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When the young man went to college, he decided to try out
for the football team as a "walk-on." Everyone was sure he
could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted
that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his
heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time,
provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they
badly needed. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled
him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called
his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent
season tickets for all the college games. This persistent
young athlete never missed practice during his four years at
college, but he never got to play in the game.
It was the end of his senior football season, and as he
trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play
off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man
read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing
hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning.
Is it all right if I miss practice today?"
The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said,
"Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to
come back to the game on Saturday. Saturday arrived, and the
game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team
was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped
into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As
he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were
astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.
"Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today,"
said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him.
There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close
playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally
feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
"All right," he said. "You can go in."
Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the
stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown,
who had never played before was doing everything right. The
opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked
and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The
score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game,
this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the
winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates
hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never
heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had
showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that
the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone.
The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it.
You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you
do it?"
He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said,
"Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad
was blind?" , The young man swallowed hard and forced a
smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first
time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could
do it!" |
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