The Power of the T

Life is full of stories. Stories people are dying to tell and stories that are never told enough. Theses stories make your heart smile and your eyes water; stories that have the power to change how you live your life.

In a perfect world children and cancer are two words that would never be mentioned in the same sentence. But too often an innocent child’s life is shortened, weakened and then surrenders a life that was never truly experienced.

 

In November 2005, Jay Rodger’s was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that is a bone tumor- he was 13 years old. Most of Jay’s life was threatened by the gauge of time doctors expected him to live. Cancer: a cureless disease that took away his hair, his ability to attend high school, to play football and to live a normal life as a kid. Most teenagers spend their life playing ball and having fun. Most of Jay’s life was spent in hospitals and beating his life expectancy odds. Cancer didn’t take Jay’s heart, spirit or his soul to fight each day with the hopes of just one more smile, one more breath, and one more day to live his life.

 

After a seven year battle, his body began to surrender and the gauge of his time on Earth would soon becoming to an end. Last Wednesday, he and his family prepared for hospice where Jay would spend his final days, hours and minutes in his Tennessee home. His family fought back tears, but Jay never stopped smiling and telling everyone about how his hero, Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos to a comeback win that Monday night.    

 

On October 13^th his family set up the facebook page “Jay’s Warriors”- for the people who have supported Jay and his family during his battle with cancer for the final fight of his life. The page was updated with how Jay was doing and asked for pictures of Jay’s Warriors signs and ‘Likes’ of encouragement.

Growing up in Tennessee, Jay was a fan of UT sports and hunting. It was no surprise to see him in his camouflage Tennessee hat. Leave it to VolNation and social media to spread the word and the messages of encouragement flooded the facebook page. Former and current athletes and coaches reached out to Jay and in one week, Jay gained over 35 thousand new Jay’s Warriors.

 

“My favorite was from Peyton Manning. As I told him how much Jay loved to watch him play and looked up to him as a hero Peyton said "Jay is more of a hero than I will ever be." JayStrong.”  -Posted on October 17^th

 

The University of Tennessee is built on tradition and there is more power in the Power T than can be measured. Saturday’s game against Alabama was played in honor of Jay Rodgers and players showed everyone at Neyland they were one of Jay’s Warriors. 

Jay’s life was timed on Earth, but time can not touch or calculate the impact of how Jay’s life of fighting for every smile, for every breath, and for another day to live life has changed the lives of Jay’s Warriors to live JayStrong. VFL

 

Glen Jennings Rogers

January 21, 1992- October 21, 2012.

Monumental Meltdown

The Washington Nationals haven’t been employed in October in 79 years. The Nationals are one of two MLB franchises, and the only one in the National League, that has never played in a World Series (the Seattle Mariners are the other) and after the monumental meltdown of game five, World Series dreams will remain a dream.

Crazy things started to happen in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) the past few months. The Nationals AND the Orioles were both playing postseason baseball, Teddy WON his first President’s race, talk of a beltway World Series packed bars and fans came out of hiding to root for the Nats and O’s. Was the district becoming a sports town? Baseball was being talked about at the office water cooler and fans were showing their Natitude!

 

I love the game of baseball and I was pumped when I found out I had a ticket to game four Nats/Cards. Pimp seats, a sold out crowd, and a great game of postseason baseball is a fans dream. With the game date being 10-11-12 it was only fitting that it was a 13 pitch at-bat in the bottom of the 9^th for Jayson Werth to blast the Rawlings 406 feet to left field for a walk-off home run to force game five and giving Jayson Werth his 14^th walk-off home run in the post season since 2004.  It was awesome to experience a walk-off homer in the postseason, simply awesome!

 

Game five the Nats took an early 6-0 lead and people were booking flights to San Fran for NLCS. After all, no team has ever come back by six runs in an elimination game. But after the third inning, the Nationals bats only scored one more run for the rest of the game. Before you knew it was 7-5 in the top of the 9^th. My stomach turned, I’ve seen this horror story; 2011 game six Rangers/Cardinals- same score, same Cardinal comeback.

 

Deep down, I kept thinking Davy Johnson would make the crowd go nuts by sending in benched pitcher, Stephen Strasburg for ONE pitch to end this game. Instead, Drew Storen struggled on the mound.

 

Something about the Cardinals being down 7-5 in the 9^th with two outs and ONE strike away in an elimination game that motivates them to magically manage to come back and win, crushing the hopes and dreams of a Championship starved city and franchise. How the Cardinals scored four runs with one out- even with one strike away twice seems like a game you watch in the movies, not live in postseason baseball. Natitude quickly became Sadatude.

 

How could the sports gods be so cruel? Players and fans were left shocked and in disbelief that the comeback happened against them and their postseason dreams were officially over. Instead of rushing out of the stadium, fans stared at the field and grown men wiped their eyes. Players didn’t leave the dugout. No one wanted to accept that game five would end in a monumental meltdown of epic proportions.