Matt Steven is Blind, but Takes the Winning Shot

by wildcherry on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 | News, Sports

A few seconds left. The game teeters on these two free throws. The shooter gulps. The packed gym goes silent, save for the tapping of a white cane on the back of the rim. That’s right. The shooter’s brother is under the hoop, rapping a cane on the rim. That’s because the shooter, Matt Steven, is blind.

Which brings us to Matt’s moment in that game. He’d missed his first six free throws, and St. Laurence was down eight to St. Philomena. Then a full-court press pulled the team to within one with 10 seconds left. That’s when St. Laurence’s best shooter — 6′4″ senior Ryan Haley — was fouled in the lane. Surely, with the game on the line, the team stud would shoot his own free throws, right?

Up in the stands, Matt’s mom was hoping: Please don’t make him shoot these. And Haley really was going to shoot them, until he looked over at Matt on the bench. “And I thought, He comes to every game, he never misses a practice, he cheers us on. He deserves a shot. I mean, it’s everyone’s dream to make those shots.”

So out comes Matt. And for the first time, the St. Phil fans aren’t rooting for him. In fact, they look like they’d prefer that he shoot straight into the hot dog table. “That might have been the best moment of all for Matt,” recalls Joe. “For once, he was just normal.”

Now the ball bounces under Matt’s hand. Now the picture shakes in Mom’s viewfinder. Now the rim pings from the cane. Matt lets go. Off the backboard and through.

Tie game. Crowd goes berserk.

Says Joe: “I think it helped that he’s blind. He couldn’t see the crowd, the scoreboard, his teammates’ faces.”

The crowd stills again. Dribble. Tap. Shoot. Bank.

Swish! Up by one.

The gym windows nearly break.

St. Phil’s players forget to give Matt time to get off the court. They race the ball up. Nine guys are running around Matt, who’s trying to find a way to the bench. Make that 10, since Ryan’s already off the bench and pressing. Make that 11, since Joe — tears in his eyes — is trying to get to Matt.

Chaos. Joy. Wonder.

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