Football Days - Memories of the Game and of the Men behind the Ball by William Hanford Edwards
page 54 of 403 (13%)
page 54 of 403 (13%)
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Men say, "Why, that is the fellow who muffed a punt at a critical
moment," or recall him as the one who "fumbled the ball," when, if he had held it, the team would have been saved from defeat. You recall the man who gave the signals with poor judgment. Maybe you are thinking of the man who missed a great tackle or allowed a man to get through the line and block a kick. Perhaps a mistaken signal in the game caused the loss of a first down, maybe defeat--who knows? Through our recollection of the things we should have done but failed to do for one reason or another, our defeats rise before us more vividly now than our victories. There is only one day to make good and that is the day of the game. The next day is too late. Then there is the ever-present recollection of the fellow who let athletics be the big thing in his college life. He did not make good in the classroom. He was unfair to himself. He failed to realize that athletics was only a part of his college life, that it should have been an aid to better endeavor in his studies. He may have earned his college letter or received a championship gold football. And now that he is out in the world he longs for the college degree that he has forfeited. His regrets are the deeper when he realizes that if he had given his best and been square with his college and himself, his presence might have meant further victories for his team. This is not confined to any one college. It is true of all of them and probably always will be true, |
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