Iowa HS Football Player Honored at 2021 Musial Awards [WATCH]

It was the cramp felt around the nation. During a high school football game, this fall between Charles City and New Hampton, Carter Steinlage of New Hampton went down with a severe cramp. What made the story, and the above picture, go viral, was who came to help him. It was a player from the opposing team, Mario Hoefer from Charles City.

A parent in the stands that night took a picture of the act of kindness and shared it with a local television station, who featured the story during their sportscast. And that's when things took off! The picture and story were shared on ESPN's 'Sportscenter' and the two players were even interviewed on ABC's 'Good Morning America'. But the honors continued for Hoefer.

Hoefer was a featured winner during the 2021 Musial Awards. The show aired on CBS on Christmas Day, but can still be viewed on YouTube. Presenting him his award that night on national television? Who else but the player he helped that night, Carter Steinlage.

When asked why he thought the picture and story caught on so fast and were shared so many times on social media, Hoefer summed it up best.

There's a lot of bad in the world, so when somebody sees something good, it catches their attention.

After we talked about this story on the air back in September, we got several messages from other parents that had seen similar things at other football games throughout Eastern Iowa. The bottom line? Don't do something good just for attention. Do it because it is the right thing to do.