EVERYBODY DESERVES A MOMENT LIKE THIS

Today at Blake's regional wrestling meet I watched the sweetest victory I think I'll ever have opportunity to witness.

And it had nothing to do with my son.

The interesting thing is that the boy who achieved this victory was going to be a subject of my post tonight anyway. But not because he had actually won a match.

Because he hadn't.

The only wins to his name until today had been wins due to forfeit.

Because this boy, Brandon, is our 103 guy. Except he isn't...103 pounds that is.

He weighs 85 pounds.

He is living with a liver disease and he is quite small. He looks frail and tired. His skin and eyes are yellow.

This is Brandon - the one with his back to the camera.
We have never seen Brandon run from a fight, even though he knows he's going to get on the mats and face an opponent who is nearly twenty pounds larger than he. He runs out at the beginning of each match like he knows he's going to set the world on fire with his strength.

And when he is pinned in 20, 30, 40 seconds - after giving it his all...well, he shakes his opponent's hand and gladly shakes the hands of the coaches before he jogs off the mats again.

I've never seen his parents at a meet. I have seen him at the concession stand without enough money to pay for his snacks. But always there is somebody from the team digging into their pockets saying "I'll get Brandon's." The team takes care of him.

Brandon fills my heart. He's a fighter. He's a little guy with a big desire to simply go out and do his best.

Today was a big meet. Only those wrestlers who placed third or above would advance. For the rest, it would be their last meet of the season. I suppose, like in all the other meets, the coaches and team sent Brandon out to the mat expecting another loss out of him. Not that he doesn't fight like mad to win, but he just isn't strong enough to conquer his opponents. He is, after all, an 85 pounder in a 103 world.

But today was different.

Today Brandon came up against an opponent his size.

And Brandon made it through the first period.

And when that buzzer sounded at the end of the first period, his team mates were on their feet. The state ranked wrestlers, the tattoo covered 189 guy, the guys who could carry Brandon with one arm...they were on their feet punching the air with their fists. They were yelling 'til they were hoarse, they were coaching him from the sidelines - 15 pumped up, testosterone filled voices encouraging him, telling him HE WAS GOING TO DO IT.

I doubt the actual coaches' voices could be heard, so loud were the fans and the team.

This wrestler had never made it past the first period.

This wrestler had turned it into a match.

The second period came and went. His opponent started yelling - grunting - so furiously was Brandon working him over.

The wrestling team could not be contained. Their little guy who took this weight class because "they had nobody else," was setting the stage for this phase of their meet. Even if he did not win, he had made it further than he ever had this season.

Our little 85 pounder had become a giant.

The buzzer rang a second time and Brandon was going to make it to the third period.

More fist pumping from his team mates. More yelling from nearly hoarse, sweaty, bulging muscled young men who cannot believe what this little guy is doing for their team.

More calm forward leaning posturing from the coaches who had never been in the position to direct Brandon through 3 periods before.

Our crowd is on their feet.

BRANDON!! BRANDON!! BRANDON!! YOU CAN DO THIS BRANDON!! YOU CAN HOLD ON!!

I can only imagine how long those last 2 minutes were for him. He knew victory was near, but so unaccustomed was he to it he was confused. He did not know what move to make next to pin his opponent.

S0 he just held him. And held him and held him. With every bit of strength his tired little body had left, he held him. For nearly twenty five seconds, until the final buzzer, he held him.

What an incredibly long 25 seconds.

BRANDON!! BRANDON!! HOLD HIM!! YOU'VE GOT HIM!! HOLD ON!!

And then the final buzzer sounded and our small crowd erupted. Our wrestlers did more jumping and fist pumping.

With a final score of five to four, Brandon had won.

He gets a win to his name now. This box score is not going to say 'win by forfeit.' It will say 'win by decision:5-4.'

He got to raise his hand in victory today - a victory he fought for, not a victory brought on by lack of an opponent.

He gets to advance to sectionals next week because he won third place in his bracket. He stood on the podium and received his medal.

And he got more high fives and hugs than any wrestler at the meet today.

And because his mother wasn't there, I felt it was my duty to let happy tears go ahead and run down my cheeks - just for a moment.

Everybody deserves a moment like this. A moment that will keep them awake at night, so excited are they every time they remember it.

"Remember the time I won that match....my first win? When nobody thought I could do it? When I thought I couldn't do it?"

Who knows what this moment will inspire Brandon to try next?


Today is my birthday. I spent it sitting on the bleachers watching a very long wrestling meet.
And I got to watch a sweet young boy inspire a gym full of wrestlers and their parents with a victory none of us imagined when we awoke this morning.

Happy Birthday to me. What a sweet sweet day.