AUSTIN, Texas — It was a magical moment: Desmond's dream.
Desmond Pulliam, a senior defensive lineman with autism spectrum disorder, had dreamed of scoring a touchdown. In Lockhart's scrimmage against Bastrop High School, that dream came true and he scored his first career touchdown. The moment was captured by KVUE's Jake Garcia, but Pulliam's moment captured the eyes of millions and the hearts of so many others.
Video of Pulliam's touchdown blew up online, garnering millions of views accumulated from Garcia's Twitter account and other sports media outlets such as SportsCenter, MaxPreps and Barstool Sports. Garcia's post was also retweeted by numerous figures in the sports community, including ESPN's Field Yates and Washington State's head football coach.
"I was hearing the crowd cheering. Everyone was running behind me," Pulliam said in his postgame interview with a slew of reporters. "I was running so fast. I was hyped ... Everybody was hyped."
The head coach told KVUE he hopes Pulliam's moment touched everyone in attendance.
"She was happy and crying," Pulliam said of his mom's reaction. "My uncle was so excited."
"It's been some trying times," head coach Todd Moebes said. "But one thing is, when we get down in our soul it's all about doing the right things that's good for people and what makes people smile. ... Hopefully it was six seconds that everybody in attendance was able to take a little bit of a deep breath and say, 'You know what, everything is going to be alright.' Desmond is certainly to thank for that."
With every snap of a football ... every pass and catch in a game, stories from those like Desmond Pulliam, etched into memory from a football field, can serve as a great reminder, one put into perspective by his coach.
"Life is not all about football, but football is all about life," Moebes said.
And thanks to the power of the internet, it's probably safe to say Pulliam touched those millions of eyes and hearts who weren't in attendance.
"Heartfelt Love! It’s so much bigger than game! #Priceless," wrote one Twitter user.
"Nothing gets me like this!!!! #ChokedUp #GoDesmond," wrote another.
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