Schaumburg's special addition to March Madness

It turned out there was a tripleheader at Schaumburg on Monday as regional play began in the Class 4A boys basketball state tournament. And the middle game had the kind of excitement and drama that makes March Madness something special.

The details weren't in the newspapers or on the IHSA website but the middle game - held at halftime of Schaumburg's 54-35 win over Grant - featured Special Olympic athletes from School District 54. They played a pair of two minutes halves and the special needs cheerleading team of District 54 was also on hand.

What made it special was the way everyone embraced the game. The band played before tipoff as if it was a regular varsity game and the Schaumburg student Superfans stood and hollered and cheered as if it was a rivalry game with Hoffman Estates or Conant. PA announcer Tom Mueller did his part as well to give it a real-game feel.

Fittingly, it came down to the wire and a shot in the final 15 seconds resulted in a 4-2 victory. All the participants left to a standing ovation and received medals.

It was all part of Schaumburg's Special Olympics campaign of "Spread the Word to End the Word." The goal is to educate people of the detrimental effects the words retard or retarded can have on people with disabilities and those who care about them. Through its Leadership for Life Class, Schaumburg was the only high school in Illinois chosen to partipcate in the project.