Читать книгу Winning: From Walk-On to Captain, in Football and Life - Gary Brackett - Страница 13

“You sure about that arm, Gary? That looked bad the night of the AFC Championship game. I can’t believe you played through it. What happened anyway?”

“I hurt it on a Wham. The guard whiffed on the tackle, and Booger [Anthony McFarland] made a great play and wrapped up the running back. I had my arms around him finishing the tackle, and somebody hit me with their facemask right in the funny bone.”

“Dang, but you good to go now?”

“Yeah, I’m sure, man. No way I’m missing this game.”

As I reassured my teammates about my status, I thought repeatedly of a quote from the great Vince Lombardi, “No crime in getting knocked down as long as you get back up.”

Well, I grew up getting knocked down. That’s what comes from playing with older kids. But those knocks taught me what I could take, and that no matter what, I always had the ability to get back up. This arm injury was nothing.

Football always appealed to my rambunctious nature as a kid. I liked contact from the beginning. Playing against Grant, Greg, Granville, and their older, faster, and stronger friends gave me an advantage against my peers as I geared up for finally playing against folks my own age.