EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) -- Above all else, sports has the ability to connect and inspire. Memorial superfan Sam Schulz connected with sports in a way that is unrivaled and it's his story that is inspiring thousands.

"Here you have a young man dying in his bed and he's helping other people," Sam's dad Pat Schulz said. "That will always be Sam's legacy, the word selfless."

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Selflessness seemed to just be in Sam Schulz's DNA.

"He would come to school, and you could tell he didn't feel good," Memorial football head coach John Hurley said. "I mean you could read the room pretty quick, but as soon as he got around people, he livened up. I mean, he was a people person."

Sam was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa, or Butterfly Disease, a rare condition that made his skin extremely fragile which tore and blistered easily, but Sam wasn't going to let that slow him down.

"We tried to keep Sam as normal as possible," Pat Schulz said. "I kept him in little league and t-ball and he actually played which was great. A lot of people thought we were crazy trying to get him to play, but I wanted him to live as normal as a life as possible and that life was through sports."

Eventually, Sam's disease wouldn't allow him to keep competing on the field, but Sam kept sports at the center of his universe: a manager for the Memorial boys basketball team, a fan of his younger brother Simon on the field, court, and diamond, and a friend for football head coach John Hurley.

"It was always more about Sam wanting to know what he could do to help you out," Hurley said. "He never really asked for anything in return, now he might ask for some feta cheese off my salad or banana peppers, but that's kind of uncommon for someone his age."

"I think those guys just really realized that Sam was an old soul," Pat Schulz said. "He might've been young in age, but he wasn't young in maturity."

That magnetic, full of life personality mixed with a courageous story about strength and an invincible spirit led Sam to become friends with some of sports largest figures.

"Knowing that so many people such as John Hurley, or coach [Chris] Beard, or coach [Tom] Izzo, or whomever just brought him in and included him really made Sam's life whole."

Sam's body lost the fight with EB in early August, passing away at just 22 years old, but his light will shine on forever.

"Sam wouldn't want everybody crying," Pat Schulz said. "He'd want you to go score that touchdown or shoot that bucket and he told his brother, 'I want you to live a great life. I want you to be great at UE. I want to look down and see that.' That's what Sam would've wanted."

"My wife says I never complain going into work," Hurley said. "Being involved with a guy like Sam, you have nothing to complain about. There's nothing you can't overcome from a day-to-day basis and that is reflected in how he lived his life."

That impact was felt across the country with thousands attending his service, tens of thousands more, like New York Knicks guard OG Anunoby, sending love online, but Pat has just one simple message.

"My advice to everybody out there is to go give your son or daughter, mom or dad, brother or sister, a big hug and kiss because my wife said, 'I knew it was coming someday, I just didn't know it was coming today.'"

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তোমার বাড়িতে উঠোন নেই, বারান্দায় সোফাসেট
উঠোন থাকলে আমরা অনেকেই যেতে পারতাম;
যদিও যাবার ইচ্ছে সকলের আছে কিছু কমবেশি
এত দিন তুমি কেন অপরিচিত ছিলে, ওগো দেশি

আমরা প্রত্যেকে তোমার বাড়িমুখে চেয়ে উন্মুখ
একান্ত জরুরি প্রয়োজনে তোমার মাধ্যম ছাড়া
তার কাছে এখন আর পৌঁছানো যাবে না সহজ
প্রথমে তোমার কাছে পৌঁছুতে পারলেই নিবেদন
কিন্তু তোমার বাড়ি পর্যন্ত যেতে আমার মূলধন
অনেকটাই ফুরিয়ে যায় মনোবল থামে না মোটেও

উঠোন না থাকার পরেও যারা যায়, তারা সাহসী
সরাসরি বারান্দায় ঢুকে গিয়েই সোফাসেটে বসা
লিটন নিঃশব্দে এগিয়ে আসবে গাদাগাদি ভিড়ে
তার চোখে দ্যুতি নতুনের, যত্নে রচিত লাল চা;

প্রথমে অবাক হলে মূল কর্তা কিছুটা দেরিতে আসে
যারা জানে তোমাকে নিবেদনের যথাযোগ্য হিস্ট্রি
অপেক্ষায় থাকে, কখন সে এসে খুলে দেবে সিঁড়ি
তোমার হস্তক্ষেপ ছাড়া যেহেতু পৌঁছানো অসহজ
প্রথমে কয়েক দিন এমনি এমনি আসা হবে রোজ;
তারপর অদৃশ্য হাতখান হাতছানি দেবে নিয়মিত—

হঠাৎ একদিন তোমার নামে খোলা হবে নীল বিও
এবার অ্যাকাউন্টে জমা দেয়া শুরু হলো, দিয়ো তুমিও

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