[ad_1]
By Drew Taylor
Editor
It was a tradition that lasted for years.
Every Thursday – normally a few minutes before 7 pm during the football season – Walt Gary would arrive at sports facilities at the University of Alabama. There, he would meet briefly with Crimson Tide's football head coach Nick Saban to give his predictions for the game this weekend.
For Gary, 36, who has Down syndrome, it was great to be able to spend time with Saban and the players.
"I'm proud of both coaches and players," Gary told ESPN in 2018. "These people are my friends and I know what they can do."
On Thursday, Gary died of a coma in the intensive care unit of UAB hospital. His grandmother, Betsy Shirley, confirmed that Gary, who had a history of health problems in his lifetime, had had a cerebral hemorrhage before his death.
"He was always so full of joy and loved the scarlet tide," athletic director of Alabama Greg Byrne wrote on Twitter after Gary's death. "We will fail to see him in the department."
Gary's mother, Betsy, told Southern Living in 2017 that having Walt changed his life.
"It really helped change my priorities," she said. "The things that I thought were important were not that important anymore."
When Gary was in sixth grade, his mother contacted the coach from Alabama at the time. Gene Stallings, a friend of the family whose son, John Mark, also had Down syndrome, to spend time with him. Stallings did better: he often invited Gary to football practice.
A student at Central High School, he was elected "School Spirit" and also attended Crossing Points, a program for children with special needs.
For more than 20 years, Gary has been involved in Crimson Tide football, going to training and meeting with Saban and his team once a week during the football season. During the day, Gary held a full-time job at UA's Supe Store.
Various actors spoke at length about Gary's positivity.
"This kid is always happy and when he sees a football player, he becomes more and more happy and when he becomes super happy, it starts to become contagious," said the quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa said ESPN for a piece last year.
"Walt is one of the people who, in my opinion, expresses the spirit and tradition of Alabama football," Saban told ESPN.
Betsy said Gary's enthusiasm for life could be summed up in the way he always said he had "Up" syndrome instead of Down syndrome.
"He sees the cup half full instead of half empty and he's just a positive person and that has, I think, been translated for other people," she told ESPN. "They see him in Walt."
No funeral arrangements have been announced on Friday.
[ad_2]
Source link