One Shining Moment
April 12th, 2008 by Matt StoneThere are certain images that are forever remembered and perfectly encapsulate the total emotion and circumstance of an event, time or place. Sport has always been a classic example of such moments captured on celluloid.
One of the great pleasures I have had personal experience with is doing sports photography and I am pleasantly surprised by the volume of slide scanning and negative scanning that we do at ScanDigital. Now that we are offering film and video transfer services it has been great to see the amount of sports material that has been coming in. From amateur home movies to collegiate game film, the importance of these materials to the owners is clear.
Sports have become as emotional and as big a part of our lives as holidays and other gatherings with friends and families. They have a unique way of uniting people of all different backgrounds with a shared experience. Sometimes a sports photo resonates so greatly because of this connection.
Whether it’s Michael Jordan hugging the championship trophy and weeping after 
the death of his father to Brett Favre running around with his helmet off celebrating with all the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old, these images stir up memories and emotions within all of us.
Such great moments were on display again this month, with March Madness captivating the nations’ attention. From the baby-faced Stephon Curry and the Goliath-slaying DAVIDson Wildcats bursting upon the scene and becoming the Cinderellas of the tournament to the uber-athletic Memphis Tigers, there was no shortage of storylines or indelible images from the last three weeks of the college basketball season.
An amazing season that culminated with the most telling image of all and on the cover of Sports Illustrated no less; Mario Chalmers firing the improbable game-tying three in the championship game to cap-off what seemed to be an impossible comeback. The shot proved to be a game-winner as Kansas rode the emotion into an overtime win, capturing the first national title for the Big XII since it became a conference as well as becoming only the second school ever to win both a national title in basketball and a BCS bowl game in the same year. The joy they brought to the great people of the Midwest was unmistakable but with that joy also brought hope for many fans and players of other Big XII schools like Missouri, who hope to one day match the amazing, magical and historic year by the University of Kansas.
Rock Chalk. Jayhawk. KU!
President’s Note: In addition to serving as ScanDigital’s VP, Operations, Matt Stone is our resident sports expert. For nearly a year, he has successfully managed ScanDigital’s Operations while managing multiple fantasy sports teams and reading nearly every article written on the Los Angeles Lakers. As a long time Kansas fan, my influence is apparently wearing off as Matt enjoyed the KU Victory almost as much as I did. All ScanDigital employees were greeted Tuesday morning by a newly modified admin console which looked like this:
April 18th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I have to make a comment…that even after nearly two weeks…the joy of the KU win is still a strong topic amoung the local KU fans! Being in the heart of Kansas, the Jayhawks cannot help but be in your heart!. This past couple of weeks has been additionally exciting in knowing that our wonderful coach, Bill Self is staying even though some of our players are moving on to the NBA. The last word has been that Mario has not decided but no matter what he decides to do from here…those of us die hard KU fans will not soon forget the emotions we felt as that amazing shot swished through the net! I am sure it is a shot we shall see replayed for many years to come…and shall re-live over and over the joy of that moment! Knowing that Matt’s loyalties lie elsewhere in the Big 12, I’m glad to know that at least for a brief shining moment he had the pleasure of being a KU fan! ROCK CHALK!