I am heading to CARD-lanta tomorrow to cheer my Louisville Cardinals on to the final four and hopefully a national championship! I am so excited to drive down there and be a part of this. Since the beginning of the tournament some friends and I had decided that IF the Cards make it this far we would make the trip.. and here we are!
Easter Sunday I watched my Cards take on Duke. This was a very scary game in my mind. The last time Rick Pitino and Coach K met up in the tournament…. I think we all know what happened that day.. if not, let me recap…KY was up 103 – 102 with 2.2 seconds left in overtime, a 75 ft. pass from Dukes Grant Hill lands in Christian Laettner’s hands. Swish.. Game Over Kentucky loses. It’s been deemed the “shot heard round the world” and to UK fans the sound of Laettners name burns on their lips. This also has been known as the “greatest college game ever played”. Twenty-one years later and this game is still talked about in Kentucky. So to say I was a little nervous to go up against Coach K was an understatement!
The game starts and things are neck and neck, nothing spectacular happening, until 6 minutes and 33 seconds hit the play clock in the first half. Kevin Ware goes to close out the shooter, the camera follows the ball to the rim, Swish… Chane Behanan hits the floor, Peyton Siva is praying on one knee and still, as I watch the TV, I have no clue what is going on. then I see it, Kevin Ware breaks his leg when he lands. Compound fracture to be exact. Tears fall from Russ smiths eyes as Gorgi embraces him. That’s when I saw something miraculous, everyone has been talking about the strength of Kevin Ware and what he said to help his teammates at that time, but I want to focus on Luke Hancock for a second.
Last summer Luke Hancock suffered a gruesome shoulder injury in a pickup game. He remembered how others were aghast. He also remembered how former U of L guard Andre McGee was the only one to rush to his side, to rush him to the hospital. He remembered how much that had meant. As he saw Kevin Ware laying on the floor he knew he needed to do this same thing for him. Luke kneeled next to Kevin grabbed his hand and told him he was going to pray over him. Luke closed his eyes “Lord, watch over us and let Kevin be OK during this tough time,” he began. “The Lord does everything for a reason, and He will get us through this.” I can only imagine how Kevin Ware felt in that moment. He says he was in “shock” but in the 9 minutes it took to get Kevin off the basketball court, he found the courage to let his team know that everything was going to be “OK”. Luke Hancock’s prayers were answered. One day after Kevin Wares surgery he was walking on crutches. Kevin Ware will be “OK”. Praise the Lord.
The Cards came out in the second half and ended up beating Duke by 22 points. They waved the #5 jersey as they celebrated, honoring their injured teammate. Luke Hancock did not pray for a victory (because we all know the Lord does not choose sides in sports) but he did pray for Kevin to be “ok”. With faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. I truly believe that to be true. Both of these guys showed great courage and character during that time, and I believe it is in time of conflict you see the true character of someone. Coach K also showed his character that day. He told Rick Pitino to take all the time he and the team needed to continue, if his guys needed time to warm up again and to regroup that would be totally fine. What fantastic sportsmanship. Not enough can be said about these two guys and their long history with each other. Another game in the history books, this time it was Rick Pitino’s day. The Cards showed everyone what teamwork, friendship and faith looks like. For everyone who said college basketball is dead.. let this be a reminder that it is not! The Cards are not one and done athletes. They are student athletes, who have invested time and dedication to their school and who have pride in what they have done together. Congratulations to my guys for reminding us that friendship means something. This, to me, has been one of the greatest college game ever played.
Go CARDS!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment