Recently I attended the Wilson Middle School Wrestling Tournament in Middletown, CT. Anybody who knows wrestling, knows that it is a long a grueling day. It's worse for the coaches (now that I'm a coach I can say that). You, run from mat to mat never getting a chance to sit down. Coach one match, look over, and you have another wrestler about to step on the mat. My throat aches, I'm tired, and of course there's no relief in sight.

Towards the middle of the tourney, I was given a chance to sit down. And I'm glad I did. I looked over to one mat as I was sitting in the bleachers. I saw two wrestlers in battle, but there was something different. One wrestler refused to use his right arm which was heavily taped. And I noticed that the speed of both wrestlers was slow. Was it overtime? I looked over at the scorer's table. First period. Something must be wrong, I thought to myself.

Nothing was wrong. The wrestler from Middletown ended up pinning the opponent from RHAM early in the 2nd. And then I realized after looking at everyone's faces, what had happened.

The RHAM wrestler, had hurt his arm in a previous match. The Middletown wrestler, was autistic. In one of the greatest shows of sportsmanship I had ever witnessed, the RHAM wrestler let the Middletown wrestler pin him. There wasn't a dry eye amongst the spectators. It was a sight to see. The expression on the Middletown wrestler's face was priceless. The joy of pinning an opponent. It was like he had just won the World Series, or the Superbowl, or whatever sporting championship you can think of. But it wasn't. It was just a consolation match in the middle of a tournament.

My uncle suffers from Mental Retardation. I remember watching him bowl, and the expression he gets every time he bowls a strike.

That was the same expression that this wrestler had. One to bring tears to the eyes of even the most emotionally stable man. Me, being a Marine, couldn't help it. The chills ran down my spine, the goose-bumps rose on my arm, and the tears rolled down my cheek. There was no holding them in, no matter how much I tried. It was a sight I wish every single professional athlete could witness.

I do not know the RHAM wrestlers' name, but I do know that he will be remembered for a long time to come for his sportsmanship, for his humbleness, and for his heart.