couldn’t believe what he heard but he got ready for the next kick-off. He made the catch and took it one yard deep into the end zone so he dropped to his knee. The Coach went berserk and yelled, “We’re not out here till six o’clock in the dark to take knees in the end zone. Now run it back!”
“Man, what’s going on? I can’t do anything right. This isn’t even what I do. I don’t return kick-offs or play special teams.”
Bruce focused and was ready for the next kick-off. “I had better run with it,” he thought.
He caught it on the five-yard line and began to run up the right sideline. He made it to the forty-yard line, and then cut to the middle, running down the left sideline. He thought, “I’m going all the way into the end zone. The way looks clear.”
Suddenly he realized the kicker came out of nowhere and grabbed his shoulder pads. He was slowing down. Bruce tried to shake him off but before he could, he saw a wall of tacklers ready to hit him. All of a sudden there was a loud snap. It was heard echoing across the field. Bruce was furious. He felt his leg go numb and then he had a huge rush of pain! He was down and writhing on the field.
He was angry and in pain. “I’m a really good player, a wide receiver and linebacker. I don’t play on special teams. Tomorrow is a big and important game and now I’m hurt. Thanks a lot, Coach!” he thought.
The Coach and trainers finally arrived on the field. “Don’t move, Bruce. Get off of him slowly,” his Coach yelled.
Bruce heard the trainer say, “It’s a bad break, Coach. He needs to get to the hospital now! Get the life squad out here, NOW!”
A BLESSING IN DISGUISE
Just like that, in a flash, Bruce’s world and life changed in one single moment. His leg was broken in two places. No homecoming game or dance for Bruce. No football scouts from Cornell University to see him play in this important game either. It was a major setback. All he could see for the foreseeable future was surgery, pain and traction in the hospital for a few days, then lots of recovery time that included crutches and no football!
It was Friday night by the time he got to the hospital when he was told he needed surgery. His Mom was with him as he went into surgery. Everything was a blur as he came out of surgery.
When he woke up Saturday morning his Mom was with him and stayed for most of the day. He was in a lot of pain and had nothing but time on his hands, time to think. He was angry with the Coach and thought, “I still don’t understand what happened at practice yesterday. Now, because of the Coach I’m missing the biggest rival game and won’t be going to the homecoming dance with my girlfriend. What was he thinking? Here I am lying in a hospital bed and my football career is over. What’s up with that? This is like some bad dream because of my dumb Coach. I’m done. What am I going to do now? My whole sense of identity and purpose is gone. I’ve got to start over.”
He continued to think, “My father’s still out of town, but maybe it’s okay for now. I’m not ready for a fight with my old man. He’s going to really be angry!”
On Sunday Bruce’s teammates showed up at the hospital. He heard them laughing and joking as they came into his hospital room. All of them wore their letterman jackets and couldn’t wait to tell Bruce the news. Charlie said, “Hey, good to see you, man. We beat Chatham!”
The senior captain came to present the game ball to Bruce. Quickly all you could hear was play-by-play game moves from the night before. It was important to Bruce. He knew the Chatham players well. Lots of laughing and celebrating went on all around his bed. Before long the guys left.
After the guys left Charlie stayed behind and asked, “How are you really doing, man?”
Bruce rolled his eyes and said, “What do you think?”
“Just checking. There’s something I need to tell you. Man, you’re not going to like this but your girlfriend showed up at the dance last night with some guy from Morristown.”
Bruce felt as if he’d taken another blow to his gut. He felt betrayed and dishonored at a whole new level. “What? You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“No, man. We took care of it though,” replied Charlie.
“What do you mean, you took care of it?” asked Bruce.
“No one spoke to her at the dance. We take care of our own, Bruce. She left early because everyone turned their backs on her and we got the guy alone outside and roughed him up a bit. That’s how we look out for our own, man,” explained Charlie.
Charlie finally left and Bruce felt disappointed and depressed. “Things can’t get any worse than this,” he thought.
Just then he heard a noise outside in the hallway. He looked up and saw his girlfriend standing in the doorway of his hospital room. This was the last straw! Bruce yelled for the nurses, “Throw her out! I don’t want to see you or talk to you!”
She tried to reason with him and explain her side of the story but he wanted nothing to do with her and he wasn’t open to listening to her. She said, “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t want to listen to your excuses. Nothing you can say or do will change my mind,” he responded.
As far as he was concerned she had betrayed him and nothing justified her actions. “It’s over,” he said with finality.
Crying, she turned and ran leaving Bruce alone in his room. He began to rationalize his situation and thought to himself, “What are girls anyway? Girls are a distraction! Now I can focus on what’s important.”
He wondered, “Now what am I going to do? I’m not an active jock anymore and I don’t even have a girlfriend.”
Then he began to worry about his father. “What am I going to tell him? He’s been out of town and he didn’t want me to play football in the first place. He’s going to kill me!”
Bruce’s Dad was stern and tough, a “take no prisoners” kind of man. He was on the road and away from home a lot as a Regional Sales Manager for a large pharmaceutical company. Bruce convinced his Mom to agree to sign the papers to let him play football this season. He realized that his Mom and Dad didn’t have secrets, but his father had never come to one of his games. Now what?
Bruce was still in the hospital and it was Sunday evening. He had been sleeping and when he woke up there he was, in the flesh, his father, bigger than life, large and intimidating. He felt his disapproval immediately and cringed under the look he gave him. No sympathy or compassion was coming from this man. He was angry.
His father’s anger was palpable and directed at him. He knew that if “looks could kill” he was already dead. He simply stared looking down at Bruce lying in his hospital bed, beat up and in a cast. Without saying one word to him, his father turned around and walked out of the hospital room leaving Bruce feeling devastated.
Talk about feeling all alone—in that moment all Bruce felt was pain, physical and emotional. Alone with his thoughts he wondered, “How am I supposed to fulfill my mission? I thought I knew. It’s time to re-evaluate and re-define who I am and how I’m going to move forward with my life.
