GREENSBORO, N.C. – Scott Park had a chance to win a million dollars at halftime of the ACC Tournament semifinal between Duke and Notre Dame thanks to one of those half court shot promotions (this one was sponsored by Havoline). Those are always tough, which is why the company offers up a million dollars in the first place. Sometimes people make them – and there should be a “One Shining Moment” montage of winners on ESPN’s GameDay – but other times they miss them because half court shots by their very nature are hard.
Park did not just miss. He didn’t even come close. And the clip of the shot was everywhere.
“I don’t have any problem with it being out there,” Park told Ryan Fagan of the Sporting News. “I would probably want to see it myself, like any of us would. I pretty much knew it wasn’t going in.
“Unless God intervened and put wings on the ball, I was only going to get it part way.”
This was no ordinary half court shot by an ordinary man. Park’s story is an amazing one, and the fact he was even there to take the shot in the first place was truly remarkable.
Park has a rare blood disorder called Catastrophic Antiphospholipid Syndrome, or CAPS for short. Park was on dialysis and ultimately needed a kidney transplant. The surgery was a success, he’s still taking medication and he travels every other week to Baltimore to receive an experimental drug. According to Fagan, Friday – the day he took the shot – was when he was scheduled to have his next infusion.
The quotes Park told Fagan in his story are amazing:
“I’m happy to be alive. I’m happy to even have a chance to shoot for a million dollars. I had no illusions that ball was going in.”
“The halfcourt shot wasn’t pretty, and then I got a free throw and that didn’t get to the basket. And then, I couldn’t believe I blew the layup. The Lord has blessed me probably as much or more than a lot of people. I feel that every day. God has been a power in my life, and he keeps giving me miracles every day.”
I say let’s give him the $1 million anyway.
