One of the worst months in sports history just got a lot bleaker.
Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser died Thursday afternoon after suffering what appears to have been a sudden, massive heart attack. He was 56. And once again, the sporting realm of society has reminded us of another valuable life lesson.
Often times, these lessons we learn from sports are of triumph and perseverance, the ability to accomplish anything through hard work and dedication. Of overcoming the odds to do something unthinkably great.
But this lesson was much more blunt.
Sometimes, you just plain forget how fragile life really is.
Sometimes in the sports realm, people get so caught up in steroids and scandals, in “Who’s Now?” brackets and fantasy football trades, that we — myself included — forget about what really matters.
As in life, it’s good people who shape and mold the minds of a younger generation that matter.
The past month in sports has been littered with bad news after bad news from hugely successful, recognizable names and organizations.
Michael Vick and dog fighting. NBA referee Tim Donaghy and betting. Barry Bonds and steroids.
Prosser’s death is almost like a dose of reality, that all of these sports figures we read and write about are indeed human, not just a picture in a newspaper or a sound bite on a radio show.
Perhaps that’s why this seems so surreal.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people.
There will be many, many things written about Prosser and his life. If you read any you like, feel free to share.
I thought this column by Dan Wetzel was very good.
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2 comments:
Good post. Hopefully, this serves as somewhat of a wake-up call to the national media that in constantly harping on negative and alarmist stories 24-7, the stories of truly good individuals, such as Prosser, get lost in the shuffle. And sadly, it takes an event such as his death to bring his story to the consciousness.
As a Wake Forest grad and an individual who had the pleasure of attending the school for four years in which Prosser served as the basketball coach, I can not thank him enough for the fun he brought to the Wake Forest basketball experience. Going to the Joel with my friends was one of my favorite memories of college, and Skip was the #1 reason that it was such a pleasure due to all the energy he poured into the program. There is absolutely no question that he leaves not only the Wake Forest basketball program, but also Wake Forest itself, a better place than it was before him.
RIP Skip. Thanks for everything.
I agree with everything you said. Great post, thanks.
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