The Match

This weekend was filled with a ton of positive things happening. This turned out to be a great weekend to celebrate Halloween. We had perfect weather Saturday for all things Halloween. I got to enjoy seeing my twins Quinn and Sarah go from being the little kids going out trick or treating throughout the neighborhood to now being the big kids in the neighborhood running around carefree and experiencing their freedom. The experience of hanging out with their friends and running the neighborhood is now more important than the actual trick or treating. It was awesome to see that kind of growing up and maturity blossom right in front of your eyes.

The most impressive thing I witnessed this past weekend was watching the Men's Akron Rugby Club Team play Queen City (Cincinnati) in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Last Friday I sent out an email about living life large. That you give whatever 100% is for you each day, you give that 100%. Well the men's rugby team gave every bit of 100% plus. The effort and energy that they gave out on the field this past Saturday was nothing short of absolutely amazing. I think I have only seen this kind of physical, mental and emotional effort one other time in person. The only other time was when I got to go see the Cavaliers play the Golden State Warriors in game three of the finals. The Cavs had lost Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving due to injuries which led to the Cavaliers being severely under manned, but point guard Matthew Dellavedova and Lebron James sacrificed everything they had themselves to help secure the win. Both Lebron and Dellavedova laid everything out on the line, to the point that Dellavedova spent the night in the hospital due to severe dehydration and severe cramping. The Akron Men's Rugby team fought tooth and nail and had to fight back constantly throughout the Match. It wasn't looking good a little over half way through the second half, but then something happened. One of the Queen City players who had been running his mouth all game pulled a cheap shot just after momentum had shifted big time towards Queen City. I thought to myself this is either going to be the final straw and Akron was going to have to accept defeat or this was going to flip the switch. It was, flip the switch. For the next 15 min of regulation and two sudden death overtimes, Akron would not stop; they dug so deep and found energy where there was none. They found strength when the muscle glycogen (Energy) was completely gone. They found speed when the dehydration levels in legs were so high that cramping would start just from standing. The players on that field Saturday searched, found, and used the 20% that is left in the tank when you feel like there is no way I have 20 more percent. This match wasn't just about winning and going onto the semi finals. This match was about each one of those players finding how much they can give of themselves to their fellow team mates. Each one of them could walk away on Saturday knowing that they each found something very special inside themselves. Something that is rare and can only be found through the kind of effort, resilience, and willingness that they displayed on Saturday afternoon. Congratulations gentlemen and thank you, that was awesome.

As always your thoughts and comments are always welcome.