Special Olympics 2026 USA Games through the eyes of a child: A lasting impact

One shot. Just one single shot, in a moment that would last a mere few seconds, was enough to make a lifelong impact. That's all it took.

After having the wonderful privilege of covering the Special Olympics 2026 USA Games for most of the week, I took my kids down to the games to let them experience it all for themselves. And, as natives of Minnesota, how fitting was it for us to start our day watching the Minnesota basketball team in action?

When we walked in, Minnesota was losing to Texas by a score of 30-6 in the second half. As someone who covers sports for a living, that's one of the first things I noticed.

But I was probably the only one in the building who noticed the scoreboard at that point.

My kids?

The score didn't matter.

They were immediately fixated on the game and athletes, sneaking between every adult in the crowd until they were able to sit down, criss-crossed, for a courtside view of the action.

From there, every time Minnesota had possession of the ball, they would run a similar play to get one of their players open down low, near the basket. And for about seven or eight possessions in a row, a player would take the open shot and come up short.

Dozens upon dozens of voices in the crowd had the same sequence of emotions. As the shot went up, each time, you could hear a gasp of excitement. Then, as the ball would come up short of two points, you could hear everyone in the crowd offering up a voice of encouragement:

"Oh, man! So close! It's okay! You'll get it next time! You got this!"

And then, after a long series of misfires, team Minnesota got into a familiar position. One of their players was the recipient of a perfect pass, down low, and wide open for a shot on the basket.

It went in.

Every single member of that crowd was cheering, jumping and clapping in excitement as the particular athlete who made the shot jogged along courtside, making "money" signs toward the crowd, with his hands, and smiling the biggest smile you'll ever see.

What was the score after that basket? To be frank, I don't have a clue. Minnesota was still probably down more than 30 points ... but it didn't matter.

The scoreboard didn't matter.

What mattered was the look on the face of this individual, after making a shot that, in most eyes, wouldn't mean all that much. But today, that shot mattered more than you could ever believe.

What mattered was my own children, sitting court-side, with the biggest smiles on their faces and cheering loudly for an athlete from their home state.

To begin our day in that fashion, I knew, this was going to be an unforgettable experience.

We made our way to the powerlifting stage where we saw some massive amounts of weight being put up. But, the most impactful moment was being able to meet gold medalists from North Carolina; a cheer team.

Two of my daughters are especially interested in gymnastics and cheer, so naturally, we had to conduct an impromptu interview with one of the gold medalists. They had to get a photo with their new hero.

Before making our way out of the powerlifting auditorium, the kiddos received an unexpected surprise. Thanks to this team being from the same home state, we also had the privilege of meeting North Carolina's Rio Byrd, who had just swept her powerlifting class with a whopping four gold medals.

As we walked out of the auditorium, my two youngest girls' faces said it all. Addi and Ali were wide-eyed, had big smiles, full of giddy laughter and nonstop chatter about how they were just able to meet GOLD MEDALISTS from the Special Olympics. They were already making a list of everybody they were going to tell.

To conclude our afternoon, we spent some time at the Fan Fest, stopping at each and every booth in the area to make sure we got the full experience. Briefly meeting other athletes, coaches and volunteers made the experience even better.

The atmosphere was second to none. Everyone was smiling. The sun was shining. There aren't really any words that could do it justice.

And then, as we headed for the exit to start our drive home, the kids noticed a few familiar faces.

It was the Minnesota Basketball team.

Of all ways our day could've ended, this was one I simply couldn't write.

The kids immediately went from high-fiving the team to asking for a photo.

"That was THE Minnesota basketball team, dad!" said my son, Malachi.

"I'm so glad we came down here," our oldest, Jake, chimed in.

And as for Nash, our 7-year-old, I asked him if he had a great time, to which he jumped a solid two feet in the air while replying:

"YEAHHHHH!"

A couple of hours later, after we had gotten home, we all discussed "the best day ever," as Addi called it.

Unprompted, my 11-year-old Malachi made sure we all knew his stance on the games and offered up a way-beyond-his-years assessment:

"I don't understand why anyone would treat these people differently. They are just like us. Maybe they were created differently, but that doesn't make them different."

And that's when I knew, the 2026 USA Games was bigger than even I could've anticipated. I am sure my children were not the only ones impacted so greatly.

It was a week that reminded us all about the value of kindness, inclusion and what pure joy looked like.

A special thanks to Team Minnesota Basketball and Team North Carolina's Powerlifting and Cheerleading for your time, kindness and example to these kids.

Why We Play features stories about the power of sports to bring us together, overcome obstacles, make positive change and reach everyone. Read more here.

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