The Musial Awards

I was fortunate enough to spend last Saturday night at the Musial Awards, sponsored by the St. Louis Sports Commission to honor sportsmanship in the name of my first hero, Stan Musial. Sad to say, it apparently took more than copying his batting stance (right-handed, no less) to achieve success on the baseball field. I was the guest of my new friend and co-coach at Webster this year, Tim Cerutti. The former Parkway Central coach and I had a great time together this season.

One of his former students is a wheel in the Sports Commission and gives him free tickets every year. The evening would have been worth paying for, however; I’ve certainly paid more for less. It also caused me to think (again) about the different levels of privilege; that’s a topic I plan to revisit soon, but not tonight.

The night was a welcome tonic to counterbalance the events of the past few weeks, well, months, well, let’s just say “a whiles.” It used to be that I could achieve some cathartic release by going to watch a cheesy movie, let the tears flow in the dark, and leave feeling better. I confess my eyes suffered from near constant leakage as I listened to the inspirational stories of athletes, young and old.

You can watch the program on KSDK. There are a couple showings over the next few weeks, including one on Christmas Day at noon and Wednesday, December 16 at 7 p.m. However, if you’re more modern, here’s a link to the show that you can watch on your own schedule. http://stlsports.org/awards/features/watch-the-show/

If you’re feeling down about the state of the country or the world, this is absolutely worth your time, and cheaper than any therapy.