The Catch

Some of you will remember last week when the Beater shared a super-intense pep "talk" (an e-mail, actually) delivered by the coach of an underdog youth flag football team in Southern California. We sort of dismissed it as way too hyperbolic--until we saw an image (taken by David Bruce Adams) of a spectacular catch snared by six-year-old wideout Blake Riley Adams, aka "'Lil Dwight Clark". Just look at the expressions on these kids' faces. With the exception of the whimsical-looking kid with long blonde hair, these tiny dudes surpass the intensity of the coach's e-mail. This is, indeed, the biggest game of their lives.

So what happened after the catch? Young Blake eluded defenders along the sideline for another 35 yards, notching his team's only score of the day in a 28-7 loss to an undefeated opponent. The photo, for our money, is equally spectacular, rivaling anything you'll see in SI. Cropping it to the dimensions specified by this blog wouldn't do this image justice, so click here: View image