Sports have always been a big part of my life, but I got all the way caught up around 4th grade, when I fell head over heels for basketball. I played it at every opportunity and watched every game I had access to. I bought used copies of old basketball-themed VHS tapes from the local rental shop and watched retrospectives on teams and players I loved. I had one that recounted the story of the Lakers in the 80s called “The Drive For Five” about their incredible run of championships during that decade. I had another one called “Michael Jordan’s Playground,” a movie which was essentially an MJ highlight reel book-ended by a cheesy story of a boy being cut from his high school basketball team. I remember watching this one with my sister while eating elbow noodles with parmesan cheese. When she got mad at me for brushing my crumbs onto her lap, she yelled, “You’re getting that on my nerves!” Dork.
I know sports have often been an excuse for bad behavior, both from those involved and from those watching them, but they have also much more frequently been the vehicle for uplifting stories with the ability to brighten your day. And I don’t just mean the standard tale in which an underdog defeats a Goliath against all odds. Easily my favorite example of such a story involves Maurice Cheeks, who at the time of this tale was the coach of the Portland Trailblazers. This was a team with a talented group of players who also happened to be knuckleheads. Multiple members of this team were cited for marijuana possession no less than four times within about a year, including one infamous night on the way home from a game when the two biggest stars got pulled over and busted with some small amount of weed.
Cheeks was the man in charge of these guys, and you always felt a little sorry for him. It was clear he was a good dude trying to guide this group to the results their talent deserved, but you could sense it was never quite to be. They made it to the playoffs, and in the first round found themselves down two games to none in a best of seven series to the Dallas Mavericks. As the teams lined up for the opening of an undoubtedly crucial game, a 13 year old Natalie Gilbert strode forward to sing the National Anthem after winning a fan promotion. The story goes that she had come down with the flu but tried to soldier on, and after the first few lines she stumbled over the words and covered her face in embarrassment.
It was at this moment that Maurice Cheeks did like the PJ Masks and decided it was time to be a hero. He calmly walked over to her, put a hand on her shoulder, and got her back on track. He picked up the song where she had left off, and then sang along with her, encouraging the audience to do the same. He stood there with her for the entire rest of the song and managed to get the entire crowd and even the players singing too. What could have been a horrible moment for a young girl was transformed into this transcendent event that made even the hardest cynic’s heart grow a few sizes like the Grinch. I know, because mine certainly did.
It’s an incredible scene, and if you’ve never witnessed it before, you really should. No knowledge of sports is necessary – any old kind of heart in your chest will do it.
