“When I lost my husband, I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but they all turned out good. I tell Robert there is no payback. I did what I was supposed to do and nothing out of the ordinary. My sons are something else.”
-Wanda Johnson (mother of Robert Johnson, Utah Free Safety)
If you haven’t read the story of Robert Johnson in the Salt Lake Tribune (Lya Wodraska), December 18, 2009, entitled “A bright future to smile about,” then find the time to do so (click HERE to read it). There is not nearly enough space in a newspaper article to explore completely this uplifting story, but just enough to give the right side of athletics a little boost. In the midst of the Tiger Woods drama, the death of Chris Henry, the latest performance enhancing drug scandal, the very serious question of whether or not the Utah Jazz should trade Carlos Boozer, or some prima donna sniveling about being under appreciated and paid too little, there still exists the power of organized athletics to affect lives.
It is unfortunate, in many ways, that we have elevated through lofty paychecks and unnecessary accolades, the status of the current superstar athlete. Unfortunate because we do not nearly enough report on the good, the life changing, the uplifting, but rather find newsworthy that which celebrates the individual. Mr. Ocho-Cinco on the sidelines, LeBron James and his time-out “so you think you can dance” routines, the weekly fist pumping, chest pounding, high stepping celebrations of self. Does anyone find it strange that Tim Tebow became “boring” this year? “Over-reported,” I heard someone say. Huh? Statistically, one of the greatest to ever grace the gridiron at the collegiate level. As a human being, maybe the greatest. He has done all the right things, and more, and in doing so has made himself unworthy of our attention. Odd.
Tim Tebow himself would find the story of Robert Johnson uplifting. A single mother, seven children, a tough neighborhood, and a lot of uncertainty. Wanda Johnson found in athletics the structure, the motivation, and the discipline to keep her family on the straight-and-narrow. One might suggest that she did so at great personal sacrifice. But, the beauty of this story, and one of the great lessons in athletics, can be found in the quote above: “I did what I was supposed to do and nothing out of the ordinary.” There is no such thing as an individual within the confines of the family or the team. For Mrs. Johnson, personal sacrifice seems much too…personal. We do what we have to do for the good of the team, for the team to succeed. And in so doing, everyone succeeds.
