Saturday, October 4, 2008

Hiram Terriers Make Winning Move

Update 10-10-08:

Posted by ESPN's Rece Davis as part of his GameDay Kickoff: Week 7 Preview (scroll down):

Celebrations that deviate from a spontaneous moment shared with teammates are frowned upon by the NCAA. After snapping a 26-game losing streak to Gallaudet, the renowned school for the deaf and hearing-impaired, Hiram College from Ohio participated in a choreographed celebration aimed at their opponent.

They congratulated their opponents by using sign language to say "Nice job" or "Good game." Gallaudet's president and coach wrote a letter expressing their appreciation to Hiram's players, which were the first in recent memory to make an effort to communicate with Gallaudet's players using sign language. That's a great sign of sportsmanship we all can easily interpret.

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The lead topic of today's Cleveland Plain Dealer "Tipoff" column by Michael K. McIntyre tells a tale of Terrier kindness.

The Hiram football team opened its season at Gallaudet, a school in Washington, D.C. for the deaf and hearing impaired. So during practice leading up to the game, Head Coach Bob Wolfe took the time to teach his players how to say "Nice game" and "Good job" using American Sign Language.

Gallaudet coach Ed Hottle was blown away by the sight of Hiram's players using sign language and wrote a letter of praise that Hiram President Tom Chema distributed campuswide.

"For the last four seasons I have been the head coach at Gallaudet, we have played some 40-plus games and Hiram College was the first school that has made any effort to communicate with our players following the game," wrote Hottle. "Coach Wolfe and his staff are to be applauded for taking time out of the precious few hours we have to coach the game and teaching these young men some true life skills. . . . For me, personally, it was wonderful to see."

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