COLUMN: A small slice of humanity

You could see and feel the good vibe in the Plains High School gym Friday night.

A full house of fans from both towns, most of whom were wearing anything from a teal-colored hair ribbon to teal shirts to teal remembrance ribbons, were ready to enjoy the event.

It was hoops and humanity.

For anyone who has struggled with life’s often puzzling situations and also those who haven’t in recent months or years, this was the place to be.

Four high school basketball teams, boys and girls squads from Superior and home standing Plains, had gathered in one of their last games of the regular Montana Class C season to play some basketball and remember one of their own.

A pause in the festive scene allowed for a beautiful moment of humanity as both teams and fans bowed their heads in memory of Plains student Haylee Nelson, a 17-year-old who died tragically in a car wreck this past week on Highway 200 between Dixon and Ravalli.

She obviously touched a lot of lives and sparked a lot of introspection in her brief time on the planet, and with her passing.

Everyone from toddlers to grandmas paid tribute to the girl many of them never knew by sporting something teal, which was Haylee’s favorite color. Superior fans joined with Plains fans in an ultimate moment of humanity and human kindness.

Clearly, she will be missed.

But the young lady also obviously leaves behind a group of people who care.

What greater achievement is there than that?

Then it was on to the games at hand.

And again humanity, amid the partisan shouts for the Bobcats, Lady Bobcats, Trotters and Horsemen, revealed its often under-valued side.

The girls game was a one-sided contest, with the Lady Bobcats rolling to victory over a very game and competitive Plains Trotters team. It was senior night in the Plains gym, with seven Plains athletes honored for playing their final home basketball game of their high school experience.

Superior won the game 64-23 in a hard-fought contest that was filled with quality acts of sportsmanship. Girls from each team extended hands to help up a player from the other team following many of the bumps and spills from two teams giving it their all.

The boys contest was up next and was quite probably the best game of the year to be played in Sanders or Mineral County. Superior won that contest also, but only after two overtime periods that also featured sportsmanship despite aggressive play.

The night was, in essence, the spirit of Montana in action.

In a world where the loser of a fist fight pulls out a gun and starts blasting away with no regard for humanity, this was perhaps a small slice of humanity.

It still exists, smoldering as it may, in the hearts and minds of people lucky enough to call Montana home.

This is a place where most, not all but most, of the fans heeded the request of the public address announcer and put their concession garbage in a nearby garbage can to help with clean up of the gym. It’s a place where the school principal dust mops the gym floor and stands at the door meeting and greeting the fans who file in.

Hats off to all those who attended this special night in a special place.

I left feeling pretty good about this thing called humanity. And I left another high school game, as I almost always do, feeling better about the future of this world.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

And, even though I didn’t know this 17-year-old girl who liked soccer and was liked by many, thank you!