When anyone digs deep and triumphs against overwhelming adversity, we all sit up and cheer. Almost all movies, literature, and popular TV shows demonstrate that coming from behind is the most popular theme of all time.
Sports is no exception. Dozens of exciting and inspiring turnarounds throughout the long history of sports, the kind that we remember and talk about for the rest of our lives, are among the most inspiring.
Back in 2004, one of the most extraordinary examples of supreme courage in the history of sports drew the attention of tens of millions of people. There we were, millions of us who were not even baseball fans, glued to our TV sets throughout the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the Boston Red Sox and the twenty-six-time world champions, the New York Yankees.
This series would determine which American League team would go on to battle against their counterpart from the National League for the World Series crown. In 2004 it was the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sports announcers, journalists and pundits of all stripes never stopped chanting the gloomy mantra: Boston's indomitable Red Sox had not won a World Series in 86 years -- the longest drought in baseball history. It was so bad, it was an invincible curse. And anyway, they first had to get past the Yankees, and good luck with that!
But the loyal Red Sox fans never stopped hoping that this year the tide would finally turn in their favor. They'd been through this before -- 85 times -- and they were still hoping.
But the ALCS began very badly for Boston. The Yankees pushed the Red Sox to the edge of elimination by winning the first three games, the third a humiliating 19-to-8 trouncing. All across America, hopes for the Sox making it into the World Series really began to sag.
To win the ALCS and march on to the World Series, Boston would have to win four games in a row -- a turnaround accomplished only twice in the history of all pro sports in North America, and never by a baseball team.
But in Game 4, the tide began to turn and hopes lifted. Boston tied the score, the game went into extra innings, and in the 12th, David "Big Papi" Ortiz brought Boston fans screaming ecstatically to their feet with a walk-off home run. Game 4 for Boston.
As each game progressed, tens of thousands of new fans of come-from-behind winning, not just of baseball, found themselves gathering in front of TV sets whooping for joy as the Red Sox took Game 5 in 14 innings, then won Game 6 and finally crushed the Yankees in Game 7 -- a sensational comeback in anyone's book, and a world record in itself.
Boston was headed for the World Series and a chance to reverse the 86-year curse.
If media surveys are accurate, tens of millions more people than expected were at their TV sets rooting for Boston, going just as bonkers as hard-core Boston fans when the Red Sox breezed to their first world championship in four straight wins against the St. Louis Cardinals, demolishing at last the ancient curse.
Everyone recognizes how such acts of courage and determination prove one of the greatest life lessons anyone can learn: Never give up -- believe in yourself and in victory no matter what the odds are against you.
At Novus, people from all walks of life demonstrate their belief in themselves on a daily basis. Making the decision to overcome the deadly grip of drugs and alcohol takes a lot of courage. At Novus Medical Detox Center, we share their joy as they triumph over addiction, and we would like to share one of their success stories with you. ____________________________________________________
Factory Worker:
(methadone)
"I found it a very positive place. Everyone is very helpful and nice. Very relaxed place. Detox from methadone can be done in a week. Despite what the methadone clinic will say, you can do it." |
