So I was surfing around the net again. (sorry, I'm very free)

Found two things of interest.

1. An Athlete's Pride

I'm a high school player. I'm a team player. I play with my friends and with some of my enemies, but I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I'm not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally. I know I may not even get my name in the paper. I play for the love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game. I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play.

I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me... integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will, and the heart of a champion. If I didn't play, I would lose a part of me. I'm an athlete. I'm a boy. I'm a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don't, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them, and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete. I leave everything on the field or court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, but I have learned to accept it. I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being. I don't play for my parents, for my family, for my friends; I don't play for my coach or my teachers or my school. I play for myself but when I'm playing I represent them. It isn't about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won't settle for a tie, and I am not satisfied with 100%.

To play, you have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood, and tears, everything... for your team. I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with "second best." I have been that boy with tears in her eyes, walking out to receive the second place trophy and clapping as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders, and I know what it is like to choke under that pressure. I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play.

I AM AN ATHLETE, A CHAMPION, A TRUE PLAYER.

2. Why We Play

It's not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted or making Sportscenter.

It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart.

We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, to sweat.

We do it all for our teammates, and sometimes for the student in our calculus classes we don't even know.

We don't practice with a future Yankees first baseman; we practice with a future sports agent.

We don't lift weights with a future Olympian; we lift with a future doctor.

We don't run with a future Wimbledon champion; we run with a future CEO.

It's a bigger part of us than our family and friends can understand.

Sometimes we play for 4,000 fans, sometimes 400, sometimes 4. But we still play hard.

You cheer for us because you know us. You know more than just our names.

Like all of you, we are still students first.

We don't sign autographs. We do sign graduate school applications, MCAT exams, and student body petitions.

When we miss a shot, kick or strike out we don't let down an entire state. We let down ourselves, our teammates, our coaches and our fans.

But the hurt in our hearts is the same. We train hard. We lift, throw, run, hit, kick, tackle, block, shoot, dribble and lift some more ... and in the morning we go to class.

Still that next day in class we are nothing more than students. It's about pride - in ourselves, in our school.

It's about our love and passion for the game.

And when it's all over - when we walk off the court or the field for the last time - our hearts crumble.

Those tears are real.

But deep down inside, we are very proud of ourselves.

We will forever be what few can claim: college student-athletes.

Just some food for thought, no hidden message behind it, don't worry :P