A toddler valiantly interrupted a competitive wrestling match when he saw what he perceived to be his sister under attack in an elementary school wrestling match.
When 5-year-old Ryan Prendergast took on his female opponent, 4-year-old Ruby Lewis, at a Columbia City, Indiana, meet, he had no idea he would be additionally fending off a protective younger sibling.
The competitive quarrel was all caught on video, primed for America's Funniest Home Videos, by Ryan's father. The video was shared on Facebook where it went viral with over 47 thousand views. The accompanying caption read:
When the girl you're wrestling has a tough little brother, don't mess with his sister.....you won't regret watching this video, promise.
Ruby's 2-year-old brother, Jash, mistook the match for a real fight and came charging into the frame with a battle cry to take on his big sister's adversary. The toddler's interference amused parents while the referee was thrown off his guard.
As one famous rapper once said: "U Can't Touch This."
A man, appearing to be the proud parent, plucked his courageous son from the mayhem and carried him off the mat while a voice can be heard saying, "That is the best thing I've ever seen. That was awesome." The spectator added, "Yeah, I think he might be a wrestler. He went out there, man, ready."
The crowd applauded and laughed at the cute intervention as the young fighters on the floor tried to assess what just happened.
Another spectator said, “That little boy’s upset, man.”
Ryan's mother, Tori Prendergast, thought the unexpected excitement was "cute" and told Huffington Post, "I only have boys, but if I had a daughter, I hope they would protect their sister like that."
Ruby and Jash's mother Crystal told WNDU that her kids differ from other siblings in that the older is typically jealous of the younger. "Neither one of mine have ever been that way,” she said. “They're always like, ‘That's my sister.’ ‘That's my brother.’”
Crystal's husband Joel was a competitive wrestler when he was younger, and he introduced the sport to the kids. Jash is already well on his way to being a champ. Instead of playing with toys, he runs around the house wearing wrestling gear including "helmets and shin guards and mouth guards and singlets."
Like most mothers, Crystal worries about the risk factor involved with the wrestling, but she's content in knowing her children are also learning about great sportsmanship.
When it comes to protecting the family, Jash was self-taught.
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H/T - wndu, YouTube, Facebook, Huffingtonpost, Irishexaminer