Today in Sports History: February 15th
(McElwain is lifted into the air by his schoolmates and teammates)
2/15/2006 - J-Mac thrives in high school game
With only four minutes remaining in the final home game of the season, Greece Athena High School held a commanding lead over Spencersport High School. Jason McElwain, a 17 year-old student with autism, had been added to the Greece Athena basketball team for the final game of the year; coach Jim Johnson wanted him to receive a game jersey, though he promised to put him in a game if the score got large enough.
Gauging the size of the score, Johnson put in McElwain for the final four minutes of the contest, much to the delight of the crowd. After missing his first two field goals, McElwain -- who had previously served as the team’s scorekeeper -- hit his final seven shots, six of them threes, to finish with a miraculous 20 points. When the buzzer sounded, the students ran onto the floor and lifted him off the court.
The story of McElwain’s performance was immediatley picked up by the mainstream media. Jason quickly became a household figure, was interviewed by numerous talkshow hosts, got to meet with president George W. Bush, and was even contacted by several movie executives, who were interested in making a film about him.
“I’m not really that different,” McElwain said several days later. “The advice I’d give to autistic people is just keep working, just keep dreaming, you’ll get your chance and you’ll do it.”
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