Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Grass Roots Growth

About five minutes ago, I was watching South Park on Comedy Central. During a commercial, I started flipping through the channels, and came upon something astounding.

The Disney Channel was showcasing a clip of several minutes length called "Live your Dreams," where they focused on a boy who developed cancer. His story was that he loved to play ultimate frisbee. They taped his parents talking about how he was athletic, but didn't play any sports after getting sick, until he found ultimate. They explained (briefly) the rules of the game, describing it as a mix of soccer and football, and they showed the kid's coach talking about the kid and the sport, Spirit of the Game and how anybody can play. They showed flashes of the kid leaping into the air to catch the disc, throwing in his jersey, and other kids running on the field.

They looked young, and talked about how you didn't need to be tall or fast to play (which is true, I suppose), but the parents acknowledged that it was an exciting and athletic game. They said that the participants played enthusiastically, but not aggressively (true in some levels).

I was amazed, and I am elated to see my sport growing and spreading, and on the Disney Channel, for young kids and their parents. I'm thankful for CSTV so that I can watch high-caliber ultimate, but how cool is it that somebody is showcasing the sport to future generations, and giving it some credit?