E:60 Tells the Story of Picking Up Butch: A Middlebury College Athletics Tradition

You may have heard this tale before, I know I have. It is popular for all the right reasons, it’s inspiring, picks you up and makes you feel good and tugs at the heart strings. The story that had garnered attention every couple of years is that of the ritual of “Picking Up Butch.” This ritual happens at Middlebury College in Vermont and is carried out by the college’s athletes. Butch Varno is a local man with history with the colleges teams started when he was a boy. Butch has cerebral palsy, confining him to a wheelchair, and limiting his ability to do everyday tasks.

For fifty years it has been a tradition for Middlebury’ s athletes to pick up Butch, a die hard fan, and take him to school football, basketball games and more. The ritual of “Picking Up Butch” teaches Middlebury’s athletes lessons they could ever learn on the court or the field. The story was most recently shared E:60 by ESPN this past month. Watch the video below and you’ll understand why this story changes every one it touches.

To learn more about Butch and the tradition of Picking Up Butch, visit the links below.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/rick_reilly/news/2003/03/04/life_of_reilly0310/

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5757413

http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/resources/ace/action/volunteer/butch