Just Feet Away from Sure Victory
Many of you may have seen the video that went viral this week of the unlucky Atlanta Braves fan who ran out of gas right as he approached the finish line in the Braves’ “Beat the Freeze” promotion. The icy, Olympic-level sprinter passed the fallen fan just feet away from what would have been a sure victory for the fan.
The internet was quickly filled with headlines like…
“Braves fan devastatingly bites the dust in home stretch against ‘The Freeze’ after tripping at finish line.” – USA Today
“Another fan fumbles chance to beat The Freeze in final seconds” – Deadspin
And maybe the worst of all…
“Braves fan forgets how legs work at the worst possible time.”- Yahoo Sports
The video from the epic fall racked up millions of views in places like the official MLB Instagram, the Bally Sports television broadcast and even found a spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
If you’re a Braves or a Yankees fan, this story was heightened by the relevance of the game with two teams coming in with a 9-game win streak battling it out for victory. If you’re a Georgia sports fan, this story may bring back terrible memories of historic blown leads by your favorite teams in the final minutes. However, you may be surprised that this story was extra relevant for one group in particular — the WinShape Nation.
“Why,” you ask?
Well, that fan who (almost) Beat the Freeze — he’s one of ours!
Meet WinShape Camps for Communities Director, Stephen Moore
Stephen Moore, lovingly called “Smoore” at camp, serves as the Director of WinShape Camps for Communities — our traveling day camp program that brings camp all over the country. Having served on and off since 2008, Stephen is a popular guy around WinShape. In his time at WinShape, he’s helped us recruit thousands of Summer Staff. Many of those “Formers” shared the video and reached out to Stephen after his fall to encourage his strong performance leading up to the less-than-ideal ending. This past summer was Stephen’s first summer directing the WinShape Camps for Communities team who wrapped up their Summer just a few weeks ago.
While Monday’s viral video was a pretty notable moment for Stephen, what you may not know is that earlier in the day was an even bigger life event for the Moore family. Late in the summer of 2020, Stephen and his wife, Hope, found out that their adoption agency had matched them with a baby who would be coming in the next few months. By Fall 2020, the Moore family was excited to welcome baby Bridges into their home. Like with most adoptions though, the finalization process usually takes a little time to go through the court systems.
After delays due to working across state lines and navigating COVID-19, almost a year later the Moores got the news that they would get the chance to finalize Bridges’ adoption on August 23rd. Little did they know later that day Stephen would have his 15 minutes of fame, even if it wasn’t quite how he might have wanted it. That afternoon, Stephen was playing catch at The Battery with his 3-year-old son when he got asked if he’d be interested in racing The Freeze that evening. The rest, as they say, is history.
While the epic fall may not have been how Stephen envisioned that day ending, the Moore Family was able to turn it around for good when Atlanta TV affiliate WSB reached out to find out more about their significant day. What seemed like an epic fail turned into an opportunity to give hope to hundreds of families struggling with infertility.
Check out the interview:
[Click the image above or click here]
Stephen may have gone viral for the wrong reasons, but his family was able to turn this moment into a source of joy spotlighting the power of adoption — something that was very important to our founder, S. Truett Cathy.