Olympics story #4

Another story about/by my brother Chuck (does that make him a guest blogger?). The day he became an employee at NIKE he sent his submission to a sports hero essay contest. The prize was a trip to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and Chuck won the contest! There were no flights available so he had to leave five days before he was expected in Sydney (lucky!). While there he interviewed Simon Whitfield (I had no clue who he was until now when I googled him--he's a triathlon gold medalist) and roomed with the man responsible for the Mayor of Beijing.

Here is Chuck's prize winning essay.

Sports Heroes
by Chuck Patton

When I think of sports heroes I think of my brother, Robes Patton. Although he never scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl or sunk a jumper at the buzzer to clinch an NBA title, he was at most of those big games. He often rode to games on the subway or the commuter train, rubbing shoulders with the fans. He would always show up early and be one of the last to leave, always competing against his deadline. He was a sports writer.

Like most pros, he didn’t start out in the majors. He spent four years covering high school sports and local bowling leagues in Scottsboro, Alabama, before being called up to the big show of sports journalism. He took a job with the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel the same year that the Miami Heat became an NBA franchise team. For ten of their mostly losing years, he covered the Heat. In the off season, he wrote about baseball spring training, professional golf, and football. But he lived for the NBA season; the road trips, the big arenas.

Three years ago my brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He suffered through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, believing he would once again return to the world of sports writing. He did make it back and for several months his life almost returned to normal. He gave more thought to the simple things, spent more time with his kids, began traveling again, meeting deadlines, learning to be a survivor, tried to put his cancer behind him.

But his return to the game was short lived. He could have asked the coach (the sports editor in this case) to take him out much sooner; to pull him from the roster. Everybody would have understood. But instead he chose to play as long as he could stand it. He wrote the last columns of his life, tapping the keys of his laptop with his right hand after he became paralyzed on the left side of his body.

This is an excerpt from one of the last columns that my brother wrote:

Sports writers don’t have heroes. Well, maybe some, but not for the same reason as many fans. We root for players who return calls, decline or accept interview requests politely and roll down the car window for that rushed 5-minute chat after practice. When friends ask what teams I root for, I explain that sports writers pull for running plays because they don’t stop the clock. In basketball, we pull against overtime. In hockey, we hope for quick sudden-death goals. Now however, I must admit that I root for Lance Armstrong. He has cancer. I have cancer. Neither of us are 40 yet, too young to be personally acquainted with chemotherapy. Too young to be trying to personally raise awareness for our various medical foes. I have been following Lance Armstrong’s battle with testicular cancer and hoping for his return to another Tour de France. Different regimens, different diseases. Similar hopes, expectations and fears.

I too was pulling for Lance Armstrong. I watched with the rest of the world as he crossed the finish line in his yellow jersey. I marveled at how he fought the battle of his life (cancer) and still had some fight left for the Tour de France. But I have been most impressed by his willingness to share his weakness and his vulnerability with the world; to not shy away from his struggles with cancer. He continues to give hope to many of those fighting cancer around the world.

My brother Robes lost his battle with cancer, but he never lost his passion, his dedication, his optimism. He was buried in Boca Raton, Florida October 2, 1998. Although he never got to see Lance’s triumph in France or any of the Miami Heat’s playoff victories, he never gave up hope. His example taught me that life’s greatest contests don’t take place on the track or court, but occur in the human heart.

Sports heroes inspire us. Their passion and commitment transcend beyond sport into life. They motivate us to be better, to try harder, whatever our event may be. Whether finishing our first marathon, climbing the north face of the Eiger, or being a more patient tee ball coach, true sports heroes make us better, more courageous people. My brother is my sports hero.

Chuck and Robes in Portland, Oregon, January 1998