The NeverEnding Story
Consternation, abashment, horrifying! These are the words that describe this distraught land. Children scared, fathers cowering under the pressure as the Nothing swoops in sucking the life out of everything. And in this time of need one man, no, one child, one with a pure spirit, steps up and takes the challenge to defeat the Nothing. The Neverending Story directed by Wolfgang Peterson and written by Michael Ende is a marvelously mystical book that really gets your gears working.
Over the years there have been many brave people, Chuck Norris, Martin Luther King Jr., Jay Cutler, and St. Joan of Arc to name a few. All of these people have something in common. None of them were afraid to step up and take responsibility for what they believed was right. Much like Atreyu in the NeverEnding Story, where he didn’t hide nor deny the fact that he was chosen. Instead he embraced the quest, realizing the fate of Fantasia rested on his shoulders. Another instance of something like this is about 12 years ago when a man named Trent Green who was projected to win the Superbowl that year with his high octane offense, got injured in a preseason game. The coach then made a famous speech where he said “We will rally around Kurt Warner, and we will play good football”, without even seeing him run the offense. When the season started coach was not disappointed when the untested, undrafted, Kurt Warner would have one of the greatest quarterbacking seasons in NFL history, throwing for 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns, and a completion percentage of 65.1%. He would eventually lead the rams into infamy, and win the Superbowl despite the critics. This truly shows what can happen when you step up to the occasion.
Although stepping up is important, living up to standards is just as imperative. Much like how no one let Atreyu down, they all lived up to what was expected. A prime example of someone not doing so is when a man named Jemarcus Russell was drafted for the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft and was expected to do great things due to his career in college. Adding to the hype was that after he was drafted he held out for a larger contract and ended up missing training camp and the first game of the season because he did so. By the time he was finally signed to a $65,000,000 deal with $35,100,000 guaranteed, he had missed the essential training camp that just about all rookies need. Because of this by the end of his first starting season he had an abysmal 2,423 yards passing, 13 passing TD’s and 8 picks. This mediocre performance would continue until he was released on May 6th 2010 when he finished his career with 4,083 yards, 18 touchdowns and 23 picks. On the other hand one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history was also picked number one in the 1998 draft. This man was Peyton Manning and the only difference between him and Jemarcus Russell is that Peyton put in the time, the effort, but most importantly he didn’t care how much money he got, he took what was offered. Now he is considered one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history and he wears something special on his finger that most people don’t.
Hopefully now that this information is scorched into your mind you will know that people aren’t great because that’s just what happened. They put the time, effort, and the determination to do so, and were rewarded because of it.
