Original subtitles

Find “the champion within”.

Today the blues' biggest fan was just the inspiration they needed

to hoist the stanley cup.

Laila: There's no way to explain how grateful I am at this

opportunity of life again.

Lauren: Then, joey logano may be on the top of the racing world,

but meet the man who was his pace car the whole way there.

Joey: You know, we were kind of -- everywhere I went, mike was

with me.

Lauren: Plus, katie sowers has coached in the super bowl, but

see how she's leading outside of the game.

Katie: We really have to know that we're worth something and

that we're valuable.

If you continue to have that mindset, you will be successful.

Family on three.

One, two, three!

All: Family!

Lauren: Then, how one man's vision changed the life of so

many through the game of golf.

Rocky: It's really awesome to see something that is so

impactful to not only me, but, you know, other kids that I grew

up with, other kids that I played golf with.

Lauren: When the st. Louis blues won their first ever stanley cup

in 2019, they were accompanied on the ice by one of their most

dedicated fans.

After being diagnosed with a rare disease, young laila

anderson needed a bone marrow transplant.

When she received one, her health started to improve, and

so did her favorite hockey team.

Woman: We have a major, and I mean major, st. Louis blues fan

here tonight.

This is laila anderson, the 11-year-old superfan who became

a beloved source of inspiration during the st. Louis blues' run

to the stanley cup.

And on this night, she finally got to meet the person who made

it all possible.

Diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder known as hlh in the

fall of 2018, laila underwent chemotherapy followed by a

life-saving bone marrow transplant last January.

After four months in isolation, the team's good luck charm made

her return to enterprise center.

Announcer: So great to see 11-year-old laila anderson at

the game tonight.

Lauren: Laila's resilience took root in her team's play on the

ice, and of course, she was front and center when the blues

finally won it all.

Announcer: For the first time in their history, the st. Louis

blues are the stanley cup champions!

Colton: This is unreal!

[laila sobbing]

colton: Yes!

Unreal!

You're the best!

You are the best!

Announcer: Laila anderson, come on out!

Laila!

Laila!

Laila!

What does this mean to you?

This must be just awesome for you.

Laila: I mean, this is unbelievable, unreal.

Lauren: With a banner raised and a city and team thankful for the

spirit of one young girl, it was finally time for laila to thank

the person who gave her life one year ago.

Kenton: I'm kenton felmlee.

I'm 19.

I'm a sophomore at ku studying biology and pre-med.

My father has cvid, common variable immunodeficiency

disorder.

All the time when I was a kid, I saw him really, really sick, and

he still is.

And so when I was introduced to be the match, I realized that

this was a way to make a difference and to change

somebody's life so that their family and they don't have to go

through what my family and I did.

I was really, really ecstatic when I heard that I was the best

match for a ten-year-old girl who turned out to be the

wonderful and amazing laila that we know and love.

Woman: Laila, meet your donor.

[cheering and applause]

laila: Just to experience all of this tonight and let out our

tears and crying into kenton's arms, like, that was

unbelievable.

I'll never forget that moment.

I don't know where I'd be today without you.

Thank you.

I feel like it's actually like a written storybook, all of this.

Like, the blues making it to game seven.

I'm getting the perfect golden ticket of bone marrow, and come

to find out, my bone marrow donor is the sweetest person

ever.

There's no way to explain how grateful I am at this

opportunity of life again and

how just one selfless person

just one day decided to share the gift of life with someone

else, and that person was me.

Lauren: More than a year after the life-saving procedure,

anderson continues to inspire those around her in st. Louis

and beyond.

She is such a big part of the blues community, that she

received her own stanley cup ring after the team's historic

run.

Coming up, joey logano is the man behind the wheel, but who

was behind joey when he was just a wide-eyed rookie?

Mike: From where he started to where he is today, one of the

best in the business, so it's pretty cool.

Lauren: Plus, katie sowers' talent as a football coach is

taking her places that no woman has gone before.

Katie: And I remember posting a picture on my facebook that was

me coaching youth football, and I said, “nfl, I'm coming for

you.” lauren: Then, how one game can make all the difference in

the world of so many lives.

Christian: I believe the first tee has taught me the values of

what it means to grow up.

Joey logano became the youngest announcer: We'll be right back to the more you know on nbc.Ear,

race winner ever in nascar cup series history, but he credits

someone much older, more than 30 years his senior, in fact, with

helping him succeed.

He developed a trusted friendship with mike mclaughlin,

a former nascar driver who has acted as logano's coach and

mentor.

Dale: We all have someone that kind of helped mold who we are,

what we're about within an organization somewhere along the

way that kind of helped you become this person, this driver

that you are.

Joey: You know, for me, mike mclaughlin was probably that

guy.

Dale: Oh, yeah?

Joey: Mike pushed me, right, because for me, like I said,

growing up, I just showed up and raced.

I don't even know what I don't know, and that's where mike

helped me a lot, is just trying to guide me.

You lean on him for whether it's personal things or whatever.

It gets to that point because you trust him for what they've

done.

Announcer: Mike mclaughlin, they might as well name victory lane

after that guy here.

Announcer: The champion is “magic shoes” mclaughlin.

[laughter]

announcer: I think he's happy.

Joey: He was helping me communicate with greg zipadelli,

who was my crew chief at the time.

He was friends with him for, yeah, I think their whole lives.

So, you know, having kind of that guy in the middle sometimes

helps our relationship.

You know, we were kind of -- everywhere I went, mike was with

me.

You know, it was flying to the racetrack.

It was, you know, before we get to the racetrack.

It was post-race meetings.

He was there as just kind of, like, my coach, right, just to

kind of help guide me along through the different situations

that are going to come up when you're racing that he's been

through.

Dale: Mike, what were the things you saw in him?

[laughter]

joey: Right behind me!

[laughter]

joey: How you guys knew I was going to say that?

[laughter]

joey: That's funny.

We're talking about the old days.

Mike: I know, I know.

Joey: How long was he there?

Joey: You guys did a good job hiding that.

Dale: That's pretty good.

Joey: Wow!

Mike: I'm easy to hide.

[joey laughing]

mike: You know, you stick me in a corner.

Joey: Well, I'm glad I didn't say the wrong thing.

[laughter]

dale: That was great.

Mike, what did you see in him is a driver that you were willing

to help along the way?

Mike: I mean, he always had the raw talent.

You know, today, it's raw talent and, you know, just hard work,

dedication.

And obviously, he has both, but the beginning, you know, it was

just...He didn't have the experience.

That was probably the biggest thing that he had to overcome.

Dale: Did you also have to be that mental coach at times, too,

to help him get through difficult times?

Mike: You know, we had to work...

Joey: He's seen the weak side of me.

Mike: ...Through a few things, you know, but we did get through

him.

Pops, his dad, he thought I was more of a marriage counselor

between the two of them, you know?

Because tony was greg, and tony had a ...You know, obviously, a

special relationship bond.

But I think, you know, you had to be fairly aggressive with

tony, and joey was a kid.

Announcer: The 18-year-old, in only his third start, is going

to win at kentucky!

Announcer: I guarantee that's the first of many.

Mike: See him come from where he started to where he is today, I

mean, at one point, I think he questioned, “can I do this?

I don't know.” but obviously...

Joey: I did.

Mike: ...One of the best in the business today, so it's pretty

cool.

And he hasn't forgotten where he come from.

So, that's the main thing.

Dale: Good to see you, man.

Mike: Hey, nice seeing you, too.

Dale: All right, thanks for coming.

Joey: You know what's funny, is he was standing there for a

while.

Dale: He was.

Joey: I didn't even know, and you weren't..

You didn't even look.

He didn't even look over.

He was right at me the whole time.

Dale: I just felt like you were going to feel him at some point.

Lauren: Logano won his first nascar cup series championship

in 2018 and remains one of the series' top drivers to look out

for on the track.

Coming up, katie sowers' rise to the top of the coaching world

has set new precedents for nfl coaches.

Katie: As much as I loved football, it never popped in my

mind that I could coach football.

Lauren: Plus, how golf can change the life of so many no

matter your age.

Jeff: Everything they did to me is kind of like what the first

tee is doing now, just 30 years later.

Katie sowers was destined to be announcer: We'll be right back to the more you know on nbc.Nce,

a football coach.

The daughter of a teacher, sowers' hard work and ability to

lead has led her to the nfl as a position specialist.

But part of her specialty lies off the field, as she leads the

way for more women in a male-dominated sport.

Katie: I saw becky hammon actually get hired on as an nba

assistant, and I saw that, and I remember posting a picture on my

facebook that was me coaching youth football.

And I said, “nfl, I'm coming for you.” and that was the moment

that I realized it could actually be possible.

My name is katie sowers, and I'm an offensive assistant coach for

the san francisco 49ers.

Yeah, I always grew up and football was my favorite sport

ever since I was really little.

I have a lot of journal entries where I would write all about

how important football was to me and how I'd play every day after

school with my twin sister.

At a young age, I didn't think that girls could play football.

So, I even have a journal entry where I wrote, “since I can't

play football, I guess I'll play basketball.” so, ended up

playing just a number of different sports throughout

college.

You know, at the end of college, I kind of was still feeling

like, you know, sports are done.

There has to be something else.

And I saw a clip of women's tackle football, and that kind

of took me back to when I was younger, found that there's a

women's league and started playing.

Announcer: Sowers, three-step drop.

She is going deep.

Pass is complete!

Nothing but turf ahead!

Announcer: She's got a laser for an arm.

I love her game.

Katie: I always knew I wanted to be a coach.

My dad was a collegiate basketball coach, but it's

interesting, because as much as I loved football, I never...It

never popped in my mind that I could coach football, because

I'd never really seen it as an option.

My true goal was finding my passion, right, and then I

believe when we find our passion, the other stuff is

added bonuses.

So, if I'm a trailblazer, if I'm a role model, that's an added

bonus to me, because I'm showing somebody how I lead my life in

terms of finding happiness, finding a career that I love.

And that allows other people to feel like they have an

opportunity, just like becky hammon did for me.

You don't know that it exists until it's visible to you, until

you see the opportunities, and that really opened up those

doors for me.

You always hear the saying, “it's not what you know, but who

you know.” there's a lot of truth to that.

Obviously, you have to know what you're talking about, but

networking is crucial, and sometimes it's a little bit of

luck.

I was coaching youth basketball and ended up that scott pioli,

who was the former general manager for the chiefs, his

daughter played on that fifth grade team.

And had I not had a mess-up in scheduling, I would probably

have not...Would not be where I am right now.

My number one piece of advice for anyone, no matter what it is

that you do, is to have confidence and know that you're

valuable and find where you add value to a team.

A lot of times we have this mindset that we're just happy to

be here, you know, but we really have to know that we're worth

something and that we're valuable and that you have to

have a mindset that you cannot be replaced.

And I think if you have that mindset, no matter if you lose

your job, you get promoted, if you continue to have that

mindset, you will be successful.

Family on three.

One, two, three!

All: Family!

Lauren: Sowers' hard work, personality, and football mind

will not only create more opportunities for herself

professionally, but for other women destined for the nfl.

Coming up, how one man used golf to change the lives of so many.

Brian: He loved spending time with people, and golf was a way

for him to do that.

Lauren: Golf is a game of power, whether that's the power announcer: We'll be right back to the more you know on nbc.

From a drive on a par-5 or the power it can have on someone's

life.

It can be a place to be alone and a place to make new friends,

and one man had a vision to use the power of golf to change his

community.

Barney: Here you can see how big the operation was.

This was a driving range going out this way.

Here's mr. George.

That must have been about '56.

Mr. George was one of the most well-read people I know, and it

was mostly always about the grocery industry.

He was a dreamer.

Lauren: Affectionately known as mr. George, george jenkins

founded the largest employee-owned food chain,

publix super markets.

Barney: Mr. George loved his customers.

He loved his employees.

Brian: He loved spending time with people, and golf was a way

for him to do that.

So, par 3 here is another example of that.

Mr. George wanted to give back, and it was a way for him to

share the game of golf, but also give back to our associates in

that our associates can come out here and play for free.

Tom: I was a stock clerk back in the early '70's.

I was 20 years old, and I had never played golf in my life,

and after a long shift, a lot of my fellow stock clerks said,

“let's go play golf at par-3.” jeff: I was seven years old, and

I lived down the road, and I had a friend that said, “let's go

play golf.” we played, and that's the beginning of golf for

me at par 3.

Andy: No, get up and spin.

Being able to get rides out here and play at par 3, it was

certainly something that aided me in my development of my short

game, get to college with a scholarship, and then go on and

play the tour.

Lauren: Pga tour veteran andy bean once resided in lakeland.

He would play marathon rounds at par 3 as a junior.

Now bean is a supporter of an annual charity golf tournament

held by the first tee of lakeland.

Andy: You know, the funny thing about it is I think probably the

last time we may have played together was 20 years ago maybe.

Tom: Probably so, yeah.

Probably so.

Andy: How about that?

Tom: That's pretty good.

Andy: I hit it in the middle of the club.

Tom: Oh, no doubt there, man.

Andy: Yes.

Tom: That's when to bang one in.

Barney: Mr. George's evolution here at par 3 opened this

course.

The first tee came along, and the first tee being something

that served youth...

...Was of great interest to publix at that time, and so we

decided to turn the golf course over to the first tee operation,

and it's been very successful.

Man: Give me five.

Get your clubs.

Let's go to that yellow ball.

Doug: The nine core skills that we teach with the first tee is

so critical to all children and all kids.

It's just great to be able to have a facility here in lakeland

that can share that with our kids and our children and teach

them integrity and trustworthiness and all the

other core lessons that we try to teach out here.

Rocky: It's really awesome to see something in the community

like this for the fact that I was born and raised just down

the road, something that is so impactful to not only me, but,

you know, other kids that I grew up with, other kids that I

played golf with.

To see mr. Jenkins' vision and the impact that it's making

still to this day and changing kids' lives like he did mine.

Christian: I noticed a lot of my friends were playing basketball,

football, and I was like, “there has to be something else I can

do, man.” I remember driving by here because I used to go to

school up the street.

It was like, wow, this looks really fascinating.

To see all these golf balls just flying in the air, it's like,

wow, wouldn't it be fun to hit a golf ball a hundred yards?

I was like, “dad, let me play golf.” he's like, “son, are you

sure?

I mean, you're a basketball...” it's like, “yeah, dad, I just

really want to do it.” go in.

Yes!

Rocky: This was just a place that was an outlet for me,

somewhere that I could go, something productive that I

could do, because at the time, I was kind of acting out.

I wasn't the best kid, and after the coaching here and the

mentoring and then being able to put my time into golf, that's

kind of what everything has stemmed from.

Christian: I was one of the kids running around here trying to

have a good time.

I believe the first tee has taught me the values of what it

means to grow up and how you should treat yourself in life.

Have integrity.

Don't lie.

Also, persevere, and you will conquer them.

Tom: This was george jenkins, one of his ways of showing not

only the people who love to play golf, but the people who

couldn't even afford to play golf.

I mean, that wasn't even part of their life or their heritage.

Andy: He touched people's lives by making things available to

them, and par 3 was certainly one of them.

Jeff: It was par 3 back then, and it's first tee now, but I

look back at what publix, with par 3, everything they did to me

is kind of like what the first tee is doing now, just 30 years

later.

Lauren: It's amazing how a golf club and a small ball can have

such a big impact on so many lives.

Well, that's all the time we have for today, but join us next

time on “the champion within”.

[music]