This is a story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his
heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had.
But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At
all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever
played. This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of
them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always on
the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed
a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he
entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also
made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't
want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.
He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd
get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never
missed a practice nor a game, but remained a bench warmer all four
years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words
of encouragement for him. 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 ther 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!"
