Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, " My father died this morning.
Is ti 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 to the game on Saturday.
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten point 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 is 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 winner touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard.
Finally, after the stands had emptied and team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this 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 waht got into you? How did you do it?"