David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

Redemption of ’Bama’s Jalen Hurts illustrates what sports teach us

By ·

If the story had been written for a Hollywood movie, it would have been rejected as completely unbelievable. But Alabama backup quarterback Jalen Hurts showed Saturday night what it means to fight through adversity and doubt to come back as a winner when his team needed him. In doing so, he showed the best of what sports can teach all of us.

Just 11 months ago, Hurts was on top of the college football world. He was 26-2 as a two-year starter at quarterback for Alabama. He had brought the Crimson Tide to the national championship game against Georgia, but by halftime, it was clear that he wasn’t getting the job done. Coach Nick Saban started relatively untested freshman Tua Tagovailoa in the second half when Hurts couldn’t generate any offense. From the sideline, Hurts enthusiastically supported his teammates and earned respect from a lot of people — including me — as he watched Tagovailoa lead a comeback win in overtime for the national championship.

During the offseason, there was a lot of buzz about who would start at quarterback for Alabama this year. Hurts and Tagovailoa competed during spring practice and pre-season practice. To the surprise of no one, Tagovailoa won the starting job. He has been the most dominant player in the college game this year and has been considered the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy most of the year.

It had to have been humiliating for Hurts to see a new kid get all the glory he had received at Alabama for two years.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Nine years ago, he asked her, ‘Will you take a chance on me?’

By ·

It was raining when Mark offered to share his umbrella with Becca nine years ago. He says he didn’t have any other motivation, but Becca smiled Friday night when they told me the story.

“I don’t know what he was really thinking,” she said, “but I’m glad he took the chance.”

I met Mark and Becca — along with their two young children — at a restaurant. Their two daughters attracted my attention first. Their animated games of make-believe made me smile and I was soon chatting with their parents.

They live in Portland, Ore., now, but Birmingham will always be special to them. It was a twist of fate — like something out of a romantic movie — that brought them together in the rain one evening nine years ago.

Becca was a 26-year-old lawyer at her father’s Philadelphia law firm. She’s an only child and her dad had always wanted her to take over his law practice one day. He had planned her life. He sent her to Yale for her undergraduate degree and Georgetown for law school. She had been working at the firm for a bit more than a year, but her dad told anybody who would listen that she would eventually take over for him.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Are you living the life you wanted when everything seemed possible?

By ·

I doubt anybody grows up wanting to be a garbage man. Or an accountant. Or a medical billing coder.

There might be a few. Maybe some kids thought riding on a garbage truck was the coolest thing they had ever seen. Maybe some math-obsessed kids thought it would be amazing to spend all day running numbers through spreadsheets.

When we were kids, most of us had things we thought we wanted to do when we grew up, even if many of those things were impractical. When I was very young, I wanted to be captain of a starship, just like my only hero, Capt. James T. Kirk. In an era of frequent rocket launches and trips to the moon, it seemed possible to me.

Then I wanted to be an engineer and inventor. I’ve told you about these before. I progressed through law and ministry and several other things. I was certain that I would one day be president of the United States. I was incredibly excited about my future. I wanted to do and be everything. I was going to change the world.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts