College Sports: Leading by Example
Sean Moriarty
Commercial/Healthcare- Bringing automated solutions to maximize IT Financial Management and data usage.
College sports are for everyone, even if you do not like sports. There is competition, community, excitement, devotion, support, etc. Some places only focus on the competition aspect (their loss), but there are many more who aim for the whole experience.
This past weekend was week three in college football. The season is in full swing. In the grand scheme of things, it was a pretty bland weekend, not too many high caliber games. This did not stop Georgia from making sure it was a weekend to remember. Georgia is a powerhouse football team in one of the strongest conferences and they were playing Arkansas State. A solid program for their own level, but this was a real David and Goliath matchup (spoiler alert, Goliath wins). However, this game became much more than a tune up game for Georgia and a money maker for Arkansas State.
In August, Wendy Anderson, wife of Coach Blake Anderson of Arkansas State, died of breast of cancer. Right when Coach Anderson is supposed to start the busiest and most stressful part of his job, he and his family are struck by tragedy. Coach Anderson cannot quit, stay home, and reside in solitude. He had to lead a team at the start of their season and provide for his family. This is a small-time coach at a small-time program whose tragedy and devotion could go completely unnoticed. Not for Georgia. They honored his wife. Coach Anderson, his family, and his team showed up to one of the toughest places to play in the nation and saw nothing but love. Thousands of opposing fans, to whom he had no connection other than that his team was to be crushed by theirs, were wearing pink. They were not wearing red and black. They were wearing pink for breast cancer. College football elevated the purpose of sport. A man and his family felt the love of not just their close friends and relatives, but by an entire community.
This is the purpose of college sport. Not to dominate, obliterate, and be self-centered, but to create a strong, supporting community in which any one person can partake. Hats off to the Bulldogs and their athletic administration for not missing an opportunity to make sports something more.
On a more local level, Tony Bennett, head coach for the Men’s Basketball team at UVA, recently declined a large bonus considering his recent national championship. He claimed that his past raises have blessed him more than what he deserves. He asked, instead, that this money be given to his staff and to the program. Tony Bennett is fueled by the opportunity to take basketball players and turn them into great men. His leadership in humility, generosity, and positivity offer a bit a guidance in an industry that often seems driven by greed.