Athletes have done some amazing things and given amazing performances in the past, causing jaws everywhere to drop.

Alas, in my limited life span, I have not been able to witness many amazing feats.

Until last Saturday, that is, when I covered the men's basketball game against South Florida.

It was about midway through the second half that it happened. South Florida forward Terrance Leather had the ball and drove to the basket, but was fouled and missed his shot.

Upset that he had been unable to finish his drive to the basket, he let out a scream before walking to the line to attempt his free throws.

This is where the amazingness started.

As he screamed, the gum that Leather had been chewing flew out of his mouth and onto the floor underneath the basket. Things get a little hazy here, but I'm pretty sure that, at some point, Leather picked his gum up off the floor and put it back in his mouth to resume chewing it.

Now, I've seen guys jump over guys to dunk on SportsCenter, but I've never seen gum re-chewed like that in my entire life. Every time I've seen gum touch the floor or the pavement, whoever drops it usually throws it away.

And rightfully so. Five second rule notwithstanding, gum is an adhesive substance. As a rule, it picks up more dirt than any other type of food, and once that dirt is in the gum, it's near impossible to get it out.

But apparently that didn't dissuade Leather. His piece of gum had been rolling around and soaking up droplets of players' sweat. And not just from one player, which is gross enough, but the sweat of several players, all mixed up, which is somehow even more gross.

And yet, he popped the tainted gum back in his mouth. Why? I'm going to assume that the gum is a good luck charm, and that it helps him play well, or something. And if that's true, then what he did was that much more amazing.

His dedication to basketball is so high that he is willing to basically chew on a piece of rubber mixed with bits of dirt and dust and soaked in the sweat of several different people, just for the game.

And who can argue with the results? South Florida almost knocked off Marquette, and Leather had a 25-point performance.

So keep chewing that ABC gum, Terrance Leather, even if you were the one who AC'd it.

Just don't ever play basketball in a manure pile.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 18 2005.