Stolen by Mike Weland
Momentous occasions so profoundly change the lives of those who experience them that grasping the idea that you’ve evolved to a different plane, a higher level, lags somewhat behind the fact you are already there. You see yourself as unchanged long after those you’ve known for years know you occupy a new realm.
The boys who came home to Bonners Ferry with their second consecutive Idaho State 4A Boys Basketball Championship came home profoundly changed, though for them the alarm wakes them to the same chores, the same routine. It’s a dichotomy — The more things change, the more they stay the same.
But mom knows.
“So many moments from yesterday, this weekend, and the past 10 years, but this one I didn’t see coming,” Kelly Hinthorn, Payton Hinthorn’s mom, posted to Facebook. “After the game, in the family and friends celebration area, there was a group of young boys who were congratulating our players and desperately trying to get something from our newly crowned State Champions. After getting turned down a few times, they asked Peyton for his shoes.
I could see they were in awe of our boys, and Peyton looked at me, smiled, and said, ‘Please, can I give them my shoes? They are stinky, falling apart, and I’ll never wear them again.’”
“I saw in those boys a quick flashback to when our kids were little and got pictures and autographs from the older players they looked up to,” Kelly continued. “I also thought, good, I won’t have to smell those again!”
It took a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors to see who would actually get the treasured stinky shoes, an autographing moment, and a picture, but the shoes, not only Peyton’s but teammate Asher Williams’s as well, found new happy owners who will hopefully one day grow up and get to make memories like this year’s Badger champions have.
“I honestly have no idea who these young kids are, but they definitely put a smile on our faces,” Kelly said. “I apologize to the parents if your car was a little smelly on the ride home last night … but thankful for that moment.”
Even though we stole this story without remorse, 9B.News thanks Kelly for this amazing Badger moment!
