Redemption .....on a lot of levels . An emotional Saturday.

Submitted by James Burrill Angell on
Sorry to get slightly sappy. Nearly came to tears as the clock ran out Saturday for so many reasons and I am not a person apt to cry as my wife lets me know often.
Watching the program getting slapped around on the field last year cut me to the core and listening to the slapping around going in the media this year has been salt in that cut so I can't think of anything more gratifying than a big win over a big (and ranked rival) in a back and forth game to start to heal that cut.
Far more personally, I heard about the Phil Brabbs thing earlier that day from one of his former teammates. Cancer holds a nasty place in my soul as its taken a bunch of my family members and threatened to take my sister nine years ago when she was a sophomore at Michigan. College kids aren't supposed to worry about that kind of thing and that cut is still very fresh in my head too. Although I don't know Phil Brabbs I felt inspired to post this after reading Brian's comment about Phil Brabb's diagnosis when he mentioned "Vada Murray is horrible enough. Brabbs is younger than I am."
Most of us think about cancer as something that primarily effects people when they're older or after they've been smoking a pack a day for 20 years but I can tell you from having had to sit with my sister in the UofM Comp. Cancer Center and meeting some of the people receiving chemo around her, everyone is at risk. Sure there are things people do to increase their risk, but cancer doesn't discriminate and there were more than enough babies, young kids, and surprisingly enough, plenty of high school and college age kids in there as well. This is a point that Phil, Vada, my sister and many others know all too well. All of those are the reason I helped start the Bernard "Pat" Maloy Scholarship at Michigan to help Michigan undergrads who already had to battle through cancer or who had to deal with a family member fighting off cancer (I apologize for being annoying but once again, if you wish to help out we're holding our online auction of Michigan sports memorabilia at http://www.umich.cmarket.com and we would certainly appreciate your support and you get something cool to put on the wall in the man-room as well).  Vada is only slightly older than me with kids who are just older than mine. Vada met up with me this summer to sign items for the the Maloy Scholarship Auction and described how he woke up one morning sore with what he thought was a pull in his side from working out. When he rubbed his hand over it he felt a bump, went to his doctor and was sent forward for a CatScan which revealed his tumor. Even a former professional athlete is susceptible to cancer. Can't imagine. Can't even think of how I would break that one to my kids if I was in Vada's shoes. I should add that Vada is doing VERY well. Way ahead of where patients with his diagnosis typically are at this stage. 
So anyway, we get bombarded with messages of this fundraiser and that charity. No one is more worthy than any other. Just don't make the mistake of filing them all in the mental spam-box. Find one that's relevant to you and get off your rear and do something to pitch a hand in. It doesn't even have to be financial. Go donate blood or bone marrow. But the need is great, even in the University community.

On a more personal and much more self-indulgent tangent, the last thought I had when a tear started to well in the corner of my right eye, was the fact that I was present to see it. See, I had to leave the 3OT Michigan/MSU game a few years back because I had organized a charity Halloween event and had to get to it. For the same reason I missed the entire 2005 Michigan vs. Penn State game. Finally, I took my then 3 year old daughter to last year's Michigan vs. Wisconsin game and had to leave after the third quarter because she couldn't sit still any longer. So finally, FINALLY I got to see a classic game with a classic outcome to its conclusion in Michigan Stadium.

Somewhat of a disjointed posting I know. Guess it stands for two points. (1) Amazing what winning a big football game can do for the spirit (2) We're all capable of helping out with something in life to make it better for someone who is suffering. We all know someone whether in person or one of our former football heroes. Now go out and do something about it.

Comments

Sgt. Wolverine

September 14th, 2009 at 4:56 PM ^

I just have to compliment your user name -- JBA and I share an uncommon name (Burrill is my first name), and I rarely get to see it used to reference somebody other than me. I have to look twice when you post.

bklein09

September 14th, 2009 at 5:51 PM ^

I also teared up when Michigan completed the upset. I couldn't believe it, and in a lot of ways still can't. I find myself laying in bed that last couple of nights, replaying the final part of the game in my head. So many things could have gone wrong and ended it for Michigan. And in the past they almost certainly would have.

The last time I felt like that at the end of a game was in 2003 verses OSU. I remember being in the stands and feeling pure elation. The power of sports is absolutely amazing!