It’s important to have something to live for.
I mentioned a few years ago in a conversation with a friend of mine that the reason Joe Paterno hasn’t retired yet is because he’s afraid of the curse of Bear Bryant, who died four weeks after coaching his last game. Looks like my unfortunate prediction is coming true. I honestly believe that he could have been immortal had he been allowed to coach forever because coaching football was his life, but circumstances and events did not unfold that way. For many of these legendary coaches who have spent so much of their lives recruiting, mentoring, teaching and spending time with their athletes, there is not much to life outside of football or basketball or whatever it is they coach.
On the flipside is a guy like Gary Williams who I believed would die on the sidelines while coaching a game. His first marriage ended primarily because his life was basketball, and with his personality and love for the game and his student-athletes, I didn’t see a reason for him to ever retire. However, having remarried in April 2011, and with grandchildren to spend time with, he was able to walk away from the game while he still had something to live for.
Ultimately we choose for ourselves, through the decisions we make, what we are living for, be it money, fame, security, God, or football, but in the end we have only one life to live. What are you living for today, and can that be taken from you?
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