And so there she sat ...

And so there she sat â¦ all alone within the crowd, her only company the myriad of thoughts of her husband, Elite angler Hank Cherry.

And so there she satâ¦

All captions: Don Barone

â¦ desperate for any information on how her husband was doing in the tournament, how much weight he had, how much weight those chasing him had, was he alright, how was he holding up.

She is a wife, she is a partner, a mother and a lover, alone in the crowd.

And so there she sat â¦

â¦ as her husband came out towed in his boat to make a final lap in the arena before the crowd, and as he in his boat came close to where she sat â¦

â¦ in an intimate moment surrounded by thousands of people the wife, the mother, the lover blew her husband a kiss. A gesture of love, one tiny hand amidst so many other hands, but at that instant the only hand that mattered.

And so there she sat â¦

â¦ camera in hand, a photo for the shelf above the fireplace, a photo for her children, a photo for their grandchildren, herâs and the man in the boat circling the arena, a photo to be handed down within the family, Cherry.

And so there she sat â¦

â¦ holding on, holding on to those she loved both the child in her lap, the child in the seat next to her sitting with his grandparents, holding on, grasping tight â¦ hope.

And so then â¦

â¦ came the nod, came the runner from B.A.S.S. with simply this message, âYou need to come down and be back stage,â and yet even now as the mother and child walked on the arena floor there shadowed them one question, one question that would change the life of this family, one question this â¦ did my husband win, did my daddy win â¦

And so then â¦

â¦ in a shower of confetti, in a shower of applause, whistles and clapping came the answer â¦ yes, he did. Daddy, husband, son, friend â¦ won.

And so then â¦

â¦ came the moment, the exact moment when a wife looked to her husband and all the work, all the short nights and long days, all the miles and face time, all of it that a family goes through to become champion all of it â¦

â¦ became worth it.

And so then â¦

â¦ as it should be the victory was won by all, the entire family climbed into the Championâs boat for a victory lap in the arena. It was a team championship shared husband, wife, children â¦ along with the American flag and the trophy from the game.

And so then â¦

â¦ there was silence, the crowds were gone, only memories remained only to be swept away soon.

And so then â¦

â¦ we are left to wonder as we snuck into these family moments, these moments where in a crowd only four people mattered, and of them two, two children got to see firsthand, got to â¦

â¦ feel firsthand that yes it was worth it, all the sacrifices, and that yes goals and hard work pay off.

And so they also learned â¦

â¦ dreams do come true. Daddy proved that.