Monday – 9/7/2015

Today is a day for relaxing, spending time with family and friends, and soaking in the last days of summer. It’s Labor Day.

It’s also my dad’s birthday.

As we gear up for another college football season, I thought it appropriate to share some thoughts on the lessons my father helped me learn through sports. Lessons that have proved far more valuable for me when put to use off of the field.

My family and I have always enjoyed a strong bond through sports, especially my father and I. When I think back to my childhood, it is filled with sports memories I shared with my dad. He helped me learn how to deal with defeat and how to carry myself with class when things didn’t go my way. These are valuable lessons that I have always tried to carry over into other aspects of my life.

However, learning some of those lessons sure did sting a bit.

The two of us have seen the highs and lows that sports can offer. As a longtime Cleveland Browns season ticket holder, my dad and I were fortunate enough to witness the 1986 season together, arguably the greatest season in franchise history.

I experienced my best moment as a Browns fan that year when I was in attendance at the old Municipal Stadium on the shores of Lake Erie, and watched the Browns defeat the New York Jets 23-20 in double overtime in the Divisional Playoffs.

The unbelievable jubilation I felt watching the team rally to win that game and advance to the AFC Championship was equally matched, if not surpassed, by the devastation I endured the following week when the Denver Broncos came to town.

Mention “The Drive” to any Browns fan and they will immediately cringe upon hearing those horrific words. My dad and I were in those same seats to witness John Elway rip our hearts out when he orchestrated a comeback for the ages, which sent the Broncos to the Super Bowl and the Browns into another long off-season.

Leaving the stadium that evening I was in tears. Even though it was just a game, I wanted to throw a temper tantrum. My dad had to remind me that it was in fact, just a game.

You win some, you lose some. But life goes on.

It’s tough to argue with that.

I had barely recovered from what had happened at Municipal Stadium that day when I was subjected to yet another life lesson a little more than two years later. Once again, my father and I were on hand to personally witness a crushing blow at its finest.

This time, the venue was the Richfield Coliseum. The event was Game 5 of the 1989 NBA Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs. It was the Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs had swept the season series against the Bulls and were heavily favored going into the game.

But once again, destiny was not on the side of Cleveland. Perched from atop, in the last possible row of the Coliseum, my father and I shuddered with disbelief as Michael Jordan hit “The Shot” at the buzzer to beat the Cavaliers 101-100 in an epic showdown.

Two of the most iconic moments in the history of professional sports, “The Drive” and “The Shot” and I had the inauspicious honor of being on hand to experience them both.

Yet each year, my dad and I keep returning to cheer on our teams, in spite of insurmountable odds. If that doesn’t build character than I don’t what does.

You can never give up, because you just don’t know when that victory might occur.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Cleveland sports team or an obstacle in your life.

Breakthroughs can happen.

My father and I have certainly seen the good, the bad and the ugly that sports can offer. We were both basking in the sun in the grandstands of the Daytona International Speedway in 1998 when our favorite NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt, finally won the Daytona 500 in his 20th attempt. Tears of sheer joy filled our eyes as we hugged each other and the strangers around us, celebrating the victory.

Those tears were forever replaced by tears of grief when, The Intimidator, as he was often called, died after crashing into Turn 4 in the same race three years later. My father was at that race, I watched it from my couch, learning yet another valuable life lesson.

The world doesn’t owe you anything. And sometimes, life can be very unfair.

The Drive, The Shot, Dale Earnhardt, as well as my personal athletic experiences, and my parents, have all taught me some of the toughest lessons that life and sports have to offer.

They also re-instilled the fact that no matter how earth-shattering things may seem at the time, it will get better, this too shall pass and you will emerge a stronger individual because of it.

I’m grateful for having experienced these events with my father. However, I’m even more grateful for him showing me how they could be applied to my life, even when a glove or helmet wasn’t needed.

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!

Stand Strong!

Scott