Friday Night Miracles: Uvalde’s First HS Football Game Since Tragedy
When the Uvalde Coyotes played their first home game since the Robb Elementary school shooting, the town found a reason to cheer.
There are certain moments in sports where words fall short. You can try to capture what it means, you can try to explain the context, you can try using logic to explain why this moment is so much more than just another game. That’s a funny way to start off a written column, I know, but sometimes, there just aren’t any words.
It’s in moments like that when it’s best to just listen to the roar of the crowd.
And so, before we go any further telling the story of the Uvalde Coyotes’ game last week, I want you to listen to the fans on this play:
The roar. The joy. The relief. It says it all, doesn’t it?
We all know what the community in Uvalde, TX, has had to endure over the last three months since a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, killing 21. Last Friday, the local high school played its first home game since the tragedy, and they had one of those classic Friday Night Lights finishes, the type that feels almost too much like a Disney movie.
With 38 seconds left and the game knotted at 28 apiece, Uvalde senior Jonathan Jimenez got the ball on a jet sweep. He broke one tackle, then pivoted and started running the other way. The field was open, and he ran towards the green as the 5,000 people at the “Honey Bowl” rose to their feet. Jimenez kept running all the way down the field for 51 yards, setting up a one-handed touchdown pass that won it. “I didn’t really think of anything,” Jimenez told the San Antonio Express-News after the game. “I was just running.” The Coyotes ran towards the stands after the game, giving high fives and hugs as the crowd kept cheering, nobody wanting to go home.
Earlier in the day, the team had received new uniforms from the Houston Texans, who will play this weekend with a “Uvalde Strong” decal on their helmets. They also spoke with our co-founder Michael Strahan live on Good Morning America. A former player, Oscar Mireles, said a prayer before the game. “Maybe what happened here was just a little bit of a help,” Mireles said afterwards. “It puts something in their mind that’s not tragedy…They needed it.”
They needed that feeling of release, of euphoria, and the best kind of disbelief. After all this pain, they needed a reason to cheer. Where else do you find those moments but sports?
🎙️ We released the first episode of our new podcast In the Moment with David Greene earlier this week. On the show, the former NPR Morning Edition host sits down with an athlete to dissect one iconic moment from their career. It’s a fascinating look at greatness, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. Check it out wherever you listen to podcasts.
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🏈The “You’re Killin’ Me Smalls” guy is ready for football season. Are you?
