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“The Best.”

Hey, good news – it’s feel-good story time. Who doesn’t like feel-good story time? No one, that’s who. And if the photo above doesn’t do the trick, what will? Nothing, that’s what.

That photo is paralyzed Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, who at the time had just learned he’ll grace the cover of Sports Illustrated (his return to lead the team onto the field against West Virginia on October 29 was voted by readers as the best sports moment of the year). His mother, Karen, is holding the replica cover. I have no objectivity about any of this. I went to Rutgers. I was there when he led the team onto the field. I wanted to see him on that cover.

But I think in this case, the lack of objectivity doesn’t matter. Sports Illustrated tweeted the photo you see above earlier this morning, and SB Nation simply responded by saying, “The best.” Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest paper, wrote of LeGrand’s ability to make people “believe that there’s still some good in college sports.” No one’s totally objective on this story.

And the lack of objectivity is kind of the point. LeGrand’s story is all about positivity, even in the face of tragedy. That’s why he’s on the cover, why he’s touched as many people as he has – because it’s next to impossible to be objective about him as a person, whether you root for his college team or not. And looking at that photo of Eric and Karen LeGrand above again (and again)…who’d want to be objective about that?

Photo via