From a distance, we admire the men and women in the arena and marvel at their gifts, and too often forget they are human as well, with everyday problems that are not chased away by fame and fortune.
Adrian Peterson plays on Sunday through the grief of losing his 2-year-old son, because two days ago in Sioux Falls, S.D., an unimaginable tragedy reminds us yet again of the evil that lurks among the worst of us. A 27-year-old was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery of an infant and aggravated assault — a despicable, cowardly act.
We have celebrated Peterson as the best running back of this generation, applauded his unprecedented comeback in nine months from a torn ACL to MVP . Courage isn’t only going strong All Day on the football field. Courage is having the inner strength to carry on through unimaginable pain in your heart.
Less than 24 hours after his kid brother Tevin had been killed in a motorcycle accident two Septembers ago, Torrey Smith decided to join his Ravens brothers and caught two touchdown passes in a 31-30 victory over the Patriots at home.
“I texted my mom when I got to the stadium. That was when I knew I was going to play,” Smith said. “She was excited about it. She said, ‘He’d want you to play.’ ”
“He’s a stronger man than I am,” Ravens running back Ray Rice said. “If I had to face death within hours of playing the game, that would be a tough decision. He’s got two families, and he knows we have his back.”
Ten years ago, on a tear-filled Monday night in Oakland, Brett Favre passed for four touchdowns in the first half and 399 total yards in a 41–7 victory over the Raiders two days after learning his 58-year-old father Irvin, who had coached him at Hancock North Central High School, had suffered a heart attack while driving and died. Favre stayed with his teammates and played in his 205th consecutive game.
“I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play,” Favre said afterward. “I love him so much and I love this game. It’s meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn’t expect this kind of performance, but I know he was watching tonight.”
On the Monday before the Giants played in Carolina, coach Tom Coughlin learned his younger brother John had died unexpectedly in a fall. Coughlin coached on, forever the rock of the Giants, wavering only in private.
“It’s an emotional tug of war is probably the best way to say it,” Coughlin would tell Giants.
Only four days after the entire Yankees organization had flown to Canton, Ohio, for the funeral of Thurman Munson, who had crashed his private jet, just hours after eulogizing his friend, Bobby Murcer drove in all five Yankees runs in a stirring victory over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. “
Everything I did was for him,” Murcer would say.
Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino lost his best friend and brother-in-law Billy Minardi in the 9/11 attacks.
“I’m emotionally spent,” Pitino would say not long after. “The only solace I get is when I’m on that court for four hours a day.
“What I have to do is to immerse myself in it, day and night, so I don’t think as much. The only thing you have to do is go overboard and immerse yourself in your work and your family and just pass out at night.”
In 1987, Pitino’s 6-month-old son Daniel died from congenital heart failure.
“I had a perspective a long time ago,” Pitino said. “Basketball is my passion, it’s my professional life, but it’s entertainment. It’s always been entertainment to me since 1987.”
Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson reported to training camp a month-and-a-half after his girlfriend, reality television actress Gia Allemand, committed suicide.
“Every day is a challenge,” Anderson said. “It helps to be here. My family’s with me. To be here with my teammates really helps a lot, but it’s a roller coaster.”
Sometimes, it is teams and organizations that find strength they didn’t know they had. It was on a late October afternoon in 2005 when the Giants honored their Hall of Fame owner and patriarch Wellington Mara five days after he died with a 36-0 romp over the Redskins paced by Tiki Barber’s 206 rushing yards in front of his 36 grandchildren. After a touchdown, Barber handed the ball to Tim McDonnell and said to him: “This is for you. This is for your grandfather.”
In the postgame locker room, current Giants co-owner John Mara, a chip off the old block, said: “That’s exactly how he would have preferred it.” The game ball belonged to him.
The script isn’t always storybook, but it doesn’t have to be. The Redskins would lose a game to the visiting Bills only five days after safety Sean Taylor was shot in a burglary at his home six years ago. Redskins defensive players honored their lost teammate by fielding just 10 men on the first play, as safety Reed Doughty remained on the sidelines.
“It was important for the team to know that Sean was with us that one last time on the field,” Doughty said. “He’ll always be with us, but that was special.”
And sometimes, one triumphant swing of the bat can help a grieving city heal.
“That whole week or so caused everyone to examine what life is about, in a way, and sports wasn’t that important,” Mike Piazza would say about baseball’s return following 9/11. Until he sent a baseball into the night, and it was important.
“I think the special thing about it is that it put to rest our fears and anxiety about being there,” Piazza said. “The fact that we did go out there and have a great night for our team and the city was a real blessing for us all.”
Pray for Adrian Peterson. All Day. And All Night.