Sports: Showing Fortitude

When watching sports, it is important to respect the displays of fortitude that we sometimes observe when athletes compete. This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing two such displays. On Saturday, Notre Dame's football team was being dominated by Michigan State through much of the first half. This was occurring one week after ND had been humiliated by Michigan. As MSU was piling on the points in the first, ND could either give up their goals and effectively give up, or redouble their efforts to win the game. Notre Dame did the latter, and though their play improved late in the 2nd quarter, they were making little headway on the scoreboard, trailing by 16 after three quarters. The opportunity to be discouraged and doubt was apparent. The squad was playing better, but had not narrowed the defecit. Instead, Notre Dame continued to play hard and concentrate with the result being a stirring 40-37 comeback victory.

If Notre Dame was a profile in perserverance against doubt, Chris Simms' performance on Sunday in Tampa Bay's 26-24 loss to Carolina was an example of perserverance through physical pain and injury. After playing very poorly in two season-opening losses many people were doubting the ability and mental toughness of Simms. When Tampa Bay fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter, Simms could have folded, but instead his performance improved and he brought the Bucs back in the game. In the process, Simms took two vicious hits (one as he scored a touchdown, and another on an uncalled late hit on the next drive), one of which ruptured his spleen. Simms was unaware of what had happened to him. He continued to play after sitting out a few plays (for what appeared to be dehydration) and nearly led the Bucs to a win (Carolina won on a last second deep field goal). After the game, he was rushed to a Tampa hospital for an emergency surgery to remove his ruptured spleen. That Chris Simms continued to play is a testament to his competitive attitude and fortitude. The virtue of perserverance in difficult circumstances and amidst waves of doubt and even pain is one that each of us needs to cultivate. Though these sporting events were only games, they served as a reminder that sometimes perserverance is needed in order to do our duty, perform to the level we have been called, and hopefully accomplish our goals.