David Friedli

By the Dashboard Lights

09/10/07

The Power of Ten

The very nature of sports pushes participants toward their physical, emotional and psychological limits.

Sometimes, the results of hard work and dedication create newspaper headlines.

The recent college football upset of perennial powerhouse Michigan by Appalachian State, the small school from Boone, North Carolina, brought national attention to the effort of the athletic underdog.

Across the nation the story of a second-division upstart handing a defeat to one of college sports vaunted gridiron programs most likely served as pre-game inspirational material this week for those teams not expected to compete, let alone win, against a superior opponent.

The lesson from the effort of the A-State Mountaineers is that hard work and dedication win out, despite the most overwhelming odds.

Sometimes preparation, execution and luck come together in a synergistic way. Defying logic, the end result is much greater than the sum of the parts, and greater than what was expected or imagined.

However, this local story won’t create headlines. Last Friday night, ten players trotted onto their home field for pre-game warm-ups.

Ten players. Eight-man football. Do the math.

Ten dedicated players. The team has more players on the roster than ten. At one time or another this season, 19 players have donned helmets and shoulder pads for practice.

For the first game of the season, eight players were available for substituting when the rest of the team was on the field. Last Friday, only two stood ready by their coaches.

Injury claimed the availability of one player. A broken hand in a fiberglass cast prevented him from participating.

The other seven players were not competing due to lack of effort, specifically a lack of academic effort. Seven players failed to meet their school’s academic eligibility standards. Sadly, only two players stood in street clothes on the sideline to support their team. The rest were conspicuously absent.

Still, ten played on. Knowing they would be outnumbered (the other team’s roster was nearly 30 players strong), any of the ten players could have faked injury or illness, or simply failed to show up for the game.

Ten players showed their commitment, and even when three players were injured, the team played short a man so the game would go on. The opposing team showed sportsmanship, substituting liberally after there was a 35-point difference.

Ten players gave an effort that showed character, commitment and self-sacrifice.

Not all victories are kept by the numbers on a scoreboard.

This time, a victory was won by the power of ten players who remained committed to their sport when those around them were not.