Crowd Jeers At ‘Worst Skater’ On Ice Until He Gets Up And Proves Them Otherwise

Jan 18, 2021 by apost team

When it comes to typical human behavior, the people in our society do not always show enough compassion for each other. However, sometimes all we need is a bit of a reminder that it's best to be kind to one another if we are not willing or able to lend a helping hand.

During a night at Bryant Park in New York City back in 2011, one group of ice skaters was reminded by a seemingly clumsy skater in a red sweater that you can't always judge a book by its cover.

For many New Yorkers and frequent visitors of the city, spending an evening on the ice at the rink in Bryant Park is an annual tradition celebrated by countless guests. During the night in question, it was a typical evening on the ice at the famous Manhattan park with families, solo-skaters, and guests of all ages gliding effortlessly along with their loved ones. Although most of the crowd on the ice were prolific skaters, one man in a red sweater stuck out like a sore thumb as he stumbled and inched his way along the edge of the rink.

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What seemed like an evening full of endless wintry fun for families and friends was soon interrupted by the announcer calling for skaters to leave the ice for ice cutting and resurfacing maintenance. With a friendly tone, the announcer stated, "We ask you to please follow the directions of your skate guards and exit the ice slowly and safely. Thank you very much." Though most of the crowd moved easily toward the gate at the far end of the arena, the man in the red sweater was quickly left in their wake.

After a moment, the man in red was left stumbling and struggling on his own to remain on his feet. The announcer came over the loudspeaker once more, this time to speak directly to the mystery stumbler. The announcer can be heard here, as he said: 

"Sir, again the gentleman in the red sweater. Just please, if you can come around, turn around, come back to the exit, we'd appreciate it."

Now, one would assume by this point, a compassionate bystander would have returned to the ice to give the man a helping hand, yet the crowd of watching skaters simply circled the ice to watch and jeer as he struggled.

The Zamboni driver performing the maintenance work has since moved the machine onto the ice, staring at the man with the touch of a grin on his face, and gives the horn a gentle tap, chiming in with the low-key heckling. The crowd continues to laugh and poke fun at the gentleman in red, but soon their amusement would turn to his favor as his abilities seemed to transform into something more fluid and deliberate.

Soon, the skater began to almost comically correct his stumbling legs, nearly falling into a split at one point before manually pulling his feet back together and continuing on his clumsy journey around the ice.

Rather than laughing and finding entertainment in his slippery struggles, the crowd now held their phones up to record the impromptu performance, smiling hugely and laughing with a childlike wonder instead of mocking the man. What likely started out like any other evening in the chilly night air of Bryant Park soon transformed into a life lesson on never making fun of someone because of their inability to do something as well as you.

After all, the Dalai Lama hit the nail on the head with this tidbit of wisdom:

"Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them."

As the onlookers now cheered on the man in red, his comical farce transformed into an elegant performance complete with soothing classical music. He was now gliding along the ice with ease, pushing along and shifting from side to side before breaking off into small tricks one might expect to see at a figure skating event. Spinning, lifting his leg, and even performing small jumps now drew cheers from the crowd the not long ago laughed at his expense.

In the video of the event, you can see the man's face brighten with pleasure as he feels the transformation of the crowd. He's amused, having clearly proven his point that you shouldn't always judge someone on your initial impressions or on their abilities compared to yours.

After a minute or two of gliding effortlessly about the ice and performing beginner and expert tricks for the crowd, the mystery man in the red sweater came to a smooth and careful stop in front of the now crowded exit gate. As he opens the gate to finally clear the ice of skaters so the Zamboni crew can start their task, the crowd comes alive with whoops and applause.

This story is one that we see far too often; people judging others by their looks or physical abilities or finding entertainment in a lack thereof. As we see in the video of the onlookers watching the red sweater-clad skater in Manhattan, you can't paint a complete picture of an individual by observing only a few moments in time. Sometimes all we need is a bit of encouragement and positive energy from a crowd to completely transform any environment into a more appealing and comfortable one for all.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where someone's lack of talent made you laugh at their expense? What if you were one of the onlookers at the rink that cold winter night in Manhattan? Would you have returned to the ice to give him a helping hand or stayed on the sidelines and jeered at him with the others?

Let us know your story or what you would do in this situation in the comments section. Don't forget to forward this story and video to your family and friends so they can learn the valuable lesson taught by this endearing red-sweatered skater in New York City. You just might inspire someone to be a little bit kinder the next time they see a fellow human struggling.