Cheering for J-Mac

Printer-friendly version

While many chants targeting individuals are negative and disruptive, there are examples where the cheers are positive, supportive and downright uplifting.

Jason McElwain of Greece Athena High School near Rochester, N.Y., learned that first-hand during the last game of his senior year. McElwain is autistic, a child who did not speak until age 6. And as a senior, the special education student who sat on Athena's bench became the target of taunts during road games from more than one home-team crowd.

But the chants on this night were far from heckling. Students held up signs with the 17-year-old's nickname, "J-Mac." Classmates knew this might be their first and only chance to see McElwain play.

"The fans up there were chanting my name the whole entire game until those last four minutes," McElwain said.

Throughout high school, McElwain served as team manager. So for Senior Night, and the last regular season home game, coach Jim Johnson gave his student assistant the ultimate present: allowing him to suit up for the first time.

With four minutes left to play and a 20-point lead, Coach Johnson heard the chants, too. He pointed to McElwain.

For one night, McElwain traded his white shirt and black tie for a headband and number 52. The student cheering section raised paint-stirring sticks to their faces. Each had McElwain's photo attached. They chanted his name, a spectacle that brought Coach Johnson to tears.

Later, McElwain would confess, "I just wanted to score a basket." However, he missed his first three-point attempt, an air ball some 6 feet astray. A missed lay-up followed.

His coach felt the tension: "I put my head in my hands and thought, 'Please Lord, just get him a basket.'"

But no one gave up on the 5-foot-6 substitute.

"The thing about Jason is he isn't afraid of anything," Jason's father, David McElwain, told reporters. "He doesn't care what people think of him. He's his own person."

Four unbelievable minutes later, in a gymnasium free of boos and jeers, "J-Mac" poured in a buzzer-beating three-pointer. Fans and teammates whisked him off the court on their shoulders, celebrating his performance.

Since that magical night in February, McElwain has met President Bush and received an ESPY award.

With comparisons to underdog sports movie heroes like Rudy and Radio, national media like CNN, CBS Evening News and ESPN broadcast McElwain's heroics.

And everyone will get a chance to cheer this inspiration. Columbia Pictures has acquired movie rights to McElwain's life story, complete with the ultimate storybook ending: Greece Athena won that year's state basketball championship.

Although McElwain resumed his familiar job of team manager for the title game, fans filled the arena with chants of "J-Mac!" after the victory.