Didn't really know how to title this blog but "Big House Fly-By Guy" is what I came up with! By now you have probably seen the video of the 2019 Kingston Boys "dog-pile" celebration after their 60-30 Class 3A Boys State Championship win over Millwood. It was Kingston's first ever basketball State Championship and the second championship in their school history (1980 Football).
After posting the video, there were a lot of people talking about it. So, I thought, I need to talk to this young man and see what was going through his mind as he was flying over his teams dog-pile. So I contacted the Kingston head coach Taylor Wiebener and asked if he could put in touch with him. He responded to my email by telling me the young man's name and that he actually got hurt playing football this season. He said of the "fly-by", "He's a very funny young man and it's not surprising that he flew over the top of the pile." Of course, one of my first thoughts in reading the email was, "I wonder if he landed on his hurt shoulder on his landing". So I was more curious.
WHO IS HE?
The young man's name is Jesse Rose. I wanted to find out a little about him so he told me he plays football and basketball but he had to sit out this year in basketball because he dislocated his shoulder towards the end of the football season. I asked him about how football went for Kingston this season and they had a great year. Only 2 losses and those two losses were to Sperry (by 2) and Beggs (by 5). Both of those teams played in the State Championship game. He had to miss the entire basketball season because of his injury which he was, obviously, very disappointed about.
THE "FLY-BY"
So, on to the "fly-by". I asked Jesse if he had planned ahead in his mind what he was going to do if they won. He said he was still unsure UNTIL the final buzzer went off and then, his instincts "kicked in", he ran towards the pile. He said when he took off he thought he was going to be high, which he did accomplish, but very quickly realized he was going to be long. I asked him at what point did you realize "Uh-Oh". Jesse said "When I looked down and saw nothing but wood!".
He, in fact, did not land on his hurt shoulder, he said he made sure on his landing that he landed on the other shoulder. I told him he looked like he recovered well because he jumped back on the pile. Jesse said that "He heard the "gasps" from the crowd and didn't want to be embarrassed."
The day after he said he was a little sore but is going to be fine. Jesse is a sophomore and is looking forward to playing basketball next season. They lost a lot of seniors this season but they will be good next year. Jesse likes to hunt and fish and, sorry ladies, he is NOT single, he does have a girl friend.
You can follow Jessie on Twitter @JesseRose33
