Ms. Fitz & the Viral Playground Buzzer Beater (Zoomed-In Moment)

In 2021, amidst the pandemic, third-grade teacher Ms. Fitz promised her class a hot chocolate party if she could sink a basketball from across the playground. The ensuing video that captured the moment, along with her student's jubilant response, went viral.  This interview/narrative explores the tiny details leading up to the shot, alongside some of the other “magical” moments in Ms. Fitz’s life that led to this epic playground buzzer beater.

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Transcript

This text may not be distributed or published online without documented or written permission from Shadow Clock Podcast. Transcripts are generated using a combination of human beings and AI software (i.e., speech recognition) and therefore may contain errors. Please reference the corresponding audio before quoting in print. Special thanks to Cindy Mahalic Higgerson, Spencer Masternak, Bruce Scivally, and Alec Jansen for making these transcriptions possible.

START OF EPISODE

Katie Mahalic (Voice Over)

Welcome to “Shadow Clock, Zoomed-In Moments.” In case you're new to “Shadow Clock,” “Zoomed-In Moments” are what we call some of our slightly shorter episodes where you'll hear the online conversations that I have with my guests, speckled with a little bit of that audio storytelling that I just love doing. Opposite of our “Zoomed-In Moments,” our mainstay episodes focus on true-life moments that take you through the twists and turns of time’s shadow.

If you want to hear longer stories about bank robbers doing time in Alcatraz, kidnappings by Colombian guerrilla groups or mummified remains being unearthed in residential backyards, check out our other episodes, not marked, “Zoomed-In.” In the meantime, if you're looking for something to fill that shorter car ride, you're in the right place. We hope you enjoyed this  zoomed-in moment of “Shadow Clock.”

Katie (Voice Over)

This particular episode takes place in 2021, one year into the pandemic in Washington, D.C.. It's here where a third-grade  class was promised a hot chocolate party by their teacher Ms. Fitz, if and only if she could sink a basketball from across the playground, which is literally about the distance from a little before the half-court line on a professional basketball court.

It's no spoiler that she made the shot, as it was a moment that went viral, making people all around the world smile in the midst of the pandemic. And it wasn't just social media that was all over it. Even big stations like ESPN and Sports Center picked up the story, which then was followed by endless gossip in the hallways of Holy Trinity.

Kid 1

I remember walking into school one morning and all the kids were like, “Oh my gosh, Ms. Fitz is on every like every social media app!

Kid 3

Because Ms. Fitz, she made this big, like, full-court shot.

Kid 5

Everyone was chanting, “Ms. Fitz! Ms. Fitz!”

Kid 2

My sister came home from school and she was just like, “Mom! Mom!”

Kid 6

And then my dad said, my cousin's teacher made the shot.

Kid 9

And everybody started cheering.

Kid 4

No one really knew if it was real.

Kid 10

My sister got a hot chocolate party.

Kid 6

And I was like, what?

Kid 7

And Ms. Fitz was on the news. She was famous.

Kid 1

And I thought it was a little insane because, like, you know, oh my gosh, you're going viral - like!

Kid 8

It’s like, if someone asked me, like, even when I'm 50, like, I'll say, “Yes, I can remember that moment.”

Katie (Voice Over)

Today's episode, a more detailed account surrounding what happened that day on the playground. You're listening to another “Zoomed-In Moment.” I'm Katie Mahalic. This is Shadow Clock.

Katie (online talking w/ Kathleen Fitzpatrick)

Hi, I'm Katie.

Kathleen Fitzpatrick

Nice to meet you. I'm Kathleen Fitzpatrick. I'm so excited to talk to you today!

Katie

I'm so excited to have you on our show today, especially after all this time! I mean, this is, did you ever think your basketball career would just continue right into the third grade?

Kathleen

Uh, never.

Katie

Before we get into the moment, I want to get a little bit more of an understanding of who you are as a basketball player. Where are you originally from?

Kathleen

I am from Philadelphia. I-I grew up in the same neighborhood as 16 first cousins, and we all played basketball. Our parents played basketball. My mom played Division 1 college basketball, so she was a coach and a mentor, still is, but all growing up. And we just-- I played basketball since I would say first grade, every day.

Katie

Do you by chance remember the very first time you picked up a basketball or is it so ubiquitous in your life that it just was always in your hands?

Kathleen

It just was always in my hands. Always. And I just remember walking to the park with my mom, my dad dribbling a normal-sized basketball and just it being bigger than my body. And I just loved it. And I think I, I love basketball for so many reasons. Um, I think the number one reason was my mom played it, and my mom was really good…

And I absolute-- like my mom is my favorite person in the world. And I think if I could be like her, that was a goal of mine since I was a little kid. And so, that was something that we bonded over my entire life. Even as a little kid, it became a job, um, because I just always wanted to get better.

And I had all these older cousins that I looked up to that played competitive high school, competitive college, Division 1 college, and I wanted to be just like them.

Katie

This was really interesting, too, because you even said as a young kid, as much as you loved basketball, it did feel very much like a job. Was there ever a time in your youth where you felt stressed by the pressure and wanted to step away?

Kathleen

Not often, because I just I loved it so much. And I think it- I just couldn't imagine my life without it. There was never a time I wanted to step away from the game, um, but I was always the smallest player on the floor. I just, I grew really late, I was always so much shorter, so much thinner, and I really had a hard time competing with girls who were my age.

And so it was- at times - it was frustrating because I knew I had to practice so much harder than other girls did just to keep up. You know, as a 29-year-old, looking back, I think that's why I loved it so much, because I had to give it everything I had and more to be able to compete.

Looking back, I think I loved it so much because I gave it everything -I - I possibly could.

Katie

How did you find yourself at Rutgers?

Kathleen

I actually was on a scholarship. I started my career at Saint Joe's University in Philadelphia. My mom actually played there. She was a fabulous player. And that's where she met my dad. So Saint Joe's always had a very special place in my heart. But it was also 10 minutes away from the house that I grew up in. And after my junior year, I just kind of thought, you know what -

there's a lot more out there that I think I should expose myself to before I graduate and enter the real world.

So Saint Joe's and Rutgers had played each other, so they were familiar with me. And the Rutgers coaches actually said, you know, “Why don't you come work out with us?” It was almost like a tryout. I just, to this day, it was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done.

I knew it was just going to be me and five coaches. I knew, you know, it’s - it's this hour or I got to keep searching for something else. So with that, I went into it like, I've got nothing to lose, right? I mean, I'm going to go into this and just work really hard and listen and try to learn and do everything that they want me to do.

And you know, if it's meant to be, it'll be. And so, after the workout, they had told me that, you know, the scholarship was mine and, you know, it's, it's mine if I want it. And I said, “Yes, I will see you, you know, in a couple weeks.”

Katie

And speaking of moments, what a life- what a life-changing moment, you know?

Kathleen

Absolutely.

Katie

So you're there two years. You're moving into -- is the game of 2018 against Maryland, is that your senior year, also?

Kathleen

Yes, that was, that was my senior year.

Katie

Because, 2018 is a big moment, too. So, can you kind of take me back into that moment, into that game against Maryland in February of 2018? What was, where we at? What's going on? It’s right before halftime.

Kathleen

So, interestingly enough, I wasn't having the best shooting season. And so, I - I'm a shooter, right? That’s what I practiced, that was my position, that was my strength. I was on the floor to make 3-point shots. That's just what I was… I was there for. So, I just really wasn't having the best shooting year that I wanted to have.

And I actually remember before that game, one of my coaches brought me into their office and pulled up clips that I-- of me making shots. So, whether it was 3-point shots from Saint Joe's, 3-point shots at Rutgers, 3-point shots in practices, they brought me in and was like, “This is what you can do. And you need to start, you know, gain- gaining that confidence back.”

Because once you go into a shooting slump, it's really hard to get yourself out of it. It just is, as physical as basketball is, it's extremely mental. And any I mean, just sports in general, and any athlete will tell you that. And so, I went into that game thinking, “All right, whatever opportunity comes, I just need- I need to shoot the ball like I know how to. I need to shoot the ball like I've been practicing this for my entire life.”

Our point guard comes over and she was so fast. I mean, the fastest guard, I think probably in the Big Ten at that time. And she said, “I'm going to beat everyone down on the floor. I'm going to give it to you and you’re going to shoot it.”

And it was- it's funny for her to say it that way because it's hard to, you know, predict something like that. Like with basketball, it's like, all right, here's different scenarios that can happen. She's like, “This is what's going to happen. You're going to do it.” And sure enough, she took a couple of dribbles passed it to me, and I just said, “I got to let it fly.”

Katie

And after that moment that that shot goes in at the halftime buzzer, was this-- did it kind of break the spell you were under?

Kathleen

I think - I - I - it did. Um… when it went in, I just was like really - sho- like I was like, “That really went in,” like this is you know, if you can have that mental toughness and-and your teammates are believing in you, your coaches are believing you, well you need to believe in yourself. And I think that's what um that shot, a lot went into that.

Um… and I give my coaches and teammates to this day as much credit, um, for helping me have confidence do it. Just the excitement for my teammates and my coaches was everything after that moment. After I graduated from college, my coach was amazing and she allowed me to stay on as a… kind of a video coordinator/graduate assistant just to see if I wanted to be a college coach.

While that was amazing and I loved it, I stepped away from college basketball. It just it's-it's a lot of time. You know, you don't get time with your family. You don't get time at holidays. It's 12 months a year almost every day. It's... and that's why college sports are amazing because it's, they dedicate their life to it.

And so I wanted to take a break from it. And that's when I got into teaching.

Katie

All right. So it's clear, you know, pressure: You've lived under pressure, you've worked under pressure all the way from the way you moved into Rutgers to dealing with, you know, a slump to that shot on the court. So I'm going to move us forward to this day in 2021 and ask you a little bit more about this one magic moment that just kind of keeps your basketball career moving forward in the most positive ways.

Can you tell me, okay, so it's a Friday afternoon, correct?

Kathleen

Yes.

Katie

All right. And you're on the playground with your class?

Kathleen

Yes. So that was the third-grade class. So we were just at recess like we are every day. They had always asked, you know, can you make it from there? And always like, I don't know. And I always just kind of blew it off, like, I'm not sure. And then that day it started with this one child, she was... she really, really was pushing for the shot.

A couple of her little friends were like, like kind of jumping on board. So the attention was already kind of on me playing with like, a couple of the kids. And… cuz.. I was just shooting around with them, I wasn't making it… and then it kind of like very quickly went from the- the girls - to the whole class.

They were like, “Please, like, can you just try to make it?” Recess was ending. And I said, “All right, this is the last shot that I'm taking,” you know? And then I started walking back and out and like, “This is it, and but let's make this fun.” We're about to go into the winter break, the Christmas break. So let's just put something on the line for it.

(Kathleen laughs.)

And so I said, “All right, if I make this shot, we'll have a hot chocolate party on Monday.” And as a teacher, you want them to hear everything that you say and it doesn't always happen. I don't know how - that of course - that moment they - everyone heard. I mean, you say take out your books, well half of them hear you and half of them don’t, right?

But for some reason, the one thing that I had said out there, they all heard it. They're like “A hot chocolate party if Ms. Fitz makes it! A hot chocolate...!” So then word just kind of… So they just handed me a ball and I was like, “All right, let's do it.”

Katie (Voice Over)

In a moment, I'm going to play the actual audio from the famous viral video, which you can also see reposted on our website and our social media channels. But, before I do that, who better to give us a first-person account about this shot than the third graders of Holy Trinity Elementary School who witnessed it? They're now all in the fifth grade, and we were asked to keep their names anonymous.

That said, I asked Ms. Fitz if she could have the kids interview each other about that moment. And they talk about it like it was yesterday.

Kid 4

And we all started to get in a good spot to see.

Kid 5

Everyone was chanting “Ms. Fitz! Ms. Fitz!”

Kathleen

They are chanting Ms. Fitz, um, they are. And it was-- I do remember them begging like, “Please just shoot it and see if you can... see if you can do it, see if you can do it.” And I'm in that moment, I'm, you know, standing there thinking, “If I miss this, there's always a life lesson, right?” You know, as a teacher, you're always kind of ready for, oh, there’s - there's definitely a lesson that can come from it. But if you make it okay, well, now I have to go buy hot chocolate. Now we really have to have this party, so…

Kid 4

I knew, from the first time that she tried, that she was going to get it. She wouldn’t stop, until she did.

Kid 7

I was sitting on the slide because, like, I knew this was the last one that was possible to make. Ms.Fitz was like about to throw.

Kathleen

I shot it.

Kid 7

Everybody just froze and stared. And there was like a second of silence.

Kathleen

There was this really interesting... Like, it's almost like a magical moment of silence before the ball goes in the basket. And it went in. They went ballistic.

Kid 4

We all ran towards her.

Kid 1

We all, like, started running up and down and screaming and shouting and... 

Kid 7

… and I ran up to her and hugged her.

Kid 1

…and we just celebrate - celebrated.

Kid 9

And everybody was really excited and everybody started cheering because we got a hot chocolate party.

Kid 5

I was shocked, but I knew she was going to make it.

Katie

I mean, they totally went ballistic and it brought the biggest smile to my face, right - just those cheers. And you! Your reaction! You're just this person in the middle of all of them jumping just as much as they are screaming just as much as they are. They're surrounding you, right- like you literally had a herd of small children rushing you.

It was like they were rushing you on the court, right- like very similar to the 2018 video against Maryland, where all your teammates rushed you… you’ve got this group of third graders just rushing you. All right, I've got just a few more questions. I have-- I hear the din. I understand the cheering. I understand the setup completely.

I'm curious, with all the pressures you have faced in your own career, could you feel all those eyes staring at you, or were you oblivious to that?

Kathleen

You know, I - I think in a way I was a little more nervous in this shot for a couple reasons. One, I haven’t been practicing like I used to, and disappointing eight and nine-year-olds really isn't a good feeling. Like I said, I would have turned it into a -a life lesson. But, you know, I think they were so excited. I'm like, my goodness, I got to make this.

Katie

Did you think you are going to make it? What were your thoughts behind that moment?

Kathleen

I have to say, I just I didn't- I didn't think I was. I thought it was just, it was a cold winter day. I took my jacket off. My hands were freezing. It was “I don't think this is going to go in.” You know, it's so interesting. So my mom actually filmed it. So my mom is a teacher here.

She is what we call a substitute coordinator. So if a teacher is out, she subs and one of my grade partners, the other third-grade teacher, was out sick, so my mom was her sub. So she filmed it for our family group chat, actually. I said to my mom, I think all those days where gyms were closed because of snow or they were closed over breaks and we would - we would go to a park outside and shoot and it - it would be 20, 30 degrees - and we were that dedicated to practicing every day. I said, “I think those paid off.” (Kathleen laughs.) I think there was moments that me and you, really put everything we had into getting a good workout in and, you know, at such a young age, really paid off. So, life really comes full circle that my mom was there with me to share that moment.

And- and I realize why it went viral, and it was the time that our world was in. And it was just such a happy thing to... to watch and and see kids smiling and just having fun at school. And I think a lot of people saw themselves in those kids at school, too. Like, I also think separate from the pandemic, you know, it brought back happy childhood memories for so many people, like a recess yard and, um, games and, you know, fun and laughing.

And, you know, you're not in that school environment, you kind of forget. And it was um… I think it was really special for people to see the - the fun that- that, you know, kids have - can have in school and that they do have.

Kid 4 

We just always remembered it as probably the loudest day and funnest time of our lives.

Kid 5

Yes, that's a memory that I could never forget. That was a really special moment.

Katie (Voice Over)

If you like the show, follow us on social media and please tell a friend about us. The more people who know about “Shadow Clock,” the more people we can keep sharing these true-life moments with. As we are an independent out-of-pocket podcast, if you feel so inclined to donate, head over to our website at shadow-clock.com and click on the contribution button. All monetary contributions go toward pumping out our next episode.

This episode of “Shadow Clock” was created by me. Post-production audio is by Matt Sauro. Social Media is managed by Spencer Masternack. Kate Cosgrove creates original illustrations for “Shadow Clock’s” episodes, which you can also see at shadow-clock.com. Music for this episode is credited to Pond5. Additional sound effects is also credited to Pond5 and freesound.org. Content contributors, composers and individual song titles can be found on our website at shadow-clock.com. Thank you to Alejandro Vélez, Matt Sauro, Kate Cosgrove, Spencer Masternack, Adam Gould, Bruce Scivally, Mary Brehm, Miles Brehm, Michael Mahalic and Cindy Mahalic Higgerson. I do want to take a moment here to remember Holly Destry, Ms. Fitz's teaching partner. I was so saddened to hear that Holly had passed away from COVID just a few weeks after their class went viral that year. Kathleen shared with me just how much she is missed, and it felt like the right thing to do, to remember Ms. Destry here. In closing, a huge thank you to Ms. Fitz, otherwise known as Kathleen Fitzpatrick, as well as to the third and fifth graders of Holy Trinity Elementary School, for taking the time to share with me their memories of that viral playground Buzzer Beater. Once again, thanks for listening. I'm Katie Mahalic and this is a  "Zoomed-In Moment” episode of “Shadow of Clock.”

END OF EPISODE

Questions or comments on this episode? Contact us at info@shadow-clock.com.