The stories of someone in last place at the start of the race who then slowly makes their way to the front of the pack. They then go on to win the race.
The stories of someone who is down on their luck. They have gotten shot down over and over again, only to get that second chance and they make the most of it.
The stories of someone who had it all only to fall out of favor. They kept trying...they kept putting themselves out there and they find success once again.
I wrote of Elvis' '68 Comeback Special a few months ago. He had fallen...but this got him back up and back into the limelight.
We saw it last week with Virginia winning the Final Four. The previous year, they had entered the tournament as a number one seed only to lose in the first round to a number 16 seed. Their coach called this season their "redemption story".
This weekend brought the Masters Golf Tournament. Golf isn't an action packed sport. When golf is on TV, most people change the channel. You have heard it called boring and hard to watch. For the longest time, people only knew of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Then in 1996, a kid out of Stanford entered the pro field. This kid was amazing. This kid could hit a ball like no one else on tour could. This kid could win. And this kid had a really cool name: Tiger Woods.
He hit the scene full force. He won his first Masters in 1997, winning by 12 strokes. In a span of eleven years, he won fourteen of golf's majors, including the Masters three more times. People began to watch golf because of Tiger. People began to play golf because of Tiger. You saw the sport become something that everyone did not just rich, old guys in funny looking pants.
But then it came crashing down. The next ten years saw Tiger battle injuries and personal issues. He had four back surgeries and only competed in ONE tournament in a three year span. He was at rock bottom. He was written off by so many people. He was not the hot ticket in golf. He was a has been.
When everyone had written him off, you know what he did? He kept training. He kept working out. He kept to himself. He kept telling himself he wasn't done. He kept playing golf.
Then something happened last September. Tiger won the Tour Championship. It was pretty cool.
That was cool. But what happened on Sunday was cooler. He did what he knew best. He played golf. And the magic happened. He won a fifth green jacket, almost 14 years after his last green jacket. He had come back from the lowest of lowest to win what some say is the biggest tournament of the year. And how awesome is that fist pump?
A video was shared showing Tiger in 2018 watching people comment on his future as a golfer. How tough is that? Those in the public eye face a lot of unwanted criticism by people they do not know or compete against. We often go through that same thing. We are talked about on social media. We are talked about in the community. Assumptions are made about us and the job we do. We hear negative A LOT.
So what did Tiger do? He got up and kept going. He chased his dream of being the best again. He did not let the haters get him down.
What can you do? Keep chasing the dream. Keep your head held high. Keep learning. Keep practicing. Keep giving it your all. Don't quit because you are down. Don't give up on your dreams. It gets tough. You will be in last sometimes...but sometimes you will be first. GO FOR IT!
My last words here are not my own. Tony Bennett, head coach of Virginia, quoted a Ted Talk to players through out this season: "If you learn to use it right, the adversity, it will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn't have gone any other way." Virginia basketball did that...as did Tiger. Haven't some of our greatest triumphs come after our darkest hours?
If you have time, view the Ted Talk in which Tony Bennett used to drive his season:
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/this-is-quote-virginia-coach-tony-bennett-has-repeated-all-season-it-just-helped-cavaliers-win-their-first-championship.html
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