Sometimes football brings people together in ways that one wouldn’t have expected, like for example a couple of nights ago, after the game between West Mesquite High School and Sherman High School in Texas.
The game was just a regular football game that ended 56-27, Sherman beating Mesquite High School, but that was not how the night ended. After the game, one of Sherman’s players, Gage Smith, was seen moving towards one of Mesquite’s players, Ty Jordan. The two then were captured kneeling on one knee and praying.
This prayer was dedicated to Jordan’s mother, who is currently battling lung and bone cancer, as well as the whole family who are going through a hard time. Smith had recently found out about Jordan’s mother’s diagnosis and wanted to lift his spirits in this way.
The two teenagers have known each other for quite some time and became friends a couple of years ago, when they were both on a select 7-on-7 flag football team. When Smith recently found out in a group chat online that Jordan’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer, he decided to pray with him for the whole family, in an act that touched thousands of social media users.
Tiffany Jordan, a 42-year old mother of two, was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2018 and two weeks later she was also diagnosed with bone cancer. A few days ago, and due to repeated hospital stays because of her condition, Jordan lost her job, which translates to also losing her health insurance. Since then, the mother has been relying on a GoFundMe account that has been opened for her, as well as her own pocket.
All this situation has brought Ms Jordan on the verge of depression, but as she said:
“It made me feel really good,” she said. “I’ve been down and depressed, but that has lifted my spirits. A prayer, a kind word, a hug, especially when you know somebody is going through something, that’s like the best thing you can do for a person.”
The pictures on the night of the game were taken by the wife of Smith’s coach. She then passed them on to Ty Jordan’s mom and from there to the whole family. Ty Jordan’s aunt, Takka Jordan, tweeted about this special moment of prayer between the two opponents and her tweet received many positive comments and was retweeted many times.
Smith’s act, which to many might seem unusual, didn’t catch his coach by surprise. J.D. Martinez said that he has been a true leader on and off the field, and he has compassion. Also, Smith’s mother talked about how proud she is for her son that genuinely cares for others.
Such instances remind us that there is still hope, there are people out there who still care for others on a human level. The fact that this comes from teenagers, is even more heartwarming, knowing that new generations are compassionate and sympathetic and that, possibly, our world is in good hands.
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