There’s something to be said about refusing to give up.
This type of thought process applies across disciplines. It applies to the ebbs and flows of life, as well as the sport we love.
Sometimes, the one who won’t give up is the one who wins.
Tonight, that was Kansas State. Led by embattled former Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez, the Wildcats escaped Norman with a 41-34 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma. They did what grinders do, and they grinded. With Deuce Vaughn. With Kurt Warner’s kid. But most importantly, they grinded with Adrian Martinez.
Yes, that Martinez. The once-and-maybe-still embattled former Nebraska quarterback. The guy who last year battled through a broken jaw and bloodied ankle and enough emotional trauma to fill a Subaru. Yes, that embattled quarterback.
Tonight, he did what many don’t do and that’s walk into Norman, Oklahoma, and walked out with his head held high. He didn’t turn the ball over. He didn’t do too much. He ran the offense to what it’s designed to be. He didn’t give up.
Martinez didn’t give up. That was his greatest quality.
In life, it’s easy to give up. There’s relationships, work, and families. Lots of things that make waking up hard and keeping going even harder.
But like Martinez, it’s oftentimes those who refuse to give up who win in the long run.
For the past few months, giving up looked like the easy route. Writing was hard. Going to work was hard. Hell, waking up for work was incredibly hard. It made the start of college football hard to enjoy.
And yet today, of all days, things felt better. Maybe it was the football on TV that distracts us from real life. Maybe it’s something else.
For me personally, today, of all days, I finally started to enjoy the oddities of life and the sport we love.
Kansas State and Adrian Martinez were a nice reminder of the power of not giving up. Sometimes you have to run the dive play for 3 yards over and over and over again. Because later on, it sets up something better.
Today felt better.
College football feels better.
I hope to finally start writing more. Cheers to the QB dive and never giving up!