A human interest side story on Zahid yesterday. I was standing next to a Hispanic woman and her son along with a white lady. Zahid was walking by and talking to others when the son saw him and asked if that was Zahid. The 15 year old froze and stared until Zahid got closer. We encouraged the boy to go meet Zahid and shake his hand. The boy finally managed the courage to meet Zahid and shook his hand. Zahid asked the mom to take a picture and the mom and other lady fumbled for their phones. After the pictures, Zahid put his hand on the star-struck boy and spoke to him in Spanish. When Zahid left, the boy came back to his mom and other lady with eyes the size of half dollars and a grin as big as Dallas and he hugged both women. The boy then walked out to a grassy area and walked in circles while talking to himself and clenching his fists and looking to the sky.
Visiting with mom and the other lady I found out they were from Dallas and this was the first year for the young man to wrestle varsity for his school. The other lady told him that if he worked hard this year and qualified for state, she would take him to the duel yesterday. She also said she bought her tickets in November but didn’t tell the boy until he made state. The mom told me that her son idolizes Zahid with posters in his room and to actually meet Zahid was beyond her wildest dreams. Mom added she pushed her son to wrestle as he is small in size but she wanted to keep him busy and off the streets. The son returned with the same big grin and told his mom that this was the best day of his life.
I would like to know what they thought after attending the duel. I hope this young man has success on the mat and in life and meeting Zahid was the difference.
