I may have mentioned before that my all time favorite movie is the original Rocky. You may not be a Stallone fan or even a sports / boxing fan. But if you ever watched the movie I bet you cheered at the ending as I do. How can you not love the ending?
But there is a reason that I love that movie that you may not know. But now you will.
I had my leg destroyed while I was in High School. I experienced two spiral fractures, two compound fractures, torn ligaments in my ankle and ripped tendons in my knee. All this happened on one particular play. I also had my ribs broken, but that is another story.
I was in casts and braces for ever it seemed. And I had sort of lost my will to play sports. I was drinking a lot and doing odd drugs. Then on a Saturday towards the end of summer I skipped my first workout, I just didn’t feel like going anymore. That was a first for me, but I was seriously ready to quit. I kept being told I would never run again, that I couldn’t compete if I did, and that any chance for a scholarship was gone.
So I sat my butt down on a couch and did nothing.
I mentioned that I had a “spirit girl” that requested me every year. She was a great gal, and we became really good friends. She wasn’t ugly at all. She was a tall brunette with a very nice figure. She was on the dance team so her legs would make you drool. And she had the best personality. But the most important thing was she got me. She completely understood who I was and what made me tick.
We would go out on occasion as well, but usually just as friends. We did miniature golf, movies, dancing and things like that. And yes, a few times we did get naked. But it was like there were times where we both needed to be laid and didn’t feel like working for it. So I would call her or she would call me, and we had this code word which meant, “I need some”.
So yes, we were close.
Apparently the coach was extremely worried that I didn’t show up, since I never missed my workouts. He had called but I wasn’t answering the phone. So he called my spirit girl. She knew me, so she already knew the conflict I was experiencing. But she had another idea.
She came to my house, dressed to kill if you know what I mean. She walked in (yes, my folks gave her a key) and she told me to get up that we were going out. I didn’t go out much during this time. I had this ugly brace that ran from below my knee to a really goofy pair of shoes. I also had a knee brace above this contraption. It looked like crap and I squeaked when I walked. So I refused to go.
She wouldn’t have that. She explained that she would drive, we would have fun, and no one would see me. She was very insistent and pushy. So I finally agreed just to shut her up. I climbed in her car and off we went. On the trip, she told me that she felt I had forgotten why I play sports, the perks I get, and the passion I have for the game. She said she was going to remind me.
We went to a drive in movie (am I showing my age?). It was a double feature, Rocky and Rocky II. I hadn’t seen either before as I wasn’t much of a movie person back then. So we park and she starts talking about all the fun perks I get being an athlete. As she is speaking she is undoing my jeans. Then she goes down on me, for about a minute. Then she stops, sits up and tells me that girls don’t just do this for bums. If I want this sensation again I had better keep trying to play.
She didn’t finish, and yes I did realize that I would miss things like that.
Then the movie began. I can’t tell you the effect that movie had on me. It revitalized my passion. It helped me to understand that setbacks in life happen. When they do you can make them an excuse, and obstacle or a learning tool. It was my choice.
That night it became the greatest movie I had ever seen. I showed up at practice Monday. I played the season wearing my braces on my leg. And I made All District. I went on and did in fact get my scholarship, even though I lost it due to this injury. But I didn’t quit, I achieved my goal.
And I owe it to my “Spirit Girl” and the movie Rocky.
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