It's just shy of "Football & Turkey Day", my readers, so let's chat about some football memoirs I've "tackled" recently (I'll just show myself out on that one...)
Strength of a Champion: Finding Faith & Fortune Through Adversity by O.J. Brigance, with Peter Schrager. Foreword by Ray Lewis
As the Baltimore Ravens made their improbable march to victory in Super Bowl XLVII, they turned to their senior advisor of player development, O.J. Brigance, for inspiration each and every Sunday. Following a stellar twelve-year career as a linebacker, including a Super Bowl win with Baltimore in 2000, O.J.Juice Brigance joined the Ravens front office. But in 2007, O.J. was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and told he had only three to five years to live. As a player, he'd battled hundreds of injuries and setbacks. None of them prepared him to face ALS. With faith and determination in his heart and his wife, Chanda, praying by his side, O.J. fought back against the debilitating disease, even as ALS robbed him of the ability to walk and speak. He kept working, smiling, and touching his players lives all the way through their remarkable Super Bowl run more than five years after his diagnosis.
Now, O.J. shares his incredible story, offering lessons in resilience and reflecting on the championship team that inspired him in turn. Along with his own journey, O.J. recounts the struggles and successes of Ravens players, including Ray Lewis, Joe Flacco, and Torrey Smith, as well as the strength of head coach John Harbaugh. Having watched their season from the best seat in the house, O.J. highlights their perseverance, confidence, and leadership, and the best that sports can bring out in people.
Full of profound revelations and never-before-told anecdotes, Strength of a Champion is a celebration of the human spirit from a man who left everything on the field. O.J. Brigance never asked to be a hero. That's what makes his story so courageous.
★★★☆☆
Strength of a Champion opens with the story of O.J. Brigance and his team, the Baltimore Ravens, winning the 2013 Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers (his second Super Bowl win, his first being in 2000). This win came five years after Brigance was diagnosed with ALS (amytrophic lateral sclerosis), commonly dubbed Lou Gehrig's Disease for the baseball player who famously brought the disease to the public's attention with his diagnosis announcement in 1939. In Brigance's story, he adds up his ALS diagnosis with other hardships across his lifetime -- being born to teen parents, growing up an introverted child with a speech impediment (which he eventually overcame), having to spend years in the Canadian Football League before the NFL would even give him a chance --- to present an inspiration story of how to bounce back from frequent adversity, to ultimately present yourself to the world as the ultimate champion.
After spending years in the Canadian Football League, his persistence in reaching for his goals pays off. In 1996, after anchoring himself in a mindset of resilient faith, perseverance, and a good amount of being egged on by his wife, Brigance earns himself his first NFL position. He'd start with a spot on the Miami Dolphins team (four years with them and then a bit of an "unsigned" lull), but much of his twelve year career as a linebacker would be spend with the Baltimore Ravens.
Following his diagnosis, Brigance was unsure how to proceed with his football career. Should he retire outright? If he continued on as a player, how long could he go on? He was already having struggles at this point, the first sign being a tingling sensation in the arm that started up during a 2006 racquetball game and only grew worse from there. His doctors had given him the nitty gritty on this condition: in the 2-5 year window after diagnosis, 50% of patients don't live beyond 3 years from initial onset of symptoms, only 20% make the 5 year mark. In short, the cards would be stacked against him.
But Brigance clearly wasn't one for being a nameless, faceless statistic. He set out to be the exception to the rule. After a long talk with Ravens coach (1999-2007) Brian Billick, Billick offers him a position in the front office as Director of Player Programs, a job Brigance agrees to take on.
The main focus of the job was helping players with everything in their lives off the field. From financial advice to relationship guidance to aiding rookies in getting settled with a home in Baltimore --- the director of player programs was the individual players could turn to for tutelage in all things nonfootball.
O.J's wife was also given a position as mentor to NFL wives, her official title being Lady Ravens Group Facilitator. In 2008, O.J. starts the Brigance Brigade, "a foundation built to equip, encourage, and empower those living with ALS".
The Brigance "Champion" Creed:
Commit
Heart
Attitude
Morals (or Motivation?)
Perseverance
Initiative
Opportunity
Never Underestimate What God Can Do For You
While on one hand it seemed he was still professionally thriving, the position was not without its struggles. By 2012, forty-three year old Brigance was holding down his job with the assistance of four around-the-clock nurses... but he was making it work!
Regardless of what we go through in life, there's always purpose wrapped within the pain. It all boils down to this: Every triumph and tragedy in my life has served as preparation to stand firm in this moment. To take what many perceive as an unbearable circumstance and be able to impact the lives of others. That's what living is all about.
Brigance's story touches upon all the hallmark inspiring themes: perseverance, faith, an appreciation for setbacks that become learning opportunities / character building moments, the importance of follow through once you have decided upon a course of action. It might have not always been the most riveting read for me all the way through, but it's still a moving story that'll definitely leave you in a space of gratitude for the gifts you've been given. It's near impossible to come away from this book without at least "damn, props dude"!
What It Takes: Fighting for My Life and My Love of the Game by Mark Herzlich, with Alex Tresniowski
In 2011, he became starting linebacker for the New York Giants and triumphed in the Super Bowl—after being told his cancer diagnosis meant he would never play football again....
As a child, Herzlich found true meaning in football, eventually turning his passion into a first-team All-American spot at Boston College. But the budding star was sidelined by persistent, debilitating pain in his left leg. The shocking diagnosis: He had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Doctors put his odds of survival as low as ten percent—and no one thought he would be able to run, much less play football, again. Then Herzlich learned of a radical treatment that would give him the best chance to regain his strength and maybe even play football again, but it could cost him his life. Relying on family, friends, faith, and deep wells of determination to help him through treatment, his plan worked. Not only could he run, but he was physically stronger than ever, and mentally ready to battle his way into the NFL. When he was passed over by all thirty-two teams in the draft, he dug deeper and continued his training, winning a spot in the Giants’ training camp and, eventually, on the team.
★★☆☆☆
In 2008, twenty-one year old Mark Herzlich was having a banner year professionally, even being named ACC's (Atlantic Coast Conference) Defensive Player of the Year. But by 2009, Herzlich would be diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that not only threatened to end his career, but came with a survival rate as low as 10 percent. Researching options, Herzlich discovered that there was a form of treatment out there that could risk his life, but it also might just save it.
Adversity is a great equalizer, and illness doesn't care who you are. We all face challenges, some not so important, some life-or-death. We're all eventually on the receiving end of a hit --- a knocked-down, laid-out, brought-to-our-knees, bruised and bloodied hit. And when that happens --- when we wind up in the darkest, loneliest place we've ever been, facing the fight of our lives --- we're forced to ask ourselves, "What am I going to do now? Am I going to fight this thing? Am I going to beat it? Am I tough enough to beat it? Do I have what it takes?" What I discovered, and what we can all discover, is that we're capable of so much more than we ever dreamed. We're stronger than we ever imagined. We're tougher than we ever could have known.
The story of Herzlich's career is not your typical Cinderella story. Though Herzlich came from nice beginnings --- enjoying a cushy, middle-upper class upbringing with loving, encouraging parents dedicated to providing him with the best opportunities --- and though he worked hard, pursuing his professional sports dreams with an iron focus, he still suffered rejection by several NFL teams during draft weeks. But then came the day that New York Giants President John Mara heard about this guy and urged head coach Tom Coughlin to give him a shot at training camp (Mara might have also had a soft spot for the fact that Herzlich and he shared the same college alma mater). Herzlich then spends some chapters discussing the early days of his career as an NFL linebacker, before coming back around to the story of his cancer journey and how he eventually got back out on the field after being told that likely wasn't going to be a possibility anymore.
Though it seems like he came from good parental stock overall, naturally they weren't perfect. Some time is spent discussing the struggle his father sometimes had with anger issues, a trait Mark says he inherited but learned to vent on the field. There's also the story from Mark's college years that I had to lift an eyebrow at, where Mark was suffering from a mystery pain in his knee that for months would not let up. His dad's suggestion, apparently, was to go out and get fall-down drunk. Thank goodness for sensible mom to be the voice of reason! She ends up setting Mark up with an appointment with a sports specialist. But this is after a few other doctors (not of sports specialty) basically looked at it and collectively shrugged. I thought it odd that the sports doc was the first to suggest an MRI. That MRI would come back with the cancer diagnosis.
I don't want to take away from Mark's story of cancer survival. No doubt, that is something to be proud of, something for others to admire. That said, I didn't love how he comes off on paper. There's A LOT of ego roaring through these pages.
I like to think I handled all the attention that came my way with humility, and people tell me that I did, but the truth is, I really enjoyed it. I loved being the man. What was I going to do if I became just a guy with cancer?
When he talks of working towards getting into the NFL, his top motivation doesn't seem to be love of the game as much as it is becoming a millionaire and having kids wear his jersey number. The tone of the writing, it just brought to mind the image of a high school PE teacher trying to take every motivational quote off the sports t-shirts and locker room posters they could find and trying to string a memoir out of it. And then in the last chapter, he writes "one of the most important lessons cancer taught me is humility." I wasn't all that convinced, because for several pages afterward he goes on to share all these stories illustrating "look at how great all these people think I am, these people who want to be just like me!"
There are some motivational quotes and stories for sure.... just, after awhile, it got to be a bit much, a little exhausting with the running theme of "full time job being this awesome!!" His cancer survival is impressive, but the man could use a re-think on the true definition of humility.
Even at a young age, if anyone told Derrick Coleman what he couldn’t do, he’d just reply, “Watch me.” Diagnosed as hearing-impaired at age three, he faced a potentially limited future, but neither he nor his family were going to let that happen. Now Derrick shares the story of his remarkable journey toward NFL stardom, of the friends and colleagues who cheered him on when skeptics tried to chip away at his confidence, and of how every challenge he faced only strengthened his resolve. At the heart of his story is his unconventional family, whose one constant was always love. When Derrick was misunderstood as “difficult,” or bullied and laughed at by schoolmates, he removed his hearing aids and listened instead to his mother’s advice: Never let anyone else tell you how far you can go. Playing football became an outlet for Derrick’s restless energy and a way of proving he could forge his own path. As a senior at UCLA, he became a standout, an award-winning player who led his team with eleven touchdowns and demonstrated to the world what his heart had known all along: He had what it took to be a champion. No Excuses is more than just Derrick Coleman’s story as a sports legend, inspirational role model, and icon. It’s a motivating and unique testament to the human spirit, to the potential inside everyone who has ever faced difficult obstacles. It’s about aiming high in life, giving it your all, and never ever settling for excuses.
★★☆☆☆
A little observation as I work through various NFL memoirs --- there are quite a few out there just from Seahawks alum!
Anyway, on to Derrick Coleman's story.
Derrick Coleman, Jr, having lived with a hearing impairment since the age of three, shares the details of his inspirational, "against all odds" journey to NFL success. There were plenty of challenges right from an early age. Hearing challenges aside, Coleman also experienced his parents separating early on in his life, as well as being the target of a fair amount of bullying once he reached school years. Though his parents might have not worked out as a lasting couple, he writes that they maintained a caring friendship and were dedicated parents to Derrick Jr., being determined advocates for their son getting the best medical attention possible, as well as pushing him into social interactions that they hoped would steadily build his self-confidence. Often left feeling misunderstood, when Coleman was introduced to football it became an effective outlet for working out pent-up energy and frustrations.
Finishing high school, Derrick went on to attend UCLA, where he would be scouted by the NFL and later signed as a Seahawks offensive running back. Might sound easy-breezy enough right there, but it's at this point in the book that Coleman shares the math on the realistic odds of this actually happening for a college player. His breakdown of the process spans over 4-5 pages, but here's an abbreviated excerpt:
"Let's do a little math: There are about 37,000 high schools in America. Most high schools are going to have football programs. Each high school team has about 50 players. That's about 1.8 million high school players total. That's where the pool of potential NFL players begins --- a pool as big as the ocean is wide....1.8 million high school players get sliced down to about 10,000 college freshmen who get to play football. Point being: It ain't easy to play football at a college level. And after that, it only gets harder. If, by chance, you do survive and end up as a college senior and you're not limping or in a coma in a hospital, then you'll find yourself one of about 3,500 other players who potentially could play at the NFL level. Each NFL team has 53 guys on the roster. That's 1,696 players total in the NFL, give or take, at any one time. Each year, about 200 of those spots open up, so just over 250 guys are ever drafted into the NFL in any given year. Even if you're drafted, that doesn't mean you've made it....you could be drafted and still not ever play an official NFL game."
The rest of the book goes on to lay out the ups and downs of his NFL career, the challenges his hearing impairment placed on him, and how he was able to find ways to overcome. Coleman notes that at the time of writing this memoir, he was 23 years of age, so just time-wise, this isn't one of those memoirs that can reminisce over a long career full of unbelievable moments. In fact, much of the book reads as a lot of filler, and I found the writing style to be a tad simplistic (though the conversational tone would probably translate well to audiobook format).
Though I ended up getting a little bored with the writing around the halfway mark, I did finish this memoir, and I can say that despite some of my minor problems with it as a reader, there is good material here as far as Derrick's explanations on the basics of football and plenty of inspiration words for young athletes just getting started. He also brings up some good points while sharing stories about practicing with his dad, learning ways to build hand-eye coordination through playing sports, and how that process ultimately strengthened what was previously a diminished sense of balance.
Comments
Post a Comment