becoming a fan of fun... again

This kid was REALLY good.

So, to be honest, I’m not sure what the rules are on posting any of the pics I took for Special O of Minnesota last weekend…  so if anyone asks- YOU DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING. 

Anyways- I’m pretty stoked to be back in the action again.  To be specific, the combination of three of my favorite things:  sports, photography, and peeps with cognitive disabilities.  I guess an odd trifecta of favorites, sure, but that’s how I roll.  But it was a pretty fantastic weekend.  I remembered by I used to enjoy taking Chileda kiddos to Special Olympic tournaments and getting to be a part of all of the action.  There’s no better crowd than at these events- everyone gets into the games and cheers for all everyone without it feeling like a “isn’t that just SO special?!” feel to the fans.  It was great- I especially enjoyed listening to a couple guys trash talk about some of the plays during a basketball game.  It was the same shit you hear people saying at any game anywhere…  and don’t worry- the crazy mom’s screaming “miss it!  miss it!” during free throws were there too.  Although I think my favorite event was the power lifting, and the fact that the guy lifting 65 pounds got the same reception as the dude lifting 350. 

I could keep going on about how enjoyable the experience was, but I’ll give it a rest.  There was a definite downside though, and that is that I was reminded that I have no idea how to get good shots inside a gym.  The lighting really really just sucks.  Should probably work a wee bit on that one…

Unified basketball was pretty sweet.  It's teams made of of players with and without disabilities.  I think there were a lot of high school kids involved, which was pretty bad ass.

This girl was just bashing into people all over the place.  It was great...  like if I were to play basketball.

I'm thinking it doesn't feel so great to land on your leg like that.  But to her credit, she totally brushed it off and kept playing.

BOOM.

I've never been a huge fan of photag'ing swimming...  only because it's so hot by the pool, and I can never quite get over the urge to jump in and join the athletes.