is amazing. Say what you will about small towns, but that whole town has this young man's back.
So nice to see a story like this. So often, you would see a child like this end up as a victim of bullying. Nice to see these young people do such a mature and kind thing.
omg even the reporter is cracking up.... I mean... Damn.... now I need a hug, that was... that was awesome... like the best play I have ever seen... and they did this in secret... "wow" is really the only word for it.
Brought me to tears this is absolutely beautiful we see all these horrible stories kids being bullied that they take their own life and it's so sad so this is beautiful and humanity is restored
This is awesome. Some of us just need to give back and not think everything is about themselves and their friends only. Their are other kids in this world that don't have friends because of the way they act or because of the way they look. This is so inspirational. Even though their are only about 60 middle school in my school we still have bullying. Let's try to be nicer, sit next to someone who doesn't have friends and become friends with them. Be Kind!
How very moving to see a story like this. Once upon a time, I too was disabled and socially inept... until I met the classmates that made me into a better person. I find this story very inspiring and heartfelt.
I think that's my favorite part, too, Stephen: this is a group of 13-14 year old boys. That age group doesn't necessarily have a reputation for being the most compassionate or selfless members of society. And they're football players, too! Yet, they were able to look at their situation, come together as a group and decide that they wanted to help their teammate, and they did it. Just awesome. :)
Wow. This is just so amazing, especially in the world that we live in today with all the bullying issues. I'm crying tears of joy, this video and these kids just made my heart so happy.
This video is amazing and what they all did is what truely demonstrates being human. But what I don't get is why people would dislike this video it is amazing and brilliant and definitely human.
that was the first thing i checked on to when i went from the site where i found it to the original youtube page to favorite it, to see if it could possibly be at 0 of course not, people just do that to blemish the 0-potential, no way to account for it, couldn't possibly matter any less though, eh?
i was saying people mark minus when they shouldn't because they shouldn't, it's like hardwired rebellion but there's no way to countermand the presence of inherently contrary compulsion, i was only saying it to let you know i noticed the thumbs down too, just to be on the same side, solidarity of mutually rolling our eyes at the pettiness of some people dom panic was saying dignity should be the rule not the exception, by making it seem superhuman you justify people who act like we shouldn't expect that from people on a regular basis because it takes 'special people' to offer those great examples but it's a youtube forum so it might have come off a little condescending, but it's an easy topic to become discouraged about but, gotta keep in mind that heart is the root word of dis-/en-courage-ment good day
Bryan McCormick Geez Bryan, you remind me a lot of my friend Chris. Great comment here explaining the whole thing, and solid insights too. Added you to my G+ circles under my RU-vid account.
Dom Panic There's a difference between treating someone well and going out of your way to do something nice for them, and for that, they deserve some recognition.
You always remember what you did, the rest of your life, and you'll be happy and remember the good persons that you are when you remember this act. My respect for all of you. (Sorry for my english, only expects that you can read my feellings with this words) . And thanks for the lesson of humanity.
I am a teacher of students with special needs and this story just MADE MY DAY! It was shared by our superintendent! I will definitely be passing this video on to others. There are good people out there. Find the positive today! There's a lot of good all around us!!
That boy- Justis (I am probobly spelling it wrong) Miller, who cries, wow- he seems like a wonderful kid! All of them, of course. But he's the one that made me cry. ^^, I am so happy to see people with 'power' using it for good! Go team:)
feel so special that my mother's hometown made national news in a good and impacting way. My mother grew up in the Olivet county, and my grandmother worked as a office secretary in that exact middle school for many years.
These kids are amazing young men! What they did will affect them all for life. I would love to see a follow piece in 15-20 years to see what happened to them ALL. I suspect many leaders will evolve and have a profound effect! PS Yeah, I know, Never could get 'effect' and 'affect' sorted out!
These boys are being raised by parents who have made a conscious decision to, both, instruct and demonstrate human kindness and compassion. That they have embraced such an act as this is proof positive that decency and humanity will continue. Tears often result when someone realizes they have taken a step up in emotional growth and intellectual maturity. Well done on the part of everyone!!
Those parents did good in teaching their kids how to care about others... How beautiful to see this video!! Thanks for making me feel happy with tears!
My faith in their generation has been restored. If only the guys in my high school or just anyone around here could have the courage to do something like that then i'd change my opinion on them.
In a world in which we are bombarded with horrible news on a daily basis, this act of kindness restores my faith in people. What a wonderful lesson you have given us. Thank you, each and every one of you.
Wow.... no surprise, but were I narrating this, my voice would be breaking up at the end as well. Touching as hell, especially for a father of a kid who is very much the same in many ways.
Those young men learned such a valuable lesson that day. In a time when most of the news seems to be about bullying, this act of kindness was indeed refreshing. Kudos to the Olivet Eagles!!! Champions in the best way possible.
teenagers get such a bad rep and then you see something like this and it makes me glad that i am part of a generation that is accepting and try;s to look after each other
IV watched so many videos of kids n sports and what they have done for another student or students or other teams and I cry with happiness cuz it's always good beautiful things they've done and to know that adults should learn from THESE kids, what we all should already know and do but yet we don't. Bless these kids and bless those that have shown the kindness we adults don't show. We as adults should relearn the kindness n love these kids have shown ❤️😭🤗
The tears are rolling down my cheeks. What wonderful young men that they would do this for that special youngster. If these students are the future of America then we are leaving this country in good hands.
Compassion. Its what separates people of character from those less developed. I pray we see more demonstrations of compassion in everyday life. Looking past the stigmas, the labels, the prejudicial biases - let us all treat others as we would like to be treated.
