Bob Richard's, the former pole-vault1 champion2, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.
Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely3 nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete4 sat on the bench and hardly ever played. This teenager5 lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.
Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.
This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him, but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to.
But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.
When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a walk-on6. Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster7 because he always put his heart and soul into every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle8 they badly needed.
The news that he had survived9 the cut thrilled10 him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent11 young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.
It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted12 onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff13 game, the coach14 met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.
Swallowing hard, he mumbled15 to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?”
The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped16 into the empty locker17 room and put on his football gear18. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded19 to see their faithful teammate back so soon.
“Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today,” said the young man.
The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
“All right,” he said. “You can go in.”
Before long, the coach, the players, and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled20 like a star. His team began to triumph21.
The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted22 a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.
The fans broke loose.
His teammates hoisted23 him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone.
The coach came to him and said, “Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic24! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?”
He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”
鲍勃·理查德，这位前撑竿跳高冠军，曾经给我们讲述了一个动人的故事，一个关于一个瘦得像皮包骨似的小男孩全身心地热爱足球的故事。
在经过了一次又一次的练习之后，这个小男孩热切地盼望着能把他所学到的本领应用到实际比赛中去。但是，由于他的身高只有其他男孩子的一半高，因此他完全没有成功的希望。几乎每一场比赛，这个满怀希望的运动员都坐在看台的长椅上，却从不上场比赛。这个少年独自一人和他的父亲生活在一起，他们两人之间有一种非常特殊的关系。
尽管儿子总是坐在看台上，而父亲却还总是在看台上不停地为他喝彩。他从没有错过任何一场比赛。
这个小男孩进入高中之后，仍旧是他们班上身材最小的。但是，他的父亲仍旧继续鼓励他，而且还设法使他明白一点，就是如果他不想再踢足球的话，那他可以不必再继续踢下去了。
但是，这个年轻人仍旧非常热爱足球，他决定要坚持不懈地踢下去。他下定决心，在以后的每次训练中，都要全力以赴，那样，也许等他成为一名老资格的运动员时就会有机会参加比赛了。整个高中阶段，他从未错过一次训练或一场比赛，但是在这四年里，他仍旧只是看台上一名热情的观众。他那忠实的父亲仍旧一如既往地坐在那里，仍旧一如既往地鼓励他。
当这个年轻人上了大学之后，他决定到足球队尝试做一个跑龙套的角色，接受足球队的考验。每个人都确信他绝对不会被录取，但是他却被录取了。教练接纳了他，并且把他的名字登记在了花名册上，因为在每一次训练的时候，他总是全身心地投入，教练深为感动；同时，教练也想以他为榜样，来鼓舞其他队员的士气，激励他们刻苦训练——那些队员太需要榜样的示范了。
被足球队录取的消息令他非常激动，他急忙跑到最近的电话亭，打电话给他的父亲，告诉他这个振奋人心的好消息。他的父亲也和他一样激动，一样兴奋，并且他的儿子给他寄来了所有赛季里大学联赛的门票。在大学四年里，这个年轻的坚持不懈的运动员从没有错过任何一次训练，但是，他仍旧没有参加过任何一场比赛。
这是他在大学期间的最后一个足球赛季了。在一场关键的大型的决赛即将来临之前的一天，当他还在训练场上拼命奔跑的时候，教练手里拿着一份电报找到了他。这个年轻人迫不及待地打开电报看了起来，顿时，他变得死一般的沉默。
他吃力地咽了一口唾液，哽咽着，喃喃地说：“今天早晨，我父亲去世了。今天，我请假不参加训练行吗？”
教练轻轻地把胳膊搭在他的肩头，搂着他说：“孩子，这个星期你就好好休息一下吧。星期六的那场比赛你也不必急着赶回来。”
星期六到了。比赛进行得很不顺利。在比赛进行到45分钟的时候，这个年轻人所在的球队落后了10分。这时候，一个沉默不语的年轻人悄悄地闪进了空无一人的更衣室，穿上了他的运动衫和足球鞋。当他跑到球场边界的时候，教练和他的队员们看到他们这位忠实的队友这么快就回来了，都不禁感到大吃一惊。
“教练，请让我上场吧。今天，我赶回来就是要参加比赛的。”这个年轻人恳求道。
然而，教练却故意假装没听到他的话。他是决不会让他的最差的球员参加这场势均力敌的决赛的。但是，年轻人仍旧在不停地恳求，最后，教练感觉有些对不起这个年轻人，终于做出了让步。
“好吧，”他无奈地说，“你可以上场了。”
不久，教练、队员们，还有看台上的每一个人，几乎都不能相信他们的眼睛了。这个从来都没有参加过任何比赛的名不见经传的年轻人正在准确地做着比赛中的每一件事。对手根本就无法阻止他。他像一个足球明星一样奔跑、传球、拦截，以及抱住并绊倒持球奔跑的对手。他所在的球队开始反败为胜了。
比分很快打平了。在比赛即将结束前的几秒钟，这个年轻人截住了一个传球，并且带着球一路奔跑，越过了对方的底线，最终赢得了比赛的胜利。
球迷们疯狂了！
他的队友们一起围住了他，把他举到了肩膀上。喝彩声一浪接着一浪，此起彼伏。这样的喝彩声是你从为听到过的！
最后，当球迷散尽，看台上空无一人，而且队员们也都洗完了澡离开更衣室的时候，教练才注意到这个年轻人正独自一人静静地坐在角落里。
教练走过去，祝贺他道：“孩子，祝贺你！我简直无法相信，你真是太神奇了！”接着，他又不解地问道：“孩子，能告诉我这究竟是怎么回事吗？你究竟是怎么做到的？”
他看着教练，眼里盈满了泪水，喃喃地说：“教练，你知道，我父亲已经去世了，但是，你知道我的父亲是个瞎子吗？”年轻人费力地咽了口唾液，勉强地笑了一下，“以前，我的每一场比赛，父亲都赶来‘观看’，但是，今天却是他第一次‘看’我参加比赛，所以，我想要证明给他看——他的儿子能够做到！”